Digitization Request:
submitted by tammilawson@nypl.org and sponsored by Tammi Lawson and the Art and Artifacts division
| Division | Art and Artifacts |
|---|---|
| Collection(s) | Blondiau Theater Arts Collection of West African Art |
| Contact | Tammi Lawson |
| Scope | 83 3D objects |
| Date Range | Pre Colonial Zaire (before 1885) | Size of Materials | various | Condition | All need special handling |
| Is this request time-sensitive? Please describe: | Yes |
| Strategy Alignment | 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') |
Rights: | |
|---|---|
| Can this be displayed publicly online? | Yes |
| Are there any other rights or content (e.g., nudity) concerns? | Pre Colonial Zaire (before 1885); no evidence found of other dates |
| Is a deed of gift, non-exclusive license, or other pertinent paperwork concerning copyright available for the collection? | No |
Processing: | |
| Do the requested materials require additional preparation for digitization (arrangement, inspection, etc.)? | Yes |
| For audio and moving image media, have these materials been inventoried and can a CMS ID be provided? | No - Materials will first need to go to Preservation and Collections Processing to be inventoried |
Metadata: | |
| Does description exist for these materials? | spreadsheet of item details created; https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DNUXF9VhpP5kH9IxzjAVnJ5lKg0nb29ztDrvY8URWsI/edit#gid=549098674 |
| If so, please list the catalog or finding aid link(s) for the record(s) | Currently no finding aid, but catalog record: Sc Art (Blondiau theatre arts collection) |
| Are there any specific metadata issues we should consider? | All 83, 3D objects will need item-level descriptive metadata; collection level records can be imported from catalog record |
Reformatting: | |
| For DIU 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, but curator preference on-site photography at Schomburg due to condition of items |
| For audio and moving image media, can the media be digitized in house? | Yes |
Condition: | |
| For DIU imaging, will each requested item safely fit on a flat 30x40 inch standard imaging table (see picture at right)? If yes, can each item, when considered as a complete object, be captured in full by an overhead camera without the use of cradles and/or other supports or weights on the standard imaging table (keep in mind: most bound materials will require the use of a cradle or other similar props for capture)? If yes to both questions, please provide the following information: What types of items are you requesting digitization for? (ex: books, flat sheets, 3D objects, slides/negatives, etc.) What are your requested items made of? (ex: paper, parchment, textile, mixed media, photographic film, etc.) How much of the item should be captured in each image and what is the approximate size of that physical area? | No, 3D objects of various sizes // No // 3D objects of various materials, shapes and sizes, each object might require specific set-up to capture // Textile objects: 5 musical instruments, 31 vessels, 5 staffs, 3 weapons, 6 adornment items, 10 statues, 11 utilitarian objects, 7 masks // Full object capture |
| For audio and moving image media, does the AMI media exhibit recognizable condition issues such as mold, a vinegar smell, breakage that might impact playback? | N/A |
A) No acquisition paperwork B) Items dated as pre-1885, but will need to verify. This will require minimal research based on other writings about this collection available.
Public domain - full access and downloads on Digital Collections. Under current practices, NYPL will not claim rights to the photographs of the 3-dimensional objects.
- Existing item-level description is in a spreadsheet. Many item-level records require manual effort and some division input to meet minimum metadata standards for csv import. - Simple spreadsheet import (one item per row) with a single parent record. - All records require manual or programmatic addition of access points to meet minimum metadata standards - All records require manual or programmatic addition of access points above minimum standards. - 25 items lack descriptive title; many descriptive titles not unique; items in MMS do not match titles in sheet; medium/material require manual updating/input for conformance; 14 objects without shelf location; identifiers require concatenation for import;
*updated notes following site visit -all materials in relatively stable condition and would not require treatment pre-photography, though professional cleaning would be necessary -some materials (maybe 1/3?) suitable for transport to DIU -remaining materials unsuitable for transport would require on-site photography over a series of weeks/months; many of the larger pieces would likely require a full day's effort for each piece to account for complexities in setup and full capture of object
This is dependent on how many items need to be transported to LSC. If no items need to come to LSC, this is a very low (possibly 0) Registrar effort. However if some or all need to come to LSC, this is a high effort due to the specialized packing that will be required for many of the items to ensure safe transport.
these objects -- 50% of which the curator described as needing conservation -- would require an objects conservator, not book and paper conservators