Life @ Otis : Faculty Life : Faculty Development

Highlighting the Library's Art and Audio Collection

2005-2008 Faculty Technology Grant

Richard M.Shelton

For the past 34 years, I have been an avid record collector of all genres. In addition, to building my personal collection, I have studied and taught Music History. When I arrived at Otis, I was amazed to find an insane collection of art records. With some inquiry, I was informed that the library had amassed a record collection with the likes of Henry Moore, John Giorno, Joseph Beuys, Laurie Anderson, John Cage, and Otis's faculty members Carol Caroompas and Joyce Lightbody. Such recordings illustrate conceptual ideas; are forms of self-expression or self-reflection; document ideas; or evidence performance. These sound bearing pieces of plastic have honestly and directly chronicled the history of art through freedom of authorship. It has been a privilege to select and digitize some of these significant and obscure recordings onto cd for your listening pleasure. Check any one of them out from the library for an in-depth experience. They could compliment your practice as an artist or act as a resource on any number of projects in various media. I trust that you will enjoy listening to these recordings. At times I may question my life-long commitment to record collecting but when cataloguing Otis's record library, I was reminded that music, music history, poetry, and performance art have had a significant and powerful influence throughout my personal and professional life. -Richard M. Shelton

Audio podcast about the collection with excerpts from several records in the Otis collection is available through Otis on iTunesU.		A Conversation with Carole Caroompas at Otis College Video created of Rich Shelton's interview with artist and Otis faculty, Carole Caroompas about her records from the 1970s
		A Conversation with Joyce Lightbody Video interview by Rich Shelton with Joyce Lightbody about her her own album "Bear Ears and Other Songs" and the use of Shape Note music.