Property of the New York Public Library Picture Collection
by Dana Stirling
The New York Public Library Picture Collection caches over one million original prints, photos, posters, graphics, magazines, illustrations and texts sorted into thousands of binders, each with a specific category and subject. One binder, “UFOs”, claims to hold and archive our cultural interest in the existence of extraterrestrial life. A binder that was composed into this book.
Before Google, the Internet and the ‘age of data’ someone at library attempted to collect and archive the entire volume of visual references published in magazines and newspapers that include pictures and drawings depicting aliens and UFOs. It is needless to say that the alleged attempt failed with a finite number of items in the binder scratching 300 pieces.
The idea of trying to collect our entire visual history fascinated me. How each binder specifically focuses on a small fragment of our culture, yet all together they attempt to represent the entirety of our cultural footprint. But the UFOs binder seems diminutive and unimpressive. Growing-up hearing stories about UFOs, watching Sci-Fi movies, Documentaries, TV shows, reading books and comics, I expected the binder to contain a much greater volume.
Although an archive, the Picture collection allowed me, like any other library member cardholder, to check out the original items, which I scanned as part of the book making process. In total I checked out 121 items. 121 visual references that represent, according to the binder, our collective memory of UFOs, all of which are directly stamped “PROPERTY OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY PICTURE COLLECTION”. It became clear to me that this stamp was more than just an odd archivist’s decision, and now an integral part of the image and its composition. Even more bizarre is the strategic decision of the different archivists who over the years stamped the images themselves, literarily. Not on the back side, above or to its margins, but directly on the art-work, image, drawing or anything of visual importance. In the act and process of “archiving” they ultimately imposed an alien element—altering the context of these cultural gems.
The discovery of the binder and the disappointment of its volume inspired me to resurrect a cultural phenomenon that faded away as photography turned digital. I wanted to give UFOs a second chance, to say—we believe—like we believed blurry fruit flies, color effects, grey Hollywood movie sets surplus – aliens, dark spots and flying silver objects. I reanimated and repurposed the little the binder had to offer giving it the appearance of great multitude, importance and cultural volume. Cropping, inverting, retouching out, blowing-up, censor-marking, repositioning and any other form of digital manipulation was put into good use, further damaging the little integrity that this historical documents once had, yet reinstating their magic.
The book does not attempt to make a scientific observation. There was no research done. There has being no attempt in reading the books from which the images were taken, or understand their original and larger framework. The images were used as pictures, and pictures only.
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| from 'Property of the New York Public Library Picture Collection'© Dana Stirling |
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| from 'Property of the New York Public Library Picture Collection'© Dana Stirling |
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| from 'Property of the New York Public Library Picture Collection'© Dana Stirling |
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| from 'Property of the New York Public Library Picture Collection'© Dana Stirling |
![]() |
| from 'Property of the New York Public Library Picture Collection'© Dana Stirling |
![]() |
| from 'Property of the New York Public Library Picture Collection'© Dana Stirling |
![]() |
| from 'Property of the New York Public Library Picture Collection'© Dana Stirling |
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| from 'Property of the New York Public Library Picture Collection'© Dana Stirling |
Dana Stirling is a still life, fine art photographer, and the Editor in Chief of Float Photo Magazine. Born in Jerusalem 1989, Israel, and is currently based in Queens, NY. Graduated 2016 from the Photography, Video and related Media MFA program at the School of Visual Arts in addition to receiving her BA from Hadassah College Jerusalem in Photographic Communications in 2013.
Stirling’s work has been exhibited internationally including UNICEF Next Generation Photo Benefit at Aperture Foundation NY, “A Process - Der Greif” in Neue Galerie, Höhmannhaus Germany, Google photography Prize at Saatchi Gallery London UK, and Tel Hai Museum of Photography Israel.
Some press and publications include, FeatureShoot, Hyperallergic, The Week Photo Blog, Glamour, Its Nice that, Fast Co. Design, Petapixel, thisispaper, Saurian Photography Magazine, and others.
She has been awarded the Google Photography Prize Finalist (2012), Gross Foundation grant for excellency in photography (2013) and the Weizmann institute scholarship for outstanding student achievement (2011).
Stirling’s hand made publication ‘Dear Artists – We Regret to Tell You’ is apart of these collections: Yale University Library, Mass Art College of Art and Design Library, Savannah College of Art and Design Library and the Goldsmith University of London Library.
