The Archive Performs: Angela Davis and the Politics of Representation

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This project will demonstrate how archives are not simply neutral records of events, but rather serve as locations of power through which public perceptions are created. In my analysis of Angela Davis's case, I examined FBI documents (files), news articles covering her, and institutional documents to show how the State developed an image that portrayed her as "dangerous" instead of "intellectual." The use of the term "performance" when discussing the archive suggests that the archive functions as a performance, creating fear, authority, and control over its subjects' lives rather than providing objective truth.

The process of both creatively producing and analytically developing the content for this project was influenced by my engagement with artists and theorists such as Coco Fusco, Adrian Piper, and Fred Moten, who collectively helped me understand documentation as a form of scripting. The way I approached this project involved critical readings of archival sources, examining who is represented, who speaks, and what is left out.

In addition to viewing the archive as a source of information, I also viewed it as a dynamic entity subject to instability and contestation. Ultimately, this project demonstrates that artists have a significant role in challenging the dominant narratives of institutions; in exposing the difference between lived experience and documented history; and in making room for additional perspectives on past experiences.