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This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Johns, Sophie Title: Collector- Object-Researcher An Historiographical Study of the Performativity of Archival Research General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. COLLECTOR- OBJECT-RESEARCHER: AN HISTORIOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF THE PERFORMATIVITY OF ARCHIVAL RESEARCH SOPHIE JOHNS A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with requirements for award of the degree of MPhil in the Faculty of Arts, December 2018. Word Count: 72,488 Abstract Within the realm of archival historiography, this thesis considers the performative reciprocity in the relationship between the archive collector, their collected materials and the researcher who studies them. By looking at the narrative subjectivity with which archive collections are artistically created, how the collected materials communicate personal and cultural contexts and how researchers receive this information within their own circumstantial frameworks of perception an indication of the complex palimpsest of performativity that exists within archival research becomes apparent. A practical methodology is employed to investigate: the moments of encounter, material linguistics and autobiographical subjectivity involved in archival research, across the analytical triumvirate of collector – object – researcher. This process leads to a distinctive historiography that considers phenomenologies of perception, haptic engagement with material and the cultural meaning-making that can subsequently be read from these interactions. This outcome suggests new and different ways of thinking curatorially with display, exhibition and museology as the theatre for performative historical re-enactment with objects. By investigating five collections with differing collecting approaches, styles and drives from the University of Bristol Theatre Collection, this study closely considers what performance studies can do for paper-based and three-dimensional archival historiography in terms of using potential tools and media and continuing to challenge the disciplinary exclusivities of the University, Theatre and Museum. 2 Acknowledgements I would like to express my special appreciation and thanks to my supervisor Dr Catherine Hindson, you have been a tremendous mentor and inspiration to me. I would like to thank you for nurturing my concepts and ideas from the outset and for allowing me to find my voice and grow as a researcher. Your advice, patience and guidance throughout this project have been invaluable. I would also like to thank my second supervisor Dr Katja Krebs for general support and suggestions and Professor Simon Jones for encouraging me to apply for the Phd program and helping me secure the essential AHRC funding that allowed me to continue my research. I would especially like to thank the staff at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection: Jo Elsworth, Bex Carrington, Heather Romaine and Jill Sullivan in aiding my collation of data and allowing me free rein amongst collections in my first year of research. Your astonishing knowledge of the resources and direction around them have made this thesis possible. A special thanks to my father Robert Johns, I would like to express my gratitude for your endless backing and assistance throughout my academic career to date and to the rest of the Johnses who have sustained me in my writing and incented me to continue to strive towards my goal. It is my pleasure to thank Cyrous Keyani without your consistent confidence and counselling this thesis would not have come to fruition. Finally, I am indebted to Matthew Guppy and Alice Carpenter who have continued to offer unfaltering affirmation of my ability to get this finished when I had lost all faith. 3 Author’s Declaration I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the University’s Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. Except where indicated by specific reference in the text, the work is the candidate’s own work. Work done in collaboration with, or with the assistance of others is indicated as such. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author. 4 Table of Contents List of 8 Illustrations Preface 10 Chapter One: 17 - 52 Introduction to Collector - Object – Researcher i Styles, Acts and Aesthetics of Collecting 19 ii The Collector – Object – Researcher Triangulation 21 iii A Performative Historiography for Theatre and Performance 25 Studies iv Encounter and Beholding Material 26 v Approach to Archival Material and Beyond 30 vi Critical and Theoretical Approaches 31 vii The Chapters 45 viii A First Conclusion and Moving Forward 47 ix The University of Bristol Theatre Collection 48 Chapter 53 - 103 Two: Section One: “Haptic Historiography”: Engaging Materially with the Archive i Autobiography and Self 60 ii Leisure, Play and Consumption 69 iii Life-Cycle of Objects 77 Section Two: Performativity of Archival Research 86 i Evidence and Anecdote 90 ii The Body in Engagement with Materials 97 iii Conclusion Chapter 104 -179 Three: Curatorial Thinking with University of Bristol Theatre Collection i Introduction 104 5 One: Business Collection – Desperate Men Collection i Who, Where, What, When, How? 108 ii “Things That Talk” 109 iii Conclusion: Uniqueness of Style and Motive – Impact on 121 Relationship Between Collector-Object-Researcher Two: Personal Collection – Eric Jones Evans Collection i Who, Where, What, When, How? 124 ii “Things That Talk” 125 iii Conclusion: Uniqueness of Style and Motive – Impact on 134 Relationship Between Collector-Object-Researcher Three: Academic Collection – Arnold Ridley Collection i Who, Where, What, When, How? 137 ii “Things That Talk” 138 iii Conclusion: Uniqueness of Style and Motive – Impact on 145 Relationship Between Collector-Object-Researcher Four: Artificial Collection – Women’s Theatre Collection i Who, Where, What, When, How? 149 ii “Things That Talk” 152 iii Conclusion: Uniqueness of Style and Motive – Impact on 162 Relationship Between Collector-Object-Researcher Five: Family Collection – Tree Family Archive i Who, Where, What, When, How? 164 ii “Things That Talk” 165 iii Conclusion: Uniqueness of Style and Motive – Impact on 177 Relationship Between Collector-Object-Researcher Chapter 180 - 214 Four: Section One: Performativity and Creative Dissemination of Ideas i Archival Dynamism 180 ii Bodies Matter 189 iii Archival Drive 191 iv Theatre and Performance Exhibition 194 6 Section Two: Re-orientating Trajectories, Encouraging New Thinking with Collections i Performative Museology 199 ii Affects on Archival Ontology 203 iii Conclusion 206 Bibliography: Primary and 215 -224 Secondary Sources 7 List of Illustrations Fig1. Festival of Desperation Exhibition, 2010. Richie Smith as a 'Pipe Person' in original 1990s costume. Fig 2. The Theatre Collection's Facebook page for the Berta Freistadt exhibition, 2010. Fig 3. Berta Freistadt Exhibition Opening at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection, 2010. Friends of Berta, Friends of the, staff, students and outside visitors within the main exhibitions. Fig 4. The Collector – Object – Researcher Visual Triangulation Model. Fig 5. The Red Lodge, 2011 performance of ‘Unfurl’ by Clare Thornton. Picture by (c) Clare Thornton & Zoe Childerley. The performer is Rogelio Vallejo. Fig 6. An advertisement from the Desperate Men for an entire set structure that was used for touring outdoor performance, 'The Lighthouse'. The company used recycled and scrap materials to build this collapsible set which they drove around the country in a van, 1996-7. Fig 7. Photograph of the procession being led through Amersfoot for the performance of 'The Pilgrimage', a seven-day procession performance for the Amersfoot Street Theatre Festival, 1994. The company enlisted 20 volunteers for this performance. Fig 8. Production photograph of Jon and Richie in 'Book of Jobs' at a social club, 1983. Fig 9. One of the company's collection of 'Festival of Fool's programmes, Amsterdam, where Jon and Richie say that they got their connections and inspiration from. The third week program, featuring Cunning Stunts, June 14th-19th, 1978. Fig 10. Letter of rejection from South West Arts for funding grant