JUNE 2020

“Excavating the Photo-Archive: Exploring Memory and Healing through the Creation of Radical Archives”

CLANCEY CORNELL

ARTICLES

Published June 2020

ABSTRACT

This project considers the use of photographic archives in works of two 
contemporary artists, Diego Cirulli and Ayana V. Jackson, because their work 
results in the production of radical archives. Radical archives depart from 
traditional archives in curatorial intention, form, and function to reveal narratives 
previously unexplored. Through the analysis of the archival artwork of an 
Argentine artist and a North American artist, this project explores the radical 
archive as a mechanism of repurposing knowledge and memory transmission in 
two specific regions that bear unique histories of oppression. These artists 
provide alternative methods of knowledge production to traditional archives. 
Archival art is best understood by analyzing its construction, performative aspects, 
and engagement with public feelings. The production of radical archives through 
archival art has therapeutic effects that enable healing processes in response to 
histories of trauma and misrepresentation not only for the individual artist but for the 
community. This work is a contribution to the developing study of radical archives in 
terms of memory and historical representation. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33682/grb4-rrmj
PDF

HOW TO CITE (CHICAGO):
Cornell,Clancey. "Excavating the Photo-Archive: Exploring Memory and Healing through the Creation of Radical Archives." The Interdependent 1 (2020): 52-77. https://doi.org/10.33682/grb4-rrmj