Teaching Archives – Communicationsphere & Aldo Tambellini

From 1976 to 1984, Aldo Tambellini served as a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). During this period, he taught courses, led workshops, and took part in media and communication events around the world. In 1980, he founded Communicationsphere together with Sarah Dickenson, a network designed to connect artists, engineers, technicians, performers, and others interested in the social impact of telecommunications.

“Technology and culture are interrelated from an industrial-electronic society we are moving to a communications-information society – telecommunications brings the world screen to screen and we become one with the new perception of the world –the electromagnetic spectrum is to be considered a natural resource for creative activity. Transmitted information is a new form of art – this is the age of mass media & technology – this is the age of satellite and instant global communications this is the age of networks – the age of interactive media. The human system is in the process of globalizing itself. We live in a reality defined by the structural invention of the mass media-printed & electronic images are the building blocks of our cultural evolution. New imaging systems are being invented – new storage capabilities are being invented – reality is being constantly reinvented.” (Aldo Tambellini, statement (partial), 1980 CAVS, MIT published in Centervideo, CAVS, M.I.T. Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 1981)

Through the extensive archive of Aldo Tambellini at ZKM with more than 500 video tapes and hundreds of documents like correspondence, notes, concept papers, photos and slides, publications and posters, students of KIT and University Leiden will unfold this import period in Aldo Tambellini’s work and life. During the seminars the students will learn how to index and describe archival holdings, the functionality and usability of archival databases and how to make these art historic resource available and findable for other researches.

Following past cooperation between KIT | Institute for Art and Architectural History and the ZKM archive the seminars combine art historic research on primary source with archival practice.