Introduction to case studies

The DOCAM Cataloguing Structure Committee selected a corpus of nine new media works based on criteria such as the works’ technological components, their operation and their unique characteristics. Each case study represents a different conservation problem. The range of works selected from the collections of participating museums allowed for a challenging revision and expansion of existing documentation practices. Eight works were thoroughly investigated, while another no less significant work, Eyes of Laura by Janet Cardiff (Vancouver Art Gallery), provided an opportunity for further reflection on Web art:

 

The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal Collection:

• Battements et Papillons - Jean-Pierre Gauthier

• Dervish - Gary Hill

• Générique - Alexandre Castonguay

• Théorie du complot / Conspiracy Theory - Janet Cardiff

• The Sleepers - Bill Viola

 

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Collection:

• Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Nam June Paik

 

National Gallery of Canada Collection:

• The Table - Max Dean and Raffaello D’Andrea

• Unex Sign No. 2 (Selection from « the Survival Series) - Jenny Holzer

 

For the case studies, the three museums adapted their institutional documentation and cataloguing practices to a common work methodology. This work methodology consisted of, on the one hand, collecting in depth information about the works and organizing more specific data in an effective and suitable structure; on the other hand, it consisted of testing and adapting current tools and practices with the realities of new media works. These are the procedures adopted for each case study:

 

1. Documentary analysis

Revision of the existing documentation: archives file on work, correspondence, condition report, “cahier des charges”, installation plans, visual documentation, publications, expositions and history of transformations of the work;

 

2. Data collection

Physical inventory of work (detailed description of components and visual documentation);

 

Collection of source data from in-house museum professionals (curator, conservator, registrar, technician) and artists;

 

Completion of data on the work with supplementary information from sources such as specialized publications, information regarding the artist, his/her artistic practices and his/her collaborators.

 

3. Installation of the work and artist interview

When possible, the work was installed for a more complete documentation of its operation and performance, of its current condition and of all components required for its presentation;

 

When possible, an interview with the artist was videotaped. The interview was based on inquiries taken from the artist questionnaire.

 

4. Data organization

Data entry, updates and linking of data collected.

 

The case studies have enabled a revision of existing documentation and an update of the modifications and transformations made to certain works. The objective was to respond to the needs identified by the committee (lien vers le texte d’introduction de Madeleine Lafaille) regarding the cataloguing of new media works. Each case study represented a considerable amount of work that could not be presented here in its entirety, and similary, the complexity of certain technical details closely tied to the production of the work could not be included. Rather, the summaries of the case studies suggested in the guide highlight the unique characteristics of each work studied.

 

Cindy Veilleux, DOCAM Research Assistant, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal

 

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