Three Questions is an initiative to share the value that our faculty, students, and external patrons derive from using the Portal to Texas History at UNT Libraries.
1. How important are Unique Collections (or our services) in your teaching, learning or research?
I have used and taken inspiration from dozens of items and collections on the Portal to Texas History in my art and compositions; many of my works simply would not exist without the Portal. I think there is such a strong personal connection with primary sources, of which the Portal hosts so many, that inspires and enables my artistic expression in a way that other historical materials cannot. I especially enjoy researching and incorporating personal items and collections from the National Museum of the Pacific War Digital Archive into my work.
2. How have Unique Collections changed the way you approach your research, teaching or learning?
While I have always had a fascination with history, the deeply personal collections on the Portal to Texas History are even more fascinating and inspiring. So many of my recent compositions and art pieces have been inspired or influenced by stories, photographs, and artworks I discovered through my work and research on the Portal, that I now consider browsing the Portal an integral part of my pre-composition work for my pieces. Navigating the Portal can feel almost addictive, and I often find myself browsing materials beyond what I was initially searching for and coming up with new ideas for my art.
3. What do you want others to know about your research, teaching, or learning?
I create art and music that speaks to my life, experiences, and interests. I often find that it is most effective to express this through historical figures, events, or works that I feel a connection to. The Portal is incredibly helpful in finding uniquely intimate and personal historical items that inspire me and elicit that feeling of connection. In April of 2026, I displayed a fixed media video piece at UNT CVAD titled “Leapfrog”, which sourced all its visual material from the Portal to Texas History.
Jacob Lord is a composer and artist from Dallas, Texas. Their body of work spans across concert music, intermedia works, and performance art. Part of the first generation of artists to be born in the 21st century, Jacob’s work aims to express their life and experiences as a person born in the post-digital world, through literal and abstract means, and often through a meta-modernistic frame. Jacob is inspired by history and by how the modern world and events reflect the past. Jacob actively collaborates with animators and filmmakers, in addition to creating their own visuals.
