Title

Division	Art & Artifacts
Collection(s)	Blondiau Theatre Arts Collection
Scope	83 3D objects
Date Range
Size of Materials	dimensions and materials listed here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DNUXF9VhpP5kH9IxzjAVnJ5lKg0nb29ztDrvY8URWsI/edit?usp=sharing
Digitization Rationale	The Schomburg's first Art & Artifacts collection -- also the first collection of African art objects to tour the United States. We have part of the collection; the rest has dispersed (to Howard, the Met, etc). It was assembled by Alain Locke "with the intention of inspiring African-American artists and founding a museum of African Art in Harlem. ...By encouraging Johnson and his peers to look for their roots in African artworks, Locke, the author of the anthology “The New Negro,” was trying to move past the idea of African art as, in his words, a “side exhibit to modernist painting.” But the museum he proposed never came to fruition; the works that made up the Blondiau collection disappeared into various private collections and institutions." (From 'http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/arts/design/african-art-new-york-and-the-avant-garde-at-the-met.html')
Is this request time-sensitive? Please describe:

Division

Art & Artifacts

Collection(s)

Blondiau Theatre Arts Collection

Scope

83 3D objects

Date Range

Size of Materials

dimensions and materials listed here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DNUXF9VhpP5kH9IxzjAVnJ5lKg0nb29ztDrvY8URWsI/edit?usp=sharing

Digitization Rationale

The Schomburg's first Art & Artifacts collection -- also the first collection of African art objects to tour the United States. We have part of the collection; the rest has dispersed (to Howard, the Met, etc). It was assembled by Alain Locke "with the intention of inspiring African-American artists and founding a museum of African Art in Harlem. ...By encouraging Johnson and his peers to look for their roots in African artworks, Locke, the author of the anthology “The New Negro,” was trying to move past the idea of African art as, in his words, a “side exhibit to modernist painting.” But the museum he proposed never came to fruition; the works that made up the Blondiau collection disappeared into various private collections and institutions." (From 'http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/arts/design/african-art-new-york-and-the-avant-garde-at-the-met.html')

Is this request time-sensitive? Please describe:

Rights:
Can this be displayed publicly online?	Yes
Are there any other rights or content (e.g., nudity) concerns?	Not unless we're John Ashcroft and have a problem with nude sculptures.
Processing:
Is this collection processed and described?	Yes
Metadata:
Does description exist for these materials?	Catalog record
If so, please list the record ID(s)	b11486936
Are there other metadata considerations?
Imaging:
Can the materials be digitized with current in-house equipment? Current exceptions to DIU capability include bulk microfilm, volumes unable to open beyond 90 degrees, and items requiring x-ray or multi-spectral imaging.	Yes
Are there any special considerations for imaging (oversize larger than 40"x60", versos, frames, mats, stubs, 3D, etc)	These are 3D objects -- some much larger than others. See spreadsheet for dimensions and other details.
Condition:
Are there any condition issues or special handling requirements?	These are in good shape, but I'm unsure how transporting a 5-foot staff, for example, works for the registrar.

Rights:

Can this be displayed publicly online?

Yes

Are there any other rights or content (e.g., nudity) concerns?

Not unless we're John Ashcroft and have a problem with nude sculptures.

Processing:

Is this collection processed and described?

Yes

Metadata:

Does description exist for these materials?

Catalog record

If so, please list the record ID(s)

b11486936

Are there other metadata considerations?

Imaging:

Can the materials be digitized with current in-house equipment? Current exceptions to DIU capability include bulk microfilm, volumes unable to open beyond 90 degrees, and items requiring x-ray or multi-spectral imaging.

Yes

Are there any special considerations for imaging (oversize larger than 40"x60", versos, frames, mats, stubs, 3D, etc)

These are 3D objects -- some much larger than others. See spreadsheet for dimensions and other details.

Condition:

Are there any condition issues or special handling requirements?

These are in good shape, but I'm unsure how transporting a 5-foot staff, for example, works for the registrar.

Reformatting Effort (DIU)

3

Estimated 2 months for 1 photographer to complete project. Ideally, all objects could be shipped to LSC for photography. Alternatively, a space could be set up at Schomburg for the duration of the project.

Registrar Effort (Collections Management/Registrar)

4

As Kay noted, the larger items like spears and staffs would be potentially tricky, and there would likely be a lot of custom/specialized packing. The smaller items aren't necessarily that difficult, but I'm still going to go with 4 due to the amount of specialized packing.

Conservation/Preservation effort (Collections Management/Conservation)

3

already in NYPL collection; various media; we don't have a staff conservator that specializes in this media; make sure these items can safely travel; large scale objects

Processing effort (SFP/Archives)

TBD

Metadata effort (MSU)

2

Given the small number of items in this collection and existing spreadsheet of data, minimal metadata could be created easily either manually or through a combination of spreadsheet upload and manual editing. Since we have not done much metadata description for art or artifacts, this project would require the close guidance of an MSU specialist on selection of appropriate controlled vocabulary terms and title creation.

Rights effort (Rights)

3

A) acquisition paperwork not on file, would need to verify with division regarding donor restrictions B) rights held by multiple rights holders, though uncredited C) rights of objects are unclear, and would require research or confirmation from division D)date range varies, and may require item level profiles; however a collection level record already exists in MMS.

Level of access (Rights)

2

UND/NFI>Unpublished for pre-1964 items / IC/CDPP for post-1964. Rights of objects are unclear, but based on creation date range (1895-1927 according to the catalog record) and further rights in the photographs (which would be held by NYPL, since these are 3 dimensional objects) online/non-commercial use would be most likely allowed for all or most items.