In this episode (the final of season 1!) we explore what we collect, why we collect- and cover the weird, wonderful and also some of the darker implications of collecting as we chat with Alice Procter about her Uncomfortable Art Tours, and her recent book The Whole Picture, subtitled ‘The colonial story of art in our museums and why we need to talk about it.’
Our guest artist for Things Found in Books is audio maker and broadcaster Jess Fairfax and we venture over to California for our indie book feature with Natalie Jones and her bookshop The Modern First to chat about her life in rare bookselling and book collecting.
We have check ins with the Gather team and our collecting practices! Dav Byrne, audio extraordinaire tells us about his predilection for mystery books- not like Agatha Christie but you know those Mysteries of the World uncovered! And we travel to designer Tiffany Titshall’s property in Majorca, where she lives in an old schoolhouse and has recently created her own library in one of the old rooms, and I tell you a bit about my collection of 20th century women’s poetry published by small presses in Melbourne and read some poems.
Book seeds:
The Whole Picture: The Colonial Story of the Art in our Museums and Why we Need to Talk About It by Alice Procter, published 2020 by Hachette.
Amy’s collection of 20th century Australian women’s poetry, including Tilly Aston’s The Inner Garden published in 1940 by The Hawthorn Press, Ruby Sykes Lyon’s Stray Sunbeams published 1926 by W.A. Hamer at 21 Jones Lane, off Lonsdale St, A Housewife’s Poems by Ellie Pearson published by S. John Bacon at 317 Collins St, and Linda Brumby’s Interlude printed at Morning Star Press, no date.
Guests Featured:
Alice Procter, art historian, writer, tour guide/founder of Uncomfortable Art Tours
https://www.theexhibitionist.org/ and see her ‘uncomfortable library’ here for more resources
Jess Fairfax, Guest artist for Things Found in Books with her soundscape Marginalia
Tiffany Titshall, Gather designer and artist
https://www.tiffanytitshall.com/
Dav Byrne, Gather audio engineer and all round audio legend
Indie Book Feature: Bookseller and collector Natalie Jones at The Modern First
https://www.themodernfirst.com/
Music Featured:
Minerva’s Idea by Ellen Sorensen/ Shadow Feet
Untitled by Floc
Home from Afar by Belle Chen
The Passengers Asleep by Button Jar Canyon
Sound engineering: Dave Byrne, Iridium Audio https://www.facebook.com/iridiumaudio
Podcast logo and episode design: Tiffany Titshall
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