Gustavo Grandal Montero

Bio: Gustavo Grandal Montero is an academic researcher from Chelsea College. The author has contributed to research in topics: Documentation & Special collections. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 6 publications receiving 17 citations.

Biennalization? What biennalization?: the documentation of biennials and other recurrent exhibitions

Abstract: Biennials have been central to the development of contemporary art for decades, but there is a paucity of published material specifically related to this subject. Documentation for these important exhibitions is not always made available and it is often difficult to acquire, posing an obstacle to current and future research across a number of areas within contemporary art, curating and art history. This article offers an overview of major current biennials and of the different sources of information they produce (catalogues, other printed material, online resources, archives), and surveys the secondary literature of the phenomenon. It also discusses specific collection development issues in libraries, from a research perspective, proposing a set of recommendations for best practice.

Artists’ books in HE teaching and learning

Abstract: Learning resource, teaching collection, study collection, research collection or special collection: a historical collection of artists’ books like that at Chelsea College of Art & Design Library can (and probably, has) been used and referred to in all these different ways, at different times, responding to changes in education, audiences, users, etc. The focus on research within universities has led, over time, to a narrow view of such collections and their use primarily as research material, often to the detriment of their use in teaching and learning. With the rebalancing in recent years of the importance of these activities, seen again as central to the mission of Higher Education (HE), a re-evaluation of the use of special collections, and specifically artists’ books collections, to enhance and improve the quality of learning and teaching activities, is required.

'Reading Collections': the African-Caribbean, Asian and African Art in Britain Archive reading group

Abstract: This case study discusses the innovative ‘Reading Collections’ reading group, which uses primary source materials (ephemera) from the African-Caribbean, Asian and African Art in Britain Archive, housed at Chelsea College of Arts Library, UAL. In addition to supporting discussion around the significance of primary documentation in the research process and the curation of collections and archives in relation to the representation of potentially marginalised groups, historical narratives and decolonisation, the group was designed to be non-hierarchical and interdisciplinary, encouraging the participation of people from a wide range of backgrounds including students from all levels as well as teaching and other staff.

Art documentation: exhibition catalogues and beyond

Abstract: This chapter explores the present and potential future of the art catalogue and related formats, their role in the documentation of art, and their management and use in art and design libraries. Exhibition catalogues, alongside special formats like recurrent exhibition documentation (biennials, triennials, etc.), auction and sales catalogues, and scholarly collection catalogues and catalogues raisonnes, present a number of common characteristics and their management in library collections often requires specialist knowledge, as they can be challenging to acquire, demand expert cataloguing, etc. Art ephemera (invitations, posters, lists of works, press releases, etc.) are another important if underrated resource collected by libraries as a complementary source of information on exhibitions and artworks. The Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship integrates theory and practice to offer guidelines for information professionals working in art and design environments who need to support and anticipate the information needs of artists, designers, architects and the historians who study those disciplines. Since the first edition of this title, the world of art and design libraries has been transformed by rapid advances in technology, an explosion in social media and the release of new standards and guidelines. This new edition, offering mostly entirely new chapters, provides an accessible, fully updated, guide to the world of academic art and design libraries from a range of international experts who reflect current practice at a global level.

Inspirational encounters: the management and use of archives and special collections in the art and design library

Abstract: Archives and special collections are an essential element in the documentation of the history and practice of art and design. They play a major role in the collections of academic libraries, supporting teaching, learning and research. These collections have never been in more demand—in an age of superabundant information we are experiencing ‘a material turn,’ a return to the physical and the idea of the authentic and unique. Institutions value and promote them as strategic assets, and their academic use is both increasingly popular and wide-ranging. This chapter presents a general overview of current best practices in the development and management of archives and special collections within the specific context of art and design academic institutions, primarily in the UK and USA. There is a general consensus in the professional literature about the definition of archives: ‘documents in any medium that have been created by an individual, family, business or organisation during its existence and have been chosen to be kept permanently because they are considered to be of continuing value. These documents are unique and irreplaceable’ (National Archives). Definitions for special collection(s) are more varied. An elastic term, it often comprises rare books and manuscripts and also a range of other formats (ephemera, rare periodicals, artists’ publications, zines, etc.). The Association of College and Research Libraries uses the following definition: ‘The entire range of textual, graphic and artefact primary source materials in analog and digital formats, including printed books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, artworks, audio-visual materials and realia’(ACRL Code of Ethics for Special Collections Librarians, 2003). About the Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship: The Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship integrates theory and practice to offer guidelines for information professionals working in art and design environments who need to support and anticipate the information needs of artists, designers, architects and the historians who study those disciplines. Since the first edition of this title, the world of art and design libraries has been transformed by rapid advances in technology, an explosion in social media and the release of new standards and guidelines. This new edition, offering mostly entirely new chapters, provides an accessible, fully updated, guide to the world of academic art and design libraries from a range of international experts who reflect current practice at a global level. Coverage includes: case studies and library profiles, providing benchmarks for developing facilities teaching and learning, including the ACRL Framework, teaching with special collections, meta-literacies, instructional design and cultural differences developments in institutional repositories, digital humanities and makerspaces contemporary library design, spaces for collaboration and sustainability.

