Plenary lecture
Title
Documentation of Change - Change of Documentation
Speaker
Gunnar Heydenreich, professor
Cologne University of Applied Sciences
Abstract
This paper will provide a general introduction to the subject of documentation of contemporary art and it will explore various challenges, initiatives, methodologies and perspectives in documentation of new media art installations. The study also reflects on a number of aspects related to the practice of documentation, such as: history and ‘Zeitgeist’, functions and meaning, subjectivity and objectivity, priorities and economy, preservation and dissemination.
Biography
Dr. Gunnar Heydenreich was head of paintings and contemporary art conservation at the Restaurierungszentrum in Düsseldorf, Germany from 1995 to 2009. In 2009 he was appointed a professor at Cologne University of Applied Sciences for conservation of modern and contemporary art and he became project director of the Cranach Digital Archive funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Gunnar Heydenreich was a founding member of the International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art (INCCA) and co-organiser of the European project Inside Installations – Preservation and Presentation of Installation Art. He has published extensively on historic and modern painting techniques, as well as in the field of documentation, conservation and restoration.