I am Leola Wade, the Archive Assistant at the Archives and Special Collections Centre. I am delighted to share that I have now completed the cataloguing of the Jo Ann Kaplan Archive.
Jo Ann Kaplan (1945–2016) was a multidisciplinary artist. She was a filmmaker, editor, animator and lecturer. Her career spanned four decades. This archive offers a rare glimpse into her creative process. It includes sketchbooks, photographs, letters, journals and production materials for many of her films.
Kaplan’s work is often described as introspective and visually striking. She explored themes of mysticism, femininity and the cycles of life and death. There are recurring motifs of anatomy, gothic imagery and philosophical, literary symbolism in her work. Notable films represented in the collection include Invocation: Maya Deren (1986), Story of I (1997) and An Anatomy of Melancholy (2000).
The archive also holds records of her collaborations with writer Angela Carter, with whom she shared a strong creative affinity.
Cataloguing process
When the archive first arrived, it comprised over twenty large boxes. My first task was to create a box listing to get an overview of the contents. Then, Jamie Jackson (a UCL placement student) created an arrangement for the archive. He followed Kaplan’s own categorisation and the original order where possible.
Once the arrangement was in place, I wrote detailed descriptions of items to help users understand the material in more depth. I repacked the contents into archival quality storage. I used acid-free folders and boxes, along with protective sleeves for fragile items such as photographs. I lay oversized artworks flat in our plan chest to ensure their long-term preservation. Finally, I uploaded the catalogue descriptions to our cataloguing software, CALM. The digital structure mirrors how researchers will encounter the collection in person.
To give an idea of scale, the fully catalogued archive consists of over 100 boxes of which include over 700 files and over 400 items.
Highlights of the Archive
One of the real highlights of working with this archive was discovering Kaplan’s research into the avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren for her documentary Invocation: Maya Deren (JAK/1/4). I first encountered Deren’s work at the Tate Modern exhibition Surrealism Beyond Borders (2022), where a short clip of one of her films captured me instantly. Her techniques felt like magic tricks. Later, while working on Kaplan’s archive, I found myself immersed in Deren again and was inspired to watch several of her films.
It was remarkable to see the depth of Kaplan’s research on Deren. She visited archives, examined documents in detail and made copies of photographs and notes made by Deren to be used in her documentary. That research, now preserved as part of Kaplan’s own archive, feels like a full circle moment: Maya Deren’s life and art, interpreted through Kaplan’s filmmaking, now inspiring new encounters and interpretations in yet another archival space.
Another rewarding aspect of cataloguing this archive was discovering its autobiographical elements. Kaplan’s personal notebooks, in particular, offer a sense of closeness to her as both an artist and a person. They include dream entries, rough sketches, notes, quotes, and sometimes even pressed flowers and leaves. These intimate details allow us to see the world through her eyes. This is one of the great strengths of archival material. It brings us nearer to artists we can no longer meet. It offers insight into their creative journeys and inspires our own creative practices.
Film Screening and Handling Session
Alongside my cataloguing work, backronym films approached the ASCC with a proposal. They wished to partner to run an event together using the Jo Ann Kaplan Archive. backronym is a collective dedicated to amplifying marginalised figures in cinema. It was started by Kareyni Davis and Laila Stewart, graduates of BA Film and Screen Studies at London College of Communication. It was delightful to work with them to highlight and further share the archive.
We ran a screening of two of Kaplan's films, The Story of I (1997) and The Anatomy of Melancholy (2000). With my colleagues Georgina Orgill and Erin Liu, we curated a selection of material from the archive that related to the two films. Following the screening, participants had the opportunity to handle and explore the selection.
The event was well attended with a mix of staff, students and external visitors who follow backronym's work. Staff were interested in future teaching and research with the archive. Visitors shared their enthusiasm for similar events in the future.
For anyone who had the opportunity to join for this event, we would welcome any feedback via email at archive-enquiries@arts.ac.uk
Find out more
The Jo Ann Kaplan catalogue is now available to view online via our Collection browser
You can request to view records from the archive at the ASCC by emailing archive-enquiries@arts.ac.uk
You can also find out more about backronym films on their instagram, @backronymfilms