Organization Spotlight --
Salt Lake City
Center for Documentary Arts
by Jan Hopkins
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As the Salt Lake City's Main Library moves to its new building this
weekend, it makes way for a number of new tenants, including the Center
For Documentary Arts. The Center began 20 years ago as the Oral History
Institute -- an effort to document the many ethnic and cultural communities
of Utah. Before organizers had emersed themselves very far into the
project, they realized that mere sound recordings were missing a big
part of the cultural picture -- the visual richness that identifies each
culture and weaves itself around all of us. The project clearly needed
expansion. The evolution of that original organization produced the Center
For Documentary Arts (CDA), Salt Lake City.
"Art attempts to make visible the invisible, so people can
see, feel, understand it," says Kent Miles, cofounder of the original
institute .
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The images included with this article come from the exhibit "After
September 11th: Images of Ground Zero" running currently on the first
floor of the City and County Building. Sponsored by the Center
for Documentary Arts, Mayor Rocky Anderson and the Salt Lake City Council,
the exhibit features 24 color images of "Ground
Zero" taken by internationally celebrated photographer Joel Meyerowitz
and a 16 minute video featuring an exclusive "Nightline"
inteview with the artist. The exhibit runs through March 15. To view a Press release in Adobe Reader click here.
After the
tragedy of September 11, Meyerowitz became the only photographer allowed
full access to the "Ground Zero" site in order to document the clean
up. His dramatic photographs (covering the full extent of the nine month
effort) coupled with text and } the short video highlight Meyerowitz's
multi-faceted response to the site and to the people involved in the
cleanup.
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"Documentary
art is absolutely classed as fine art," says Miles.
"It is a revelation of spiritual/social realities; of making those
visible. It performs a personal aesthetic function. Art in society
is a social function. The act of documenting a society is so intimate
it doesn't always connect to the wider audience."
Miles says it is also the most approachable of art forms.
There is nothing to interpret, nothing hidden. What you see is all
there is -- simple, unmasked living; taking what is previously unknown
to people and giving them permission to explore it.
"It gives significance and meaning to the world as people
'pass' through it," he says. "It deals with a subject that is less
'high falutin' and relates to its audience as 'art' that is part of
life."
Documentary art is defined as auditory or visual capturings
of unscripted life. It is achieved through audio tape recordings,
film/video, photography and writing in a journal form. It is one of
the most intimate art forms to produce and quite often feels a little
like trespassing to both the producer and the viewer. The art can cover
topics from domestic violence or homelessness to tracking the development
of a fetus. It can be captured in a third-world country or in our own
back yard and may take from a few days to several years to record and edit
a single project.
"Where fiction explores reality," says Miles, "documentary
art takes real events, like the holocaust, and follows those to interpret
life."
The detailed recordings of photo/film documentarians and
of writer/editors become the coupling of the "outer reality" captured
by the camera, and the "inner reality" exposed by words/edits, a marriage
of two very social activities. The audience viewing the project brings their own interpretation
of what they are viewing, further socializing the experience.
While documentary art is not traditionally shown in commercial theaters
and galleries, it is a regarded as a nouveau art form that is catching
on like wildfire. Hotels, government buildings and universities are
scrambling to host traveling exhibitions. Film festivals around the world
are dedicating more space to screenings and panel discussions on the
art. Corporations are recognizing it as a valuable economic tool and
are funding permanent spaces to house and showcase these works.
And Salt Lake's CDA is at the forefront of the local
scene.
CDA is a nonprofit organization
acting as a resource for both artists and exhibitors. It is comprised
of a handful of full and part-time staffers as well as docents and
volunteers.
The center has produced numerous books including, "The
Other Utahns," featuring the Jewish, Latino, Ute, Italian, Greek,
Chinese and African American communities throughout the state. "Sacred
Images" took a closer look at Native Americans and the traditions that
form the beauty of their culture. And "One Hundred Fifty Years of Diversity,"
was a sesquicentennial look at the evolution of Utah's cultural fabric.
In addition to books, CDA has also hosted world-class physical
exhibitions at the University of Utah, the City and County Building
and even the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
They will "take on space" at the old Main Library in downtown
Salt Lake, becoming part of the core of the Community and Culture Center
of the valley. Ten thousand square feet, two galleries and a black
box theater will showcase the best documentary work of local and international
artists -- physical exhibitions and film screenings of myriad cultures
and topics. The space will also offer resources for documentary artists,
such as obtaining grants and financing for projects, mentoring sessions
and casual monthly gatherings where artists can discuss their work and
get feedback on projects.
"It's just a matter of patience," Miles says. "We have
to wait for the library to move into its new quarters before we can
take up our new residence." Until then, it's business as usual, in
their current facility at 353 East 400 South in SLC
The oral histories that were the springboard for CDA two
decades ago are still a huge part of the work they craft. The format
has just expanded as well as the interest in this fascinating new
art.
Jan Hopkins: With a family, a full-time journalism career
and an inclination to volunteer, Jan Hopkins stays plenty busy. She writes
for the Davis County Clipper and the Utah Spirit Magazine, as well as doing
other freelance projects.
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