PRESERVE YOURSELF
Cataloging and recording your art today is an important part of the queer history of tomorrow.
Time is rarely an artist’s friend. Finding time in the day to finish (or start) that new piece; meeting application and exhibition deadlines; waiting for layers to dry; and all the other things in life — necessary and not — add up and eat away at our most precious mortal commodity.
But there’s another aspect of time that is often overlooked and should be important to all artists: history.
It’s certain that we’ve lost lots of Queer art over the centuries because so many artists have not thought about the importance of archiving their own work for future historians and curators.
With all the technology at our fingertips — literally — there’s no excuse not to record and preserve all that amazing Queer art you’re doing, even if you don’t see yourself as a serious, professional artist.
It’s not just about ego.
Preserving and recording your work is an act of resistance and defining your own Gay experience — especially in a time where some powers-that-be are attempting to erase LGBTQ+ history.
START SOMEWHERE
As with any art piece, starting is the hardest part. But recording your work and Queer story doesn’t have to be super formal or daunting. It can be nonlinear and even handmade, like a kind of scrapbook — sort of an art piece unto itself. Or it could be a highly planned-out database with linked spreadsheets and coordinated files.
It just depends on your personality and comfort levels. The important thing is to create some kind of record.
SYSTEMATIZE
The first step is to figure out where you are. Whether you’ve just picked up your pencils or clay for the first time since high school, or if you’re a seasoned professional with several shows under your belt, take a few moments to think about the work you have done and want to do, and create some kind of system for cataloging it.
Mine, for example is simple: 25-A0001 - this translates to (25) the year the work was done, (A) which type of work or series it belongs to, and (0001) just a number list with enough digit spaces i would never run out.
Do whatever makes sense to you and your work, and just like that, you’ve already started your archiving process.
TAKE PHOTOS
The next thing to focus on, quite literally, is photographing your work. (Or gathering your digital files if you’re a digital artist or photographer.)
Having visual images with your catalogue list ensures a future curator knows which piece goes with which list number. It also adds a record for your current and future collectors, which they will appreciate. Plus, it helps future historians weed out any forgeries someone may try to pass off in the future.
SAVE AND STORE
Consider creating a database, even if it’s as straightforward as an Excel document or Google Sheet. i use Airtable because it works like a spreadsheet but is easier to keep track of and view.
Artwork Archive is another tool you could explore, but it starts at $8/month. (It does come with invoicing and some other features, though.)
BACK IT UP
Using a cloud service like Google Drive and Sheets, Dropbox, or Airtable is a smart move to guard against a hard-drive crash or other life disasters. (Just be sure to keep it all locked down and password protected!)
It would also be worth regularly backing your data up on a USB drive and storing it in a fireproof box or other super secure location. If you have the means (and desire), you could look into an external drive and/or CDs, too.
HOARD AWAY
Keep anything that shows your process and growth: progress photos, sketchbooks, journals and notes, drafts of artist statements — even voice memos.
Save exhibition flyers, your entry PDFs (even if you were rejected), social media screenshots, newspaper or magazine clippings (or print out online versions) about you or your work — anything with your name on it. It all adds to the history and context of your work.
Things that might seem “minor” now could be important and meaningful for context in the future. Plus it adds character layers to who you are as a person for future Queer generations.
THINK LIKE A CURATOR
Take a moment and imagine you’re a future curator who would be putting together a show about your work. What kinds of things would that curator find useful and necessary to tell your story most fully and accurately?
Consider writing reflections on each major body of work, explaining what you were thinking or trying to convey with your piece(s). If you don’t keep a regular journal, maybe include a little bit about what was going on with your life when you created the piece(s).
Make a living document in a Google Doc or a journal to track your applications and exhibitions, your sales or milestones, or changes in your thoughts, plans, or approaches.
Don’t be afraid to get personal. You are more than your work, but your work is a reflection of your inner being. Context adds to the overall meaning of a piece — and your collectors will thank you!
LEVELING UP
If you get really ambitious, you could create and publish a full catalogue raisonné, which contains annotated listings of your works, including titles, years of production, dimensions, media used, and a description of the piece. If you wanted a physical copy, you could use a printing service like Blurb, or you could turn your PDFs into a digital flipbook through sites like Issuu or FlipHTML5. Or just include the PDF on your website or blog.
START TODAY!
Don’t wait to be an “established” artist. Begin recording and preserving your work today.
It all matters because YOU matter — and you owe it to yourself, your art, and to future LGBTQ+ generations: Because the Queer archives of our future should include you and your awesome stories.
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With our community’s visibility under attack, it’s more important than ever for us to collect, record, and preserve our LGBTQ+ experiences and histories. Here are just some professional archives doing the good work.
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Housed in the libraries of USC, ONE Archives is the largest repository of LGBTQ+ materials in the world. It houses millions of archival items including periodicals, books, films, videos, audio recordings, photographs, artworks, organizational records, and personal papers.
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Visual AIDS’ Artist+ Registry and Archive Project is the largest database and registry of works by visual artists with HIV/AIDS. The online database offers a forum for artists living with HIV to expose their work to a worldwide audience, while preserving a legacy for artists lost to AIDS.
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The GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco is a leader in LGBTQ+ history and includes a physical museum in the Castro District and an Archives and Research Center in the Mid-Market District.
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Chicago’s Gerber/Hart LGBTQ+ Library and Archives acquires, preserves, and makes accessible an ever-growing historical archive of primary source material to document LGBTQ+ history, especially from the Chicago area and the Midwest.
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The Leather Archives & Museum kink and fetish library is housed in Chicago and seeks to make the leather, kink, BDSM, and fetish communities accessible through research, preservation, education, and community outreach.
