It is already February, so a quick update...we will be having a meeting next month as always at ICP, and also a panel in April. More information on both to come shortly. I got an interesting phone call today from Flo Fox who had a great show called Fotoflo that was on TV in the late 70's/early 80's that showcased my mother, Ruth Orkin, Ralph Gibson, Peter B. Kaplan and many other photographers. Some of these now historic shows are available on You Tube. However, she also told me about a situation that happened sometime ago, when she literally saved a photographer's archive, by pulling it on a pulley strung from her motorized wheelchair from the studio to a storage space, where it still sits today. What a heroic act! I mention this because I have received several calls and emails recently from photographers trying to figure out what to do with their archives, when they are no longer here. This is a monumental problem, because there is a tremendous amount of history and incredible work that should be seen and preserved. The recent purchase of the Magnum Archive and the transfer to the Harry Ransom Center solved their problem for the time being, but what to do with all these other archives? The Film Foundation that Martin Scorsese chairs preserves films, and we must find a way to preserve photography as well. A continuing topic APAG is going to try to address. We continue to strive to help archives and photographers with the multitude of issues that we all must deal with in this everchanging digital world.
Mary Engel
President of APAG
Director Orkin/Engel Film and Photo Archive