Story

Correcting the Record

Written byLucie Pardue
Published date 10 February 2023

I am the Curator of the UAL Art Collection, which comprises around 950 art objects made by UAL alumni. The objects are in a wide variety of media, date from 1987 to the present day and the collection is added to each year.

I have recently completed my Postgraduate Diploma in Socially Engaged Practices in Museums and Galleries. For my final module I created a project called ‘Correcting the Record’. The project amended object descriptive texts in the UAL Art Collection's records system and online searchable catalogue.

Currently, the curator's and object makers' narratives within these texts are indistinct. Lengths and grammar have been edited by the curator. This is common practice however it can be a problem because it means the curator's actions dominate the maker's expressive intentions. It risks co-opting the maker’s ideas and removes their experiential authority (Figure 1).

Screenshot from a catalogue record for an artwork showing a description of an artist Rhian Spencer in the third person. It reads, 'Spencer studied BA Drawing at Camberwell College of Arts. He developed a series of portraits representative of students and staff from the college who, like Spencer himself, engaged with issues surrounding race, identity and sexuality. These portraits are subtly animated to suggest the sense of consciousness in the individual'... — Figure 1: Example of UAL Art Collection online catalogue record for Black Faces in White Spaces by Rhian Spencer. The curator’s voice as a third-person narrative has adopted the maker’s personal reflections on their work and their experiences.

These issues apply to all UAL Art Collection object records. However, I believe that the combined issue of systemic modes of control and assumptions made about works by Black artists, Asian artists and artists and makers of colour in UK art collections mean they are especially pertinent to those records. Therefore, my project prioritised a sample of objects all made by Black, Asian or artists and makers of colour. The project is based on sector research and feedback from our Decolonising Collections Working Group identifying a lack of textual transparency and desire for increased makers’ agency.

The project methodology investigated how archival records have been composed, edited and catalogued. It then developed a textual system to amend identified issues and distinguish the maker’s voice within a group of sample records. These records’ descriptive texts were adjusted in collaboration with a group of text reviewers. The reviewers comprised a maker whose work is part of the UAL Art Collection, a curatorial peer, and a visitor to the collection: a reflexive process intended to generate a diversity of ideas and views from those the work impacts. We then wrote guidelines for best practice and updated object acquisition documents., to promote better practice going forward and reducing the need to go back and ‘Correct the Record’.

The project aimed to better platform the makers represented by UAL Art Collection. It aimed to produce accessible and more authentic texts for readers. It also aimed to serve as an example of transparency regarding current curatorial practice and to create an open platform for advocating better practices going forward.

Screenshot from a catalogue record for an artwork showing a description of artworks which quotes from the artist statement. It reads, — Figure 2: Example of updated UAL Art Collection online catalogue record for Dear Philadelphia by Renee Maria Osubu.

The project worked with a set of sample records. On completion, I am now applying the methodology to all UAL Art Collection object records (Figure 2).

This will take some time but it’s so rewarding to see the instant improvements the methodology provides.

Questions?

If you would like to find out more about the UAL Art Collection or my project, or have any comments, please email me at ualcollection@arts.ac.uk.