Fonds MsC-165 - Kiss & Tell fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Kiss & Tell fonds

General material designation

  • Multi-media

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Title notes

  • Source of title proper: The title is based on the name of the creating body.

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

MsC-165

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

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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

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1984-)

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.

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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.

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Accruals

Further accruals are expected.

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Description record identifier

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Status

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Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Created November 2015, NT

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