MEMORABILIA. COLLECTING SOUNDS WITH…
Conversation with Rick Prelinger on his film collection
For the past twenty-five years, the founder of the Prelinger Archives has amassed film material that is generally ignored by traditional archives, resulting in a collection that prioritizes access and reuse as methods of preservation. This conversation with Rick Prelinger contextualises the history of the collection and look at the future of archives and the possible end of archival institutions.
MEMORABILIA. COLLECTING SOUNDS WITH… is a new series that seeks to break through to unearth and reveal private collections of music and sound memorabilia. The documentary series is a historiography of sound collecting that reveals the unseen and passionate work of the amateur collector while reconstructing multiple parallel histories such as the evolution of recording formats, archival issues, the sound collecting market and the evolution of musical styles beyond the marketplace.
Erick Beltrán
Mexican artist Erick Beltrán shares some prominent examples from his personal research into archives and libraries.
Radio
Originally published as a hidden track or 'easter egg', this text was excerpted and adapted by Megan Prelinger from an editorial column titled 'Poles and Zeros' published in 'Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers' in September, 1961. It goes back to the very first instances in which the term 'radio' was used, reconstructing a chronology of how it has been used until it became a shared notion and concept.
Megan Prelinger
Megan Prelinger talks about ephemeral literature, the inner workings of the Prelinger Library and the possibility of looking at the world through the lens of everyday evidence.
Deleted scenes
We dig up some unreleased fragments of the interview with the archivist, writer and filmmaker Rick Prelinger.
Rick Prelinger
Interview with Rick Prelinger about home movies, alternative anthropology, lost landscapes and what he calls “archival anxiety syndrome”.
Rick Prelinger
Interview with Rick Prelinger, an archivist, writer, filmmaker, outsider librarian and founder of the Prelinger Archives.