Notes from my meeting with Jennifer:
1. Books are disappearing
2. Jennifer likes the idea of the big book. What are books? She says she likes the idea of walking into it. It’s closed. Seek through it.
3. Jennifer is questioning such a large scale. She says the form needs to relate to the context
4. She showed me her friend’s book (Anne Carson). It’s an accordion book full of spreads- on the left side Anne scans an image of an object and on the right she reflects on the object- I think she said it was about her mother?
5. Is this the secret history of Ann Arbor?
6. Is it Ann Arbor’s diary? If Ann Arbor had a diary what would it say? What if I were a city?
7. What’s the angle of the research? Who are you? Are you doing this because you’re a transient? Transplant? When was the first time you felt like Ann Arbor was somewhere to investigate? Why is it interesting? Why is it historical?
8. Is it a narrative? Disjointed?
9. Read Maggie Nelson- Jane (aunt murdered in Ann Arbor)
10. I asked Jennifer if I should start making or do research first? She said do both. Do material research. What is it made out of? How can you find paper thick enough to stand up?
11. The book can be about the process of my research. How did I get here? KEEP RESEARCH NOTES.. THIS CAN BE A COMPONENT OF THE PROJECT. WRITE ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS. WRITE ABOUT THE RESEARCH YOU DO. KEEP A LIST.
12. A map of a walk I take throughout Ann Arbor
13. Quest. Who is Ann? Is it Anns?
14. The piece is about researching/process…research on research
15. Do you Ann? How close to Ann can you possibly get?