Documenting and archiving

This article is in large based on conversations and emails with artists and other participants working with performance art. Performance is a wide and complex field and thus gives extra challenge in relations to organized documentation.

Should performance art be documented?

Some of the questions that have been discussed concerns documenting the live and the ephemeral. Is there a conflict or paradox in this? Could you say that documenting and archiving contradicts the very nature of performance art? Or could you say that a part of the concept includes documentation as its nature? Does a documented performance reappear as something entirely different or do we mean documentation is secluded as its own entity? Another aspect is whether different types of performance demands different types of documentation. Working with performance-theatre or classical solo work is different. Does the piece consist of mostly of video, light and sound or is it the interactivity and reaction with audience and participants that is the focus. Is it the performer himself and his sole actions that is the main focus? It is indeed hard to list or to collect statistics on these matters but Kjetil Skøien defines some of these variations by grouping them like this: Body performance (the ritual that exposes the performer to physical boundaries, removed from that of the everyday body). Multimedia performance (where the performer is not the main focus but where the object and the handling of this object becomes the main visual and video, slides or technical equipment is part of the element). The ironical-theatrical (ex Baktruppen where the element of play takes a big role, faking and experimenting with theatrical elements often by the use of texts) The interactive (where the main focus is participation/ the arena of the performance is not limited to the performer himself). And lastly the still-image (where the performer can be seen as a living sculpture, or a still photo)

It is natural that these different forms will have different needs of documentation and in retrospect they can be seen in various ways depending on their particular form. The feedback of these questions also vary by the artist asked, but the majority see the value in documenting their work, and that the next step is an archive to relate this documentation to. This concerns both their own work in general and to be able to see their work in a greater context, to be able to track the development and the history of the art expression. Yet there are those who argue that performance should remain what it is; an original moment and by documenting this moment it will be transformed into something it is not and that the best way of documenting therefore is by live speech and by retelling the moment. The majority do still seem to want to document in some form. One motivation for this is being able to reach a wider audience. How this is to be done needs to be sensitive to the various forms and how the artist works. Whilst for some it is natural to be documenting their work by video, others prefer photography. Whatever the media everyone seems to agree that by documenting the performance transforms into something that it originally was not in the given and live situation. Performance art is precisely based on the meeting with the performer, his audience/participants and the unpredictable factor that appears in such a meeting. Though this situation still doesn't prevent a need to document.

As an artist you depend on documenting your work in relation to applying for funding and exhibitions. Tone Gjevjon in the performance band "hungry hearts" names a concrete suggestion on how this scan be done. To best document a performance the performance should be filmed without its audience and directed as for film. The performer may focus on the elements that can be filmed and agree or direct the person filming the material. This would result in a work that should be seen as a new product. A recorded and directed version of the original score. This product would be more adapted to screenings like TV, cinema. By expanding the work cold also become something the artist could benefit financially from. This solution would of course not work for everyone, but is mentioned as one of many feedbacks that show and engagement by the artists to challenge the concept of documentation. It is a major concern that documentation on the whole should be approved by the artists themselves. You may presume that many festivals, museums and arenas do the documenting themselves and it is important to ask how this is done and whether it is approved by or done in collaboration with the artist?

(Read more:''Performancekunstens dilemma'' Billedkunst 3-07, http://www.billedkunstmag.no)

Where do we stand - what have we got?

The discussion on documentation and archiving performance art is particularly present in Norway these days as the director of Kunstbanken Hedmark, Ingrid Blekastad in 2005 launched the idea to build a centre for competence mediating performance art. Kunstbanken have since 2003 curated an annual performance festival with Norwegian and international performance artists. She estimates that the core of Norwegian performance artists consists of 20-30 people including those who have worked and professionalized in performance theatre. She adds that this does not include the artists who have worked sporadically and performed one or two performances perhaps at an earlier stage in their carrier. She states that artists have become more aware and proficient in documenting their work since the mid 90-s; she believes that there are probably round 150 videos of performance art work available. It is important to specify that this concerns documentation of live performances and not video-performance which is considered a genre on its own. The term video-performance and documentation of video was also discussed in the report on video archive written on the assignment from The Norwegian Arts Council earlier this year.

The report concretely suggests a model consisting of two parts; where ''the foundation of the archive is to be actively distribute and mediate a selection of video art pieces, based on a broad archive of references on Norwegian video art". An additional article on this topic To maintain the ephemeralis also written by Berg Simonsen, Paasche and Krokann Berg, chap.5 s.24 http://www.kulturrad.no/forskning_og_publikasjoner)

When it comes to archiving (or building up a resource centre for performance art) it is still at an early stage, but Ingrid Blekastad states that the archive is meant to be broad and inclusive, rather then narrow and exclusive. She mentions that Kunstbanken Hedmark first and foremost wishes to build competence in mediating the art expression. An archive would document all the activities in this area and is to be available to students, artists and curators. In addition to a physical archive there should also be an electronic archive making the work easier to share or publish. This ambition is similar to the report looking into a video archive also commissioned by the Norwegian Arts Council, and it is natural to believe that the parties should be collaborating and be linked to each other. It remains to be seen whether it can be funded and whether am agreed model can be found. .

In this context the new film-report would probably also be affected considering the decision on archiving this material lies with the Norwegian Film Institute and National library in Mo i Rana.

Today it is mainly the artists and curators who collects documentations. Rickard Borgström has through his own initiative collected over 160 pieces of Nordic performance on video since 1965 through to present time.. Most of the work collected is from the 1990-s. In addition the Kunstbanken has collected documentation from the festivals they have arranged and the National museum has also accumulated a small selection. This trend seems to be similar in the rest of the Nordic countries. Eija Aarnio and Kiasma in Helsinki report they have two video documentations of performances; one photo and two installations that encompass ''different kinds of stuff of performance equipments'' and a painting made during a performance. This reflects how undefined performance art and documentation can be. Kiasma have their own Kiasma Theater encompassing a broad range of performing art genres including theatre, dance, music, film and video art (http://www.kiasma.fi/). Artistic director for contemporary art of the Modern Museum in Stockholm, Magnus Peterens, reports that they are continually working to include performance art pieces in their archieves. He refers to the work by the Swedish artist Elin Wikström (‘‘Rebecka väntar på Anna, Anna väntar på Cecilia, Cecilia väntar på Marie...''), where they have been advised on how the performance (or activated situation) should be staged and documented. He also talks about video documentation, photography and other objects t in performances and happenings. He underlines the significance on how this material is presented in relation to each other and how the museum may take an active part in presenting this context on performance and its roots.

In the National Museum of Art in Oslo(former Museum of contemporary art) performance and performance artistic strategies have been shown and discussed during exhibitions, seminars and in educational side programs - Examples of this is Fantastic Politics (2006-2007), part of the exhibition "Tingenes Tilstand" (2006), the additional program for "Kiss the frog" (2005), Paul McCarthey retrospective (2003) and Body Matters (2002). Senior curator Andrea Kroksnes reports they have initiated and produced documentary films and projects in collaboration with the artists. One example is Olafur Eliassons "Collectivity Project". The National Museum of Art's library has no documentation at all. I have not been able to find what documentation the National Museum of Art might have bought besides their own private documentation.

Many things happen-What happens next?

There is large and growing activity in the Nordic performance art field this year; in October the Young Artist Society and Black Box in Oslo will present a performance festival, Kunstbanken Hedmark will arrange their fifth