mirrored reflection lit onto a surface, held in points to deny the true passage of time and decay
An attempt at a forever memory as materialized
Single Parent Archive
Socially-engaged art
Archive
w. Marti Clemmons
The Tapes w. Gilah Tennenbaum, Katharine English, and Cindy Cumfer
Contributors: Amy Schuessler, Peter Freeman, Marti Clemmons, Shelibe Loomis, Aisling Dunn
2021-Ongoing
https://singleparentarchive.org/
Socially-engaged art
Archive
w. Marti Clemmons
The Tapes w. Gilah Tennenbaum, Katharine English, and Cindy Cumfer
Contributors: Amy Schuessler, Peter Freeman, Marti Clemmons, Shelibe Loomis, Aisling Dunn
2021-Ongoing
https://singleparentarchive.org/
Single Parent Archive is a growing archive that centers on the multiplicity of experiences connected to single parenting or caring for a dependent on one’s own. Co-founded with Marti Clemmons, the Single Parent Archive intersects identity, politics around care/care labor value, and archival/preservation practices.
As of current, the Single Parent Archive is still in the midst of structural development and has acquired a small collection. The collection contains poetic narratives, photography, interviews, scanned recipes, illustrations, and more. The philosophy of the archive is to investigate alternative practices of archiving; to inquire and learn responsible modes of preservation that refuse the “capturing” and of objects/stories/experiences from communities; to find regenerative aspects of preservation.
The first collection of the archive is a series of conversations about audiotapes given to Portland State University by the feminist bookstore, In Other Words. The recordings are of mothers and fathers sharing stories about battling for custody of their children after coming out in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The audiotapes are closed to the public and there is little information identifying who was recorded. Marti Clemmons, who works at the Special Collections and University Archives of Portland State University, found the tapes. We began researching possible folks associated with the tapes and recorded our own conversations as we moved through our search. The first three conversations were transcribed and published in the Social Forms of Art Journal (SoFA Journal).
As of current, the Single Parent Archive is still in the midst of structural development and has acquired a small collection. The collection contains poetic narratives, photography, interviews, scanned recipes, illustrations, and more. The philosophy of the archive is to investigate alternative practices of archiving; to inquire and learn responsible modes of preservation that refuse the “capturing” and of objects/stories/experiences from communities; to find regenerative aspects of preservation.
The first collection of the archive is a series of conversations about audiotapes given to Portland State University by the feminist bookstore, In Other Words. The recordings are of mothers and fathers sharing stories about battling for custody of their children after coming out in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The audiotapes are closed to the public and there is little information identifying who was recorded. Marti Clemmons, who works at the Special Collections and University Archives of Portland State University, found the tapes. We began researching possible folks associated with the tapes and recorded our own conversations as we moved through our search. The first three conversations were transcribed and published in the Social Forms of Art Journal (SoFA Journal).
The image above is courtesy of the Women’s Community Education Project/In Other Words Archive, 1993-2018. Portland State University Library Special Collections and University Archives. Portland, Oregon