Since pursuing her MLIS degree, New York-based artist Julia Weist’s artistic practice has centered around archives, collections, and information resources. She uses them to explore the relationship between media production and cultural context, and to understand how the accessibility of information impacts its significance.  Her work has recently been exhibited at the Queens Museum (New York City), the Hong-Gah Museum (Taipei), Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art (Rotterdam), the Shed (New York City) and the Gwangju Biennale (Gwangju, South Korea) among other venues. 

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

Julia Weist was in residence with the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) as part of Public Artists in Residence (PAIR), a municipal residency program that embeds artists in New York City government. The fundamental belief behind artist placement in City agencies, as articulated by the Department of Cultural Affairs, is that artists are creative problem-solvers who approach issues and processes differently than other groups and communities. This tenet inspired much of Weist’s PAIR work at DORIS.

PUBLIC RECORD

During her residency period at DORIS, Julia Weist researched the municipal government’s relationship to art and artists as documented in the City’s Archives, looking particularly at records featuring criteria for evaluating art, surveillance of individual artists, and notes on artists’ role in civic life. Weist used these findings as the foundation for a series of eleven photographic prints that comprise Public Record, and then leveraged the City’s records retention procedures by transferring artwork created onsite to Pauline Toole, Commissioner of DORIS. As a result, the artwork became subject to the NYC Agency Head General Subject Files Retention and Disposition Series which required they be kept, processed, and made public according to regulations. The public may view the physical prints by waiting for them to have passed through the City’s archiving process, into the publicly-accessible collection of the Municipal Archives. This process may take a few years, so alternatively digital versions of the works are available to view though NYC's Open Records Portal, which publishes government records requested through the Freedom of Information Law.

HOW TO VIEW THE PROJECT

In Spring 2020 members of the public submitted Freedom of Information Law requests to view individual artworks in Julia Weist’s Public Record series. The Department of Records and Information Services reviewed and fulfilled the requests, thereby making the artworks public for the first time. To see the works, search for "Julia Weist” on New York City’s Open Records portal or click on the links below:

"Intro" (FOIL-2020-860-00119)

"Definitions" (FOIL-2020-860-00045)

"Role" (FOIL-2020-860-00120)

"Should(n't)" (FOIL-2020-860-00046)

"Critique" (FOIL-2020-860-00118)

"Rubrics" (FOIL- 2020-860-00107)

"International" (FOIL-2020-860-00121)

"Giuliani" (FOIL-2020-860-00044)

"Limits" (FOIL-2020-860-00112)

"Demonstration" (FOIL-2020-860-00106)

"From the Future" (FOIL-2020-860-00174)