On View

Moving Image Preservation of Puget Sound (MIPoPS)

Puget Sound & Vision: Archival Videotape from King County

Two local video historians explore the overlap of archival footage and video art.

Cedar Falls Interview - Tex Bardwell (video still), 1994, original format: Betacam SP, Item 7493, Record Series 1204-05, Seattle Municipal Archives

For this installation, two Moving Image Preservation of Puget Sound (MIPoPS) specialists step back from their role as archivists – who may never “play” with the material they reformat – and into the role of video artists, who may re-mix, re-arrange, and re-present various elements of King County’s history. For this project, Ari Lavigne and Libby Hopfauf have curated and assembled a variety of film and videotape materials sourced from local heritage institutions.


About the Artist

Lavigne and Hopfauf are two of the audiovisual archivists behind MIPoPS. Every day, they see hours of unique footage documenting King County’s history. MIPoPS role is to digitally reformat analog videotape from King County’s libraries, archives, and museums. Both Lavigne and Hopfauf have received Master’s in Library and Information Science degrees from the University of Washington. The two met while working on a project documenting the history of Seattle’s Freeway revolt. As a team, they both enjoy creating material that encourages the public to engage with archival material in new and exciting ways.