Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Kiss & Tell fonds
General material designation
- Multi-media
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Source of title proper: The title is based on the name of the creating body.
Level of description
Fonds
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1988-2015 (Creation)
- Creator
- Kiss & Tell Collective
Physical description area
Physical description
ca. 3250 photographs : b&w
12 cm of textual records
1 audio cassette
1 suitcase : 30 x 38 x 8 cm
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Administrative history
Kiss & Tell is an artistic collective based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Members include Persimmon Blackbridge, Lizard Jones and Susan Stewart. The group formed out of a larger meeting of feminists in 1984 who had gathered to discuss pornography, erotica, and sexual representation in art. The collective's work frequently addresses issues of censorship and lesbian sexual politics.
The group's major production was the interactive photographic exhibition "Drawing the Line," which launched in 1989 and toured for several years afterwards. The exhibition consisted of a series of 98 photographs taken by Susan Stewart with Lizard Jones and Persimmon Blackbridge as models, depicting a range of lesbian sexual practices. A postcard book "Drawing the Line: Lesbian Sexual Politics on the Wall," featuring 40 images and comments from the exhibition, was published by Press Gang Publishers in 1991. The group's second book, "Her Tongue on my Theory: Images, Essays and Fantasies" (1994) was the recipient of a Lambda Literary Award in 1995. The group has also produced performance pieces, including "True Inversions" (1992), images from which are contained in the book "Her Tongue on my Theory," and "That Long Distance Feeling: Perverts, Politics & Prozac" (1997).
Lorna Boschman has made three short films about Kiss and Tell: "Drawing the Line" (1992), "True Inversions" (1992), and "Before the New Millennium" (2007). In the summer of 2015, the Vancouver Queer Arts Festival featured the exhibition "Drawing the Line in 2015," celebrating the 25th anniversary of the show.
Custodial history
The records were in the custody of Susan Stewart until their acquisition by Simon Fraser University Library, Special Collections and Rare Books.
Scope and content
Fonds consists of records created and accumulated by the Kiss and Tell collective over the course of the collective’s operations. Records include photographs, correspondence, exhibition specifications and guidelines, and promotional and press materials.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Arrangement of the files into series provided by the Archivist. Arrangement of records within series follows the creators' original order where possible. When no original order could be discerned, records are arranged chronologically.
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
All of the works in this fonds, e.g. photographs, written material, and sound recordings, are under copyright. Researchers are required to secure permission from the copyright holder(s) for uses of this material other than those covered by fair dealing.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
File list is available.
Finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
Further accruals are expected.
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Kiss & Tell Collective (Subject)
Genre access points
Control area
Description record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules or conventions
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Created November 2015, NT