Towards Process-Based Research in Conservation: DIAL for Complex Artworks

All artworks are sensitive to interpretation, decisions, and interests. During my research on working with Conceptual Art, it became clear that the people who work with artworks in museums, including conservators, greatly influence their form. This becomes especially apparent with conceptual artworks because of the input of those who are involved in their exhibition. Considering the impact this has on the artworks’ appearance each time, dealing with personal input became the focus of my research. Personal accountability forms the basis for the new thinking tool that is presented in this paper.
Conservation at the post-digital turn is no longer an activity that takes place only behind the scenes in a studio with artworks on easels and solvents on trolley carts. Many contemporary artworks become manifest in the gallery, in a public space, or on the web. This requires new kinds of expertise from conservators, varying from thorough insight into new art-making processes to highly developed social skills. In the conservation of contemporary art, working with objects has become working with people, including gardeners even, in the case of Pierre Huyghe’s La Saison des Fêtes.