Karolien Withofs
Student in restoration and conservation of modern and contemporary art University of Amsterdam
Period
November 2009 – July 2010
Title
A good practice guide for electronic art in museum collections
Keywords
electricity, light, movement, installation, documentation, artist interview, cables and wires
Abstract
A lot of contemporary artworks are powered by electricity. Two main categories can be distinguished. One category consists of works that operate by means of an electric device that serves as an intermediary, like a DVD-player or computer. The device itself is -to a certain extent- independent of the actual ‘message’ of the artwork and could be regarded as replaceable in that respect. The second category consists of works of art that are intrinsically connected with an electrically powered device. The artist could have modified an industrially made device or made it entirely by himself. Kinetic art or light sculptures are examples of this last category.
This thesis is concerned with the latter of the two categories. A lot of modern and contemporary art collections comprise such electric artworks. Once they stayed for a longer period of time in storage, it tends to get more difficult to get them out on display. This is bound to a lot of questions: How can one find out in a safe way if the artwork is still working in proper order? Is the artwork safe enough to be installed in an exhibition? Are small changes allowed for security reasons to fit new safety regulations? How should the work actually be installed? A guide for good practice for electronic art will be compiled with reference to case studies Signaal 6 (1972) and Los-Vast (1975) by Dutch artist Jan van Munster (°1939).
Supervisors
Drs. Sanneke Stigter, Dr. J.P.B.M. de Vries, co-supervisors Drs. Lydia Beerkens, drs. René Hoppenbrouwers
Language
Dutch
Contact