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ABSTRACT
Authenticity in flux and value-led approaches are crucial elements in the conservation of contemporary art. Both depend on stakeholders: those involved in the artwork's historiography, who can promote value attribution and knowledge production towards the works, and those who could be affected by the conservation process. Identifying relevant stakeholders for contemporary art conservation becomes an imperative. This article introduces a model for identifying and categorizing relevant stakeholders for contemporary art conservation and preservation and attempts to support questions such as: Who are the stakeholders involved in the conservation process? What should be their involvement? How do they impact the conservation process? Who should identify them? How could it be done? In the suggested model, identification of relevant stakeholders is led by (1) the conservator as an analyst or an agent of change and (2) by a set of twelve “boundary questions” used to provoke and define situational framings. The categorization of relevant stakeholders is presented according to (1) their nature (human and non-human) and (2) their relevance and impact on/from the conservation and presentation process. Thereby, four groups of stakeholders are identified: human actors actively involved, human actors passively involved, non-human actors actively involved, and non-human actors passively involved.
RÉSUMÉ
L'authenticité fluctuante et les approches axées sur les valeurs sont des aspects cruciaux de la conservation-restauration de l'art contemporain. Les deux dépendent des parties prenantes : celles impliquées dans l'historiographie de l'œuvre d'art, qui peuvent promouvoir l'attribution de valeur et la production de connaissances sur les œuvres, et celles qui pourraient être concernées par le processus de conservation-restauration. L'identification des parties prenantes compétentes pour la conservation-restauration de l'art contemporain devient essentielle. Cet article présente un modèle pour l'identification et la catégorisation des parties prenantes compétentes pour la conservation-restauration et la préservation de l'art contemporain et tente de répondre à des questions telles que : Qui sont les parties prenantes impliquées dans le processus de conservation-restauration ? Quelle devrait être leur implication ? Quelle incidence ont-elles sur le processus de conservation-restauration ? Qui devrait les identifier ? Comment est-il possible de le faire ? Dans le modèle proposé, l'identification des parties prenantes compétentes est menée par (1) le conservateur-restaurateur en tant qu'analyste ou courtier et (2) par un ensemble de douze « questions limites » utilisées pour provoquer et définir des cadres situationnels. La catégorisation des parties prenantes compétentes est présentée en fonction (1) de leur nature (humaine et non humaine) et (2) de leur pertinence et de leur incidence sur/dès le processus de conservation-restauration et de présentation. Ainsi, quatre groupes de parties prenantes sont identifiés : les acteurs humains activement impliqués, les acteurs humains passivement impliqués, les acteurs non humains activement impliqués et les acteurs non humains passivement impliqués. Traduit par Anne-Stéphanie Étienne.
RESUMO
Autenticidade no fluxo e abordagens baseadas em valor são elementos cruciais na conservação da arte contemporânea. Ambos dependem das partes interessadas: aqueles envolvidos na historiografia da obra de arte, que podem promover a atribuição de valor e produção de conhecimento para as obras, e aqueles que podem ser afetados pelo processo de conservação. Identificar as partes interessadas relevantes para a conservação da arte contemporânea torna-se um imperativo. Este artigo apresenta um modelo para identificar e categorizar as partes interessadas relevantes para a conservação e preservação da arte contemporânea e tenta apoiar questões como: Quem são as partes interessadas envolvidas no processo de conservação? Qual deve ser seu envolvimento? Como eles impactam o processo de conservação? Quem deve identificá-los? Como isso poderia ser feito? No modelo sugerido, a identificação das partes interessadas relevantes é conduzida por (1) o conservador como analista ou agente de mudança e (2) por um conjunto de doze “questões limitadas” usadas para provocar e definir enquadramentos situacionais. A categorização das partes interessadas relevantes é apresentada de acordo com (1) a sua natureza (humana e não humana) e (2) a sua relevância e impacto no/do processo de conservação e apresentação. Desse modo, quatro grupos de partes interessadas são identificados: atores humanos ativamente envolvidos, atores humanos passivamente envolvidos, atores não humanos ativamente envolvidos e atores não humanos passivamente envolvidos. Traduzido por Beatriz Haspo.
RÉSUMÉ
La autenticidad en “flux” o en cambio continuo y la primacía de valores, uso y función son factores clave en la conservación de arte contemporáneo. Ellos dependen de los participantes en el proceso de conservación: los involucrados en la historiografía de la obra de arte, los cuales pueden promover la atribución de valores y la producción de conocimiento y los que podrían verse afectados por o tras el proceso de conservación. Por ello, identificar a los participantes involucrados en y afectados por la conservación de arte contemporáneo es imprescindible. Este artículo introduce un modelo de identificación y categorización de participantes relevantes involucrados en la conservación y presentación de arte contemporáneo y aspira a estimular preguntas como: ¿Quiénes están involucrados en el proceso de conservación? ¿De qué modo deberían estar involucrados? ¿Qué impacto tiene su presencia en el proceso de conservación? ¿Quién debería identificarlos? ¿Cómo se podría hacer esto? En el modelo sugerido, la identificación de los participantes relevantes está dirigida por (1) el conservador como analista o agente de cambio y (2) por un conjunto de doce ‘preguntas límite’ utilizadas para estimular y definir espacios situacionales. La categorización de los participantes relevantes se presenta de acuerdo con (1) su naturaleza (humana y no humana) y (2) su relevancia e impacto en y desde el desarrollo del proceso de conservación y presentación (activa y pasiva). De esta manera, se identifican cuatro grupos de participantes: participantes humanos involucrados activamente, participantes humanos involucrados pasivamente, participantes no humanos involucrados activamente y participantes no humanos involucrados pasivamente. Revisión: Amparo Rueda.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank her supervisors Prof. Dr. Julia Noordegraaf and Prof. Dr. Gunnar Heydenreich for their valuable, constructive criticism, and support during her research. The whole NACCA consortium for their continuous encouragement and knowledge-sharing. In addition, thanks to the AIC Contemporary Art Network (CAN!) for all their work developing a worldwide network for knowledge sharing.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 To illustrate the theory and the practice on stakeholder's identification and categorization, a case study from contemporary fine art photography conservation is used. The study of the conservation of a photograph by Thomas Struth, in 2006, at the museum K20 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, for which reproduction was chosen as the preservation strategy. There is significant literature on photographic reproduction as a conservation strategy for contemporary art, focusing on the concept of material and technological obsolescence and its impact on reproduction (Stigter Citation2004) (Stigter Citation2005) (Kennedy, Reiss, and Sanderson Citation2016) (Marchesi Citation2017). Extensive research has been carried out into the dynamics of contemporary art conservation and reproduction within legal, policy, ethical, moral, and professional frameworks, taking into consideration questions of authorship, ownership, and access in several jurisdictions and countries (The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA), 17 U.S.C. § 106A) (Wharton Citation2005, 165) (Michl M Citation2016) (Marchesi Citation2017, 22). While this work is essential for cases of photographic reproduction, they do not relate directly to the focus of this paper, which examines the key actors involved in the reproduction-conservation process.
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Marta García Celma
Marta García Celma is conservator of photographic materials and contemporary art at M+ Museum in Hong Kong, and a PhD candidate with The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network NACCA (New Approaches in the Conservation of Contemporary Art) funded by the European Union H2020 Programme. She holds a master’s degree in Paper Conservation from Camberwell College of Arts (London), a BA and MA in Fine Arts and Photography from Universitat de Barcelona (Spain), and Willem de Kooning Academie (The Netherlands). Address: M+ Museum, 38 Museum Drive, CSF 6, Kowloon, Hong Kong. E-mail: [email protected]/[email protected].