Once Anna had dispensed with her hat and bag she began to look at our journals and trade catalogues. Revealing titles included 'The Artist', 'Cabinet Maker & Art Furniture', 'The House', 'Art Record' and 'The Upholsterer'. I think these titles sound impressively all-encompassing; they confidently declare without a hint of ambiguity that they are all you need with respect to the subject area. The fact that many of the journals are leather-bound only adds to this aura of authority.
Anna has been undertaking research in order to gather background information towards her long term goal of recreating a living/workspace for an artist as it would have been in Britain in 1904. In the meantime Anna is focussed on using her research findings to build support for her project from within the heritage sector. It sounds like an amazing project and for more details go to Anna's website.
I can very much relate to Anna Sullivan's material approach to study, and the way that she has related her clothes to her research. What an amazing idea to create a period-specific studio! Using all the old materials, surfaces and objects to create her live-in studio space will additionally mean that she will be able to reproduce the sonic qualities of everyday domestic life in the past. I love the phrase "making the past legible while also serving as a laboratory to further historical understanding of ordinary life in the period" from her website, and I look forward to hearing/seeing how the project develops.
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