UbuWeb functions as a distribution center for hard-to-find, out-of-print and obscure materials, transferred digitally to the web.

UbuWeb has no need for money, funding or backers. Our web space is provided by an alliance of interests sympathetic to our vision. Donors with an excess of bandwidth contribute to our cause. All labour and editorial work is voluntary; no money changes hands. Totally independent from institutional support, UbuWeb is free from academic bureaucracy and its attendant infighting, which often results in compromised solutions; we have no one to please but ourselves.

UbuWeb posts much of its content without permission; we rip out-of-print LPs into sound files; we scan as many old books as we can get our hands on; we post essays as fast as we can OCR them. UbuWeb is an unlimited resource with unlimited space to fill. It is in this way that the site has grown to encompass hundreds of artists, hundreds of gigabytes of sound files, books, texts and videos.

They have stuff like this seven minute long feedback loop by the Velvet Underground, a couple of films of Sam Beckett’s work, recordings of William Burroughs, and loads of other stuff… I just picked a few obvious ones, but there’s loads of stuff like Man Ray, Duchamp and god knows how many artists/poets/writers who I never heard of. Go have a look, it’s an impressive resource!

From their FAQ:

Can I use something posted on UbuWeb on my site, in a paper, in a project, etc.?
Sure. We post many things without permission; we also post many with things with permission. We therefore give you permission to take what you like even though in many cases, we have no received permission to post it. We went ahead and did it anyway. You should too.

I have no idea what the image is, but it’s from the site.