Sound Art as Media Art Legacy: Documentation of an Endangered Practice: Documentation of an Endangered Practice
Translated title
Sound Art as Media Art Legacy: Documentation of an Endangered Practice
Author
Ciumakova, Ina
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2018
Submitted on
2018-08-09
Pages
97
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan interaktive lydkunstinstallationer og lydkunstmiljøer dokumenteres og bevares ud fra et mediekunstperspektiv. Lydkunst betragtes som en praksis i risiko for at gå tabt, både bevaringsmæssigt og når den skal placeres i en faglig sammenhæng. Formålet er at identificere, hvilke dele af praksissen der er sårbare, og hvorfor. Først præciserer studiet, hvad der adskiller lydkunstinstallationer og -miljøer fra traditionel billedkunst og musik. Dernæst undersøges, hvilke elementer der kan og bør bevares gennem dokumentation – dvs. skriftlige beskrivelser, optagelser, tekniske specifikationer og andet materiale, der indfanger, hvordan værket fungerer og opleves. Flere mulige dokumentationsstrategier analyseres og sammenlignes. For at give en praktisk vinkel analyseres udvalgte værker, og der gennemføres casestudier af dokumentationsgreb brugt af én kunstinstitution, én festival og to uafhængige kuratorer. Litteraturstudiet bygger på publikationer og interviews med medie- og lydkunstkuratorer, artikler og tekster fra udstillingskataloger. Resultaterne viser, at afhængigheden af digital og elektronisk teknologi – især den uundgåelige forældelse af hardware- og softwarekomponenter – gør, at dele af lydkunstværker risikerer at forsvinde. Derfor er dokumentation nødvendig. Samtidig varierer praksisserne, og kuratorer eksperimenterer fortsat med formater og metoder, så der findes ikke én model, der dækker alle behov. Studiet peger på, at lydkunst og mediekunst kan bruge beslægtede dokumentationsmodeller, og at webben og internettet spiller en fremtrædende rolle i strategierne hos både institutioner og uafhængige kuratorer.
This thesis examines how interactive sound art installations and sound art environments are documented and preserved, from a media arts perspective. Sound art is treated as a practice at risk, both in terms of preservation and in how it is placed within a scholarly context. The aim is to identify which parts of the practice are vulnerable and why. The study first clarifies what distinguishes sound art installations and environments from traditional visual art and music. It then considers which elements can and should be preserved through documentation—that is, written descriptions, recordings, technical specifications, and other materials that capture how a work functions and is experienced. Several documentation strategies are analyzed and compared. To ground the discussion, the thesis analyzes selected artworks and presents case studies of documentation approaches used by one art institution, one festival, and two independent curators. The literature review draws on publications and interviews by media and sound art curators, articles, and texts from exhibition catalogues. Findings show that reliance on digital and electronic technologies—especially the eventual obsolescence of hardware and software components—puts parts of sound artworks at risk of disappearing. This makes documentation essential. At the same time, practices vary, and curators continue to experiment with formats and methods, so no single model fits all needs. The study suggests that sound art and media art can use similar documentation models, and that the Web and the Internet play a leading role in strategies used by both institutions and independent curators.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
Keywords
Documents