Scope and arrangement
The Michael Shamberg papers date from 1975 to 2014, and consists of materials from Shamberg's career as a video producer, film director, record label manager, and visual artist. The collection is arranged into nine Series which includes audio and moving image recordings; office files from Shamberg's work at Factory Records and Cascando Studios; production files from music videos, films, television, art installations, and performances; photographs; writings by Shamberg and those with whom he collaborated; Shamberg's datebooks and notebooks; artwork by Shamberg and others; his teaching files; and personal files. Shamberg's papers follow his professional career from his time at the helm of Factory Records in New York City to the formation of his own Cascando Studios production company, and chronicles his creative output beginning with his directorial work for Robert Wilson, Philip Glass, and A Certain Ratio, to his longstanding creative collaboration with New Order, and the eventual release of his own feature film, Souvenir. The collection holds the administrative documentation behind these endeavors, working iterations of his work, and final audio and video releases. Together these materials reveal a comprehensive vision of Shamberg's varied career in the music, film, art, and television industries.
The Michael Shamberg papers are arranged in nine series:
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1964-2012
Series I contains audio recordings, videos, and films from throughout Shamberg's career. The recordings are arranged by project and include materials from Shamberg's tenure at Factory Records, his production work at Cascando Studios, and from his producing and directing contributions of music videos, films, television, art installations, and live performances. There is also a large assortment of showreels from directors with whom Shamberg corresponded, collaborated, or consulted.
Additionally, the Series holds an assortment of work tapes, comprising a group of 4-track and 8-track recordings from various audio recordings of unidentified music projects; an assortment of personal recordings; and recordings from unidentified projects in which the media is unlabeled or ambiguously labeled. The content of these materials will likely be revealed upon digitization.
The Factory Records recordings are arranged alphabetically by artist, band, or project title. This includes audio and video recordings by such Factory artists as A Certain Ratio, Cabaret Voltaire, the Durutti Column, Joy Division, Stanton Miranda, New Order, and Thick Pigeon. The Subseries does not consist solely of Factory artists, and also includes bands and artists Shamberg was connected with during the time he was managing the New York City Factory offices. Of special interest is an assortment of CKM recordings, the short-lived early 1980s New York City band that featured Kim Gordon, Stanton Miranda, and Christine Hahn. There are also a few recordings from Factory records founder, Tony Wilson, that feature his broadcasting work on Granada TV.
The Cascando Studios materials contain audio and video recordings of projects Shamberg took on at his own production company after Factory Records folded in 1992. Items are arranged alphabetically by artist or subject, and contain recordings by such performers as Joy Division, Stanton Miranda, and New Order. There is also a selection of electronic press kits for such artists as Royal Trux, Sparklehorse, and Joy Division.
The Music Videos are arranged alphabetically by artist or band, and features recordings by such bands as the B-52s, Luka Bloom, Kristin Hersh, Indigo Girls, Grace Jones, Aimee Mann, New Order, R.E.M., Patti Smith, Talking Heads, and Throwing Muses. Production files from these music videos are found in Subseries III.A., and photographs of many of the shoots are located in Series IV.
Films comprise video recordings of the films Shamberg directed, P.S. Beirut, Souvenir, and Tribeca. The Television recordings feature Shamberg's work with America's Most Wanted and his collaboration with William Wegman on Nickelodeon station IDs.
The Art Installations include recordings of work by such artists as Fatih Aydoğdu, Dike Blair, Philippe Decouflé, Dan Graham, Nancy Holt, Geert Mul, and Lawrence Weiner. There are also recordings from Shamberg's Home Screen Home exhibition and his Turtle Salons.
Live Performances are mostly from the 1980s and 1990s, and contain recordings of live shows from Clifton Chenier, The Fall, Lieutenant 70, The Mekons, New Order, and the Talking Heads. There are also a number of video recordings of Philippe Decouflé's Novembre and a selection of recordings from the 1970s of Arthur Russell and Robert Wilson.
