From archiving ice to an artist’s dated computer work, the materiality of capturing the ephemeral materiality is a huge part of the archive. Figuring out, in a rapidly changing climate, how to archive and subsequently learn about our own earthly environment is important to our very existence.
The ice archive fascinated me and that’s what I chose to focus on for my presentation. A few things that stood out to me here are:
- Scientist plays the role of the archivist. When archiving nature, we have a group of professionals that are not experts in saving, but in studying/experimenting. What does that mean for how the archive is organized? Are all these scientist/archivists talking around the world? Are they working together to determine what to archive most efficiently?
- I have seen the natural world displayed in museums and various exhibits, but I haven’t thought of it in a living and breathing archive. This is an archive that takes an immense amount of energy to upkeep…and there is a deep irony of using the earth’s resources to save the earth’s creations.
- If we lose some species of insects or plants in our future, will the archive play a role in saving our existence? Should we be looking at our “nature” archives in this way?
Excellent, Kristin! I’m really looking forward to your presentation! Coincidentally, I think some of the questions you ask about geo-archival practice — about scientists’ archival sensibilities, about global standards, etc. — are addressed in a piece I published about a week ago 🙂 https://placesjournal.org/article/the-big-data-of-ice-rocks-soils-and-sediments/
And yes, you’re right to point out the immense amount of energy — both human / intellectual energy *and* electricity (for climate control purposes) — required to maintain these collections.
Thanks!