Creating a Living Legacy: Marcos Dimas

What has changed for you as a result of being part of the CALL Program?
I am able to see my productivity in perspective. Now I can separate the different phases and styles of work into decades and am able to revisit themes and subjects with clarity whenever I wish to do so.

What needed to be accomplished when you started working with the CALL Program?
I needed to relocate and organize, centralize various amounts of work and have access to them. In order to create the data system, the images where the years of production were not evident had to be cross-referenced with publications and resume entries. I also reviewed a collection of slides that had to be digitized and included in an updated web site designed to facilitate the promotion of my work for exhibits and sales.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of this work?
A most rewarding aspect was the creation of a storage component built into my studio to house finished paintings, supplies and flat works on paper. Along with that, the creation of the data system was very rewarding. As for the working relationship with the Legacy Specialists, sometimes I would lead and at other times follow.

What has been the most difficult?
A difficult aspect has been to review artwork without proper identification records. Another difficulty is the renovation of delicate assemblages and creating customized storage units to preserve them.

What do you recommend to artists who might be in the early stages of creating an inventorying system?
I recommend to artists just starting to check out the Joan Mitchell Foundation website, but also to keep a visual and written log of the work produced and not let it go for too long before actually putting a date and title on the piece.