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Oral History in the Visual Arts

Oral History in the Visual Arts, co-edited by Partington with Linda Sandino and concluding with a sole-authored essay by Partington, is the first published book specifically concerned with oral history as a research methodology in the visual arts. The volume consists of a collection of wide-ranging case studies from international scholars and practitioners across a variety of fields, including: Anne Ritchie, Archivist at the National Gallery of Art, Washington; Lisa Kirwin, Curator of Manuscripts, Archive of American Art, Smithsonian Institute; Richard Cándida-Smith, Professor of History, University of California. As interviews are becoming an increasingly important research method in art and other craft histories, the collection opens up important new ground by exploring how artists, writers and historians deploy interviews as creative practice, as ‘history’ and as a means to afford insights in the micro-practices of arts production, as well as contributing to debates over ‘voice’, authenticity and authorship. Informed by and developing the seminal work of Alessandro Portelli, the principal thesis is that oral history, like the arts, is a multivalent, diverse, co-constructed practice that challenges conventional autonomous production and identities.

Partington’s essay, ‘Looking at Research Ethics in Visual Arts Education’, is the first article on this topic to be published and engages with and discusses the ethics issues at stake in using oral history as a research method in Higher Education. It defines research, consent, confidentiality and anonymity, security and safety, copyright and data retention, as well as the future challenges posed by digital recording and dissemination.

The majority of the essays were presented at the 2010 Oral History Society Conference at the V & A Museum, London, which was convened by Partington and Sandino in conjunction with the UK Oral History Society.