The Artist and The Librarian: Jessica Speer
Performance piece with turntable and sampler. Jessica Speer with her friends, Death and The Archivist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULtWJybQhcQ
Jessica Speer, Research Specialist at an Academic Research Center.
I do audio art mostly, but here's a link to one of my performances along with my husband. The Speers perform at Anne Elizabeth Moore's reading at Quimby's Books in Chicago: https://soundcloud.com/peter_speer/the-speers-at-quimbys-mp3
The Artist: I used to say that instead of going to art school, I went to library school and that I should have gotten a degree in Library Art rather than Library Science (probably it's appropriate that I went to the Pratt Institute for Design for my MLS). I am a sound artist, and I work primarily with my home library of spoken word and field recording records (as well as field recordings of my own), creating collages and other soundscapes, often in collaboration with my husband, Peter Speer. My librarianship most obviously influences my work in terms of how I collect, research, and organize my materials (the records and digital recordings), but of course I also think often of Suzanne Briet's documentalism when I am making field recordings or working with records-as-documents.
The Librarian: I'd say that the line between art & library work is pretty blurred for me, especially since I don't work in a library proper. Because I need to express my librarianship somehow, I've volunteered at the Read/Write Library Chicago as the Programming Coordinator, which I considered to be librarianship and an art practice. While I was there, I wrote and performed a puppet show about the role that Death plays in archival practices and impulses, and compiled an annual report zine that was mostly collages. And in general, I have a lot more fun with my work projects than I think I would if I didn't have an art practice, especially when it comes to developing programs and events. For instance, I'm working on a guided meditation session for researchers (which obviously includes a relaxing soundscape).
Interested in hearing more by The Speers with your morning coffee? Check out: https://soundcloud.com/the-speers