Measurement and interpretation of ‘global cultural cities’ in a world of cities

Abstract: The intuitive connections between global cities of finance and global cities of art have been repeatedly asserted. However, systematic analyses of how both geographies conjoin in major cities remain thin on the ground. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the geographical intersections between renderings of global cities as key sites for the coordination and accumulation of global capital and visions of these cities as international art hubs. To this end, we develop a ‘global arts centre’ (GAC) index in which cities are assessed in terms of their centrality in ‘field-configuring events’, such as festivals, biennials and fairs. This GAC ranking and a number of art sector-specific disaggregations are then compared with the ‘global financial centre’ (GFC) index established by Z/Yen Group by means of correlation analysis. Cities featuring in both rankings are labelled ‘global cultural cities’ (GCCs). We find that the parallels between both indices within the top-tier rank positions are considerable. The rank correlation between the art and finance indices suggests a clear positive association between both. Most GCCs are located in Europe, Pacific Asia and Northern America. The most notable geographical pattern is the prominent presence of GCCs in Pacific Asia, suggesting the rapidly changing economic environment in this region has complemented interest and investments in high-end art. We conclude the paper by singling out some key research agendas that may further inform the empirical analysis presented in this paper.

Creative Approaches to Information Literacy for Creative Arts Students

Abstract: This paper discusses the information literacy requirements of art and design students, and how traditional approaches to information literacy education are not always appropriate for these particular students. The paper argues that different, creative, and innovative approaches to information literacy training need to be developed with the specific learning styles of this group of students in mind and that using a radical information literacy approach, incorporating the specific nature of the art and design information landscape, enables this. Using the University of the Arts London (UAL) as a specific art and design higher education institution, the paper shares three separate case studies which demonstrate such approaches including the incorporation of drawing, object-based learning, and enquiry-based learning into information literacy.

Symbolic Production in the Art Biennial: Making Worlds:

Abstract: Biennials – periodic, independent and international exhibitions surveying trends in visual art – have with startling speed become key nodes in linking production, distribution and consumption of contemporary art. Cultural production and consumption have been typically separated in research, neglecting phenomena, like biennials, sitting in between. Biennials have become, however, key sites of both the production of art’s discourse and where that discourse translates into practices of display and contexts of appreciation. They are, this article argues, key sites of art’s symbolic production. Symbolic production is what makes a work, an artist, or even a genre visible and relevant, providing its sense in a system of classifications and, in an exhibition like a biennial, literally giving it a place in the scene. This article proposes a cultural analysis of biennials, focusing on the Venice Biennale, founded in 1895 and the first of the genre, through which we can trace biennials’ rise and transformations.

Diversity and (In)equality in the Global Art World: Global Development and Structure of Field-Configuring Events

Abstract: There is a boom of art historical studies on the globalisation of the arts or global art world. Sociological accounts are, despite the rise of cultural and art sociology in recent years, almost complete absent from this discussion. This paper makes a contribution to the globalisation of the arts, but from a sociological and quantitative perspective. The focus of this paper is on particular type of global institution – biennials and other types of art festivals or large-scale exhibitions. These institutions are seen being major places of exchange and formulation of norms and standards. They define what is hip and new. However, theories of globalisation, in combination with accounts from professionals of the field, claim that these institutions propagate only Western values or have a homogenising quality, because they only show caste works from artists of the Western hemisphere or that they repeat the same works and artists across the globe. However, based on a large-scale quantitative survey, this paper will demonstrate that picture is more complex and that we find tendencies to homogenisation and heterogenisation existing at the same time or that the locality of these events acts as a source of uniqueness and innovativeness. The paper proposes a new theoretical framework that interprets these findings as based on Niklas Luhmann’s idea of second-order observation and Bruno Latour’s and Harrison C. White’s conception of the network.