Directors whose work is held in Shamberg's collection of Showreels includes Gina Birch, Jem Cohen, Chris Cunningham, Katherine Dieckman, Robert Frank, Michel Gondry, Paula Grief, Spike Jonze, Sophie Muller, Mark Romanek, and Baillie Walsh. Like Shamberg, many of these directors worked in the music video genre, and the recordings here heavily feature 1990s alternative rock bands and artists such as Tori Amos, Aphex Twin, Björk, Blur, the Breeders, the Chemical Brothers, Dinosaur Jr., Elastica, Garbage, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, No Doubt, Sinead O'Connor, Portishead, Radiohead, R.E.M., the Smashing Pumpkins, Throwing Muses, and Weezer.
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1976-2013
Series II is arranged into two Subseries: Factory Records and Cascando Studios, and contains correspondence, subject files, financial documents, and administrative records from Shamberg's time managing these two organizations. The files in each Subseries are organized alphabetically by name or subject.
Subseries II. A. contains files from such Factory Records bands as A Certain Ratio, Cabaret Voltaire, Joy Division, New Order, and Thick Pigeon. There are also flyers, notes, correspondence, financial files, and posters from the Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule, which partnered with Factory records to cross promote and release music to reach a wider audience. Additionally, there is a selection of materials associated with the film Salvation, for which Factory Records released the soundtrack. These files include agreements, correspondence, crew lists, legal papers, press clippings, press packets, promotional materials, and soundtrack details.
The Cascando Studios files mostly pertain to film and video projects Shamberg's company produced. Much of the materials comprise administrative materials and correspondence with individuals who were involved with these projects. Some of Shamberg's correspondents include Philippe Decouflé, Jonathan Demme, Robert Frank, Nancy Holt, Chris Marker, Stanton Miranda, Susan Sontag, William Wegman, and Lawrence Weiner. There is also a substantial selection of materials related to New Order including backstage passes, correspondence, financial files, lanyards, notes, poster proofs, posters, and receipts.
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1975-2014
The production files comprise administrative and planning documents that reveal the technical and organizational details of Shamberg's work as a producer and director of film, music videos, television shows, art installations, and live performances. The files are arranged into four Subseries, Music Videos; Film and Television; Art Installations and Exhibitions; and Performances. Each Subseries is arranged alphabetically by band name, artist name, or project title.
The Music Videos Subseries contains production files for such bands and performers as the B-52s, Luka Bloom, Blue Aeroplanes, Kristin Hersh, Indigo Girls, Aimee Mann, Poi Dog Pondering, R.E.M., and Throwing Muses. These files include agreements, budgets, call sheets, correspondence, crew lists, expense reports, permits, production notes, purchase orders, storyboards, talent files, treatments, and travel information. Shamberg worked most extensively as a producer for New Order, and there are files here dating from 1985 to 2001 for "The Perfect Kiss," "True Faith," "Blue Monday," "Fine Time," "Round and Round," "Run," "Electronic," "Regret," "World," "1963," and "Crystal." Also of significance is Shamberg's hand-illustrated storyboard for the B-52's "Revolution Earth" music video. There are photographs from many of these music video shoots in Series IV, and video recordings available in Series I.
Subseries III. B. contains production files from Shamberg's work in Film and Television including America's Most Wanted, Salvation, Souvenir, and P.S. Beirut. The most comprehensive files are for Souvenir, which includes pre-production materials such as screenplays and casting information; production materials such as notes, shot lists, and a slate; and post-production files pertaining to credits, subtitles, press, distribution, and screenings. The Art Installations and Exhibitions Subseries dates from 1979 to 2014 and is arranged alphabetically by artist name. These files hold correspondence, contracts, exhibition catalogs, flyers, invoices, notes, programs, posters, and scripts. Materials from Shamberg's Home Screen Home Exhibition and Turtle Salon installations are both held here as well.
The Performances Subseries contains files from Shamberg's work with Philippe Decouflé, New Order, and the Talking Heads, as well as files from his tenure at the Kitchen, and his production work for Philip Glass and Robert Wilson's Einstein on the Beach opera. The Performances files hold such materials as agreements, budgets, clippings, correspondence, notes, programs, shot lists, stage directions, and storyboards.
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1965-2019
Photographs, prints, slides and negatives, which date from 1965 to 2019, comprise Series IV. Many of the images in this Series depict Shamberg's production and directing work. Files are arranged alphabetically by name or topic. The Series includes photographs from music video shoots of Tina B., the B-52s, Indigo Girls, New Order, R.E.M., and Patti Smith. Production files for some of these shoots are located in Series III and the videos are in Series I.
Series IV also features images from the set of Shamberg's film, Souvenir, and photographs of a number of Factory Records bands such as A Certain Ratio, Cabaret Voltaire, Stanton Miranda, and Thick Pigeon. Also of note is a large selection of prints by legendary East Village punk photographer Jimmy De Sana, a few of which are inscribed to Shamberg.
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1976-2012
This Series holds original writings by Shamberg, as well as writings by others with whom he collaborated. Files include drafts, screenplays, scripts, notes, and treatments. Files are further organized into two Subseries, V. A. Writings By Shamberg and V. B. Writings By Others. Both are arranged alphabetically by title.
Most of the writings by Shamberg are drafts of scripts and treatments that he authored. There are also interview notes and manuscript drafts from a profile Shamberg wrote about Talking Heads in 1983.
Among the writings by others are works by Etel Adnan, Sarah Levy, Philippe Decouflé, Jeremy Ayres, Manfred Kargh, Kim Gordon, Mark Rappaport, Malgorzata Szumowska, Przemek O. Nowakowski, Ildikó Enyedi, Lynne Tillman, and Steve Witt.
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1970s-2014
Shamberg kept records of most of his activities, appointments, and contacts from the mid-1970s until his death in 2014. Series VI holds the address books, datebooks, and notebooks that chronicle his professional life during that time, all of which are arranged chronologically. There are datebooks for every year between 1984 and 2012, as well as one from 1976.
The notebooks are even more comprehensive, containing to-do lists, notes, plans, and comments about daily professional tasks and meetings. There are notebooks encompassing nearly every year between 1975 and 2014. The notebooks and datebooks offer a glimpse into the day-to-day of Shamberg's career and work process, and when viewed together may provide a more complete picture of a given task, meeting, or event.
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1970s-2009
Series VII is arranged into three Subseries that contains Shamberg's drawings, paintings, and sketchbooks; artwork by others; and an assortment of posters.
Shamberg's own work, which is held in Subseries VII. A., is mostly untitled and undated. It is generally unclear if these drawings, paintings, and sketches were created for a specific project.
The works by other artists are arranged alphabetically by artist name when the artist is known. These pieces were created in a variety of mediums, and are a combination of art that Shamberg collected, and items that he received as gifts.
Subseries VII. C. contains a selection of posters, which promote events and exhibitions; film festivals; and films. There are additional posters found in Series II that promote specific Factory or Cascando Studios artists, and in Subseries III. B. with the files for Shamberg's film, Souvenir.
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1999-2008
Files in Series VIII include materials from Shamberg's teaching tenure at Bennington College, as well as his time as an instructor at Cooper Union and École Supérieure d'Art Visual, Geneva. The Bennington College files are the most comprehensive and hold budgets, contracts, correspondence, course readings, curriculum notes, and notebooks. These files date from 1999 to 2008 and are arranged chronologically.
The Cooper Union and École Supérieure d'Art Visual files are both from 2000, and contain correspondence, notes, administrative papers, and syllabi.
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1952-2013
Among Shamberg's papers is a small assortment of his personal files, artifacts, and ephemera which are all held in Series IX. Included here are such items as Shamberg's birth certificate, passports, personal correspondence, buttons, and journals. There is also a 1952 issue of the New York Post, which is housed in a portfolio and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity and a letter from Quincy Jones, a natal chart, and autobiographical materials pertaining to an unfinished memoir.