Permanent Impermanence: The Documentation of SiteSpecific Art

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Permanent Impermanence The Documentation of
Site-Specific Art

• Alli Corn
• 11 December 2006

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• The reproduction of a painting or object,
  however perfect, is always, definitely, its
  betrayal. And that betrayal is that much greater
  when it involves not objects or paintings but
  whole spaces. --Daniel Buren

Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, 1970.
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Characteristics of Site-Specific Art

• Evolved from Minimalism and Conceptualism during
  the late 1960s and 1970s art about idea, rather
  than physical object
• Circumscribed by permanent sites--gallery setting
  or natural landscape
• Immobile object or experience specific to
  location
• Not easily replicated
• Not able to be seen by large numbers of viewers
  due to chosen remote locales

Christian Bernard Singer, Bodies of Land, 2001.
Frechette Pond, Alfred, New York floating wax
body casts, moss, pond, reflection
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Paradox Documenting Impermanent Art

• To document these works is a betrayal
• The specific medium, location, and transitory
  nature aid in works meaning
• Documentation risks compromising the integrity of
  the physical work in its original time and
  environment

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Documentation is Necessary

• Although paradoxical at times to the artists
  intention, it is in many cases the only way for a
  wide audience to experience site-specific art.
• It is the only way to maintain records and art
  historical discourse on site-specific works

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Types of Documentation

• Photography
• Videography

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Types of Documentation

• Artist sketches and drawings
• Field notes

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Types of Documentation

• Instructions on installation procedures
• Artist certificate of authenticity

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Documentation is Critical for Art Market

• In the recent past cultural and market values of
  site-specific works have risen.
• Reappeared in several high-profile exhibitions
• Demand for museums and cultural institutions to
  acquire and maintain documentation has grown
  exponentially.

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Documentation at ICA, Philadelphia

• ICA produces photo-documentation of all
  installations, site-specific or otherwise, using
  35mm slide and digital media.
• A brochure or catalog is usually produced if it
  is a major project and specifically for ICA (4 x
  5 color transparencies are taken for this
  purpose).
• All artist sketches are property of the artist
  and kept by him or her.
• Ephemera are often cataloged if it is left behind
  by the artist or created by ICA.

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Maintenance of Art in Situ at ICA, Philadelphia

• All works are maintained and repaired unless they
  are meant to degrade.
• At exhibition conclusion, works are either sent
  to artist or destroyed on artists request.
• Large installation elements that are not crafted
  (i.e., concrete blocks, shattered glass) are
  disposed.
• If work is created at a later date, new materials
  are made.

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Regarding Artist Intention and Site-Specific
Documentation

• I think that it is important to document
  impermanent works for posterity,
• so that others can have a visual point of
  reference when studying an
• artists oeuvre. I have never had an instance
  where an artist did not want
• their work documented. If an artist did not want
  their work documented
• then it should not be done. -Robert Chaney,
  Registrar, ICA Philadelphia

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Examples of Site-Specific Art
Robert Smithson, Partially Buried Woodshed,
1970 Kent State University, one woodshed, 20
truck loads of earth
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Michael Asher, untitled installation at Claire
Copley Gallery, Inc., Los Angeles, 1974.
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Richard Serra, Tilted Arc, Federal Plaza, New
York, 1981-1989.
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Importance of Documenting Site-Specific Art

• Recording site-specific works is crucial for
  their survival.
• Cultural institutions must document these works
  to provide access to the general public.
• It is important for artists and the museum
  community to create multiple mediums with which
  to experience the artworks.
• Imperative that all documentation must be
  approved by the artist as to not distort the
  artists meaning.
• Without proper documentation, this important art
  form risks being lost forever.