The Embodied Mind: engaging with subjective documentation in the conservation of time-based artworks

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The Embodied Mind: engaging with subjective documentation in the conservation of time-based artworks.

Introduction The documentation process is fundamental to conservation practice in order to enhance the interpretation and preserve the significance of cultural materials (AICCM 2002, pp. 9-10). Conservation has historically had a Classical positivist focus on objective observation, equating the integrity of the artwork with the materials chosen to convey artistic intent, (Dykstra 1996, p. 200; Wharton 2005, p. 164; Muñoz-Vinas 2005). This objective approach has influenced documentation centred on a discrete object. Such models of documentation may prove to be insufficient when contending with time-based art, many of which visitor interaction, unique spatial relations and the experience of intangible phenomena are integral components (Wharton 2005, p. 163; Jadzinska 2011). Documentation of Ryan Gander’s installation work, Ampersand, 2012 is discussed, highlighting the inadequacy of established documentation models and the benefits of considering viewer experience in assessing the work defining properties. It is proposed that documentation of time-based art not eschew objective material-based observation, but instead an accumulative methodology be adopted that incorporates subjective experiential analysis. Particularly as these artworks are predominately ephemeral and performative, accurate documentation is crucial for the reinstallation of these works. Capturing complex spatial relationships requires multiple nuanced communication modes, compelling conservation practice to be multi-disciplinary. By reflecting the diversity of time-based artworks, widening the variety of documentation modes can attempt to preserve the integrity of these works.

The experiential character of time-based art Time-based art is often understood to be a combination of meanings, ideas and form that employ a wide range of media, technologies, space and sensory phenomena to communicate a specific conceptual unity. The term ‘time-based art’ is often applied to contemporary works that include film, video, installation, sound, performance, software and multimedia art. Activation of these works is often dependent ‘… on time for the maturation or completion of the experience’ (Smithsonian Institution 2010, p. 5), ‘…which unfolds over time, within the context of a prescribed environment’ (Laurenson 2005, p. 1). Time-based artworks evoke ‘…the physical and psychological involvement of the viewer through the use of various senses’ (Jadzinska 2011, p. 21). The inherent experiential nature and dependence on spatial relations intrinsic to time-based art obligates conservators to preserve not only the object but also the experience that it provokes.

MULTIMEDIA ESSAY CUMC90021 DOCUMENTATION AND DISPLAY

Student Details | Robyn Ho (672025) Date | 07.09.2015

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The Embodied Mind: engaging with subjective documentation in the conservation of time-based artworks by Robyn Ho - Issuu