Reframing the Notion of “The Artist’s Intent:” A Study of Caring for Thomas Hirschhorn’s Intensif-Station (2010)

ABSTRACT

Museums are increasingly responsible for the care of highly complex artworks that are often co-produced, co-curated and co-conserved. The preservation of many artworks no longer hinges solely on the endurance of original materials, and as such, conservators are compelled to embrace the active life of these works. This paper studies Thomas Hirschhorn’s ongoing involvement with his work Intensif-Station (2010) over time and assesses the collaborations between artist and museum staff through the eyes of the conservator. By investigating the biography of this immersive artwork composed of rapidly degrading materials meant not to decay and perish but to persist, tangible material questions prompted conservators to probe “the artist’s intent.” Could the much-problematized notion be reframed as an open-ended process?

RÉSUMÉ

Les musées sont de plus en plus responsables du soin d'œuvres d'art hautement complexes qui sont souvent coproduites, coconservées et copréservées. La préservation de plusieurs œuvres d'art ne repose plus seulement sur la résistance des matériaux originels, si bien que les restaurateurs sont contraints de participer à la vie active de ces œuvres. Cet article étudie l'implication continue de Thomas Hirschhorn envers son œuvre Intensif-Station (2010) au fil du temps et évalue la collaboration entre l'artiste et le personnel muséal du point de vue du restaurateur. En étudiant le vécu de cette œuvre immersive composée de matériaux éphémères censés ne pas se dégrader et s'abîmer, mais persister, des questions matérielles concrètes ont incité les restaurateurs à sonder « l'intention de l'artiste ». Cette notion si problématisée peut-elle être redéfinie comme un processus ouvert ? Traduit par Mireille Brulotte.

RESUMO

Os museus são cada vez mais responsáveis pelo cuidado de obras de arte altamente complexas que muitas vezes são co-produzidas, co-curadas e co-conservadas. A preservação de muitas obras de arte não depende mais apenas da durabilidade dos materiais originais e, como tal, os conservadores são obrigados a abraçar a vida ativa dessas obras. Este artigo estuda o envolvimento contínuo de Thomas Hirschhorn com seu trabalho Intensif-Station (2010) ao longo do tempo e avalia as colaborações entre o artista e a equipe do museu através da visão do conservador. Ao investigar a biografia desta fascinante obra de arte composta de materiais que se deterioram rapidamente, destinados a não a degradar e perecer, mas sim a persistir, algumas questões materiais tangíveis levaram os conservadores a sondar “a intenção do artista”. Esta noção tão problemática poderia ser reformulada como um processo aberto? Traduzido por Beatriz Haspo.

RESUMEN

Los museos son cada vez más responsables del cuidado de obras de arte muy complejas que a menudo son co-producidas, co-curadas y co-conservadas. La preservación de muchas obras de arte ya no depende únicamente de la resistencia de los materiales originales y, como tal, los conservadores se ven obligados a abrazar la vida activa de estas obras. Este artículo estudia la participación continua de Thomas Hirschhorn con su trabajo Intensif-Station (2010) a lo largo del tiempo y evalúa las colaboraciones entre el artista y el personal del museo a través de los ojos del conservador. Al investigar la biografía de esta obra de arte inmersiva compuesta de materiales que se degradan rápidamente y que no deben deteriorarse ni perecer, sino persistir, las preguntas sobre materiales tangibles llevaron a los conservadores a investigar “la intención del artista”. ¿Podría reformularse la noción tan problematizada como un proceso abierto? Traducción: Amparo Rueda.

KEYWORDS:

• Thomas Hirschhorn
• contemporary art
• artist intent
• conservation
• documentation
• artist participation
• collection management
• biographical approach

Acknowledgements

The following individuals generously gave their expertise and support to this paper and to the research process it built upon: first and foremost, Thomas Hirschhorn and Romain Lopez; Dr. Dominic Paterson (University of Glasgow) and Prof. Erma Hermens (University of Amsterdam); Marlen Boerngen (CICS); Maike Grün (Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen); Dr. Susanne Meyer-Büser, Stefanie Jansen, Jessica Völkert-Lunk, Elena Fernandez-Vegue, Anne Skaliks, Andreas Volkmer, and Sven Kamp at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen; my peers in the NACCA cohort, especially Dr. Brian Castriota. I would also like to gratefully acknowledge the European Union for funding my PhD research. My thanks to the wonderful CAN! Committee members for their efforts in arranging the inspiring session at the 2019 AIC Annual Meeting in Connecticut, and my fellow speakers for an engaging (if all too brief) foray into this important and expansive topic. And finally, thank you to my anonymous reviewers for their excellent feedback on the draft of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 I embarked on the task of investigating the controversial notion for my doctoral thesis, The Artist’s Intent in Contemporary Art: Matter and Process in Transition (2019), which I carried out at the University of Glasgow as part of the Marie Skloderwoska Curie Intensive Training Network New Approaches in the Conservation of Contemporary Art (NACCA). This project was generously funded by the European Union H2020 Programme (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2014) under grant agreement no. 642892.

2 “I found it troubling to participate in fundamentally changing an artwork so many years after it was created, yet I also realized that my own ethical stance had changed since I made a career shift from sculpture conservation to time-based media conservation. I had become acclimated to working with artists, curators and others to alter more recent works that were intended to change with each installation. I was more open to working with artists to extend their creative expression over time” (Wharton 2016, 33).

3 The list of materials comprised: 10 white plastic garden chairs, green fabric, light-colored linoleum, wooden slats (4 × 6 cm), 30 double fixtures for fluorescent tubes, 60 daylight fluorescent tubes (in Cool White), 100 m of white electrical cable, 2 clocks, and 5 small tables, 5 TV monitors and DVD players, hospital paraphernalia such as wheelchairs and walkers, 20 rolls of transparent self-adhesive tape and 100 rolls of brown packing tape.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the European Union H2020 Programme (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2014) under grant agreement 642892.

Notes on contributors

Nina Quabeck

Nina Quabeck is a conservator specializing in the conservation of contemporary art. In 2019 she was awarded a PhD in History of Art from the University of Glasgow, with her thesis on The Artist's Intent in Contemporary Art. She has served as Head of Conservation at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein–Westfalen in Duesseldorf since 2019. Address: Kunstsammlung Nordrhein–Westfalen, Grabbeplatz 5, 40213 Düsseldorf, Germany. Email: [email protected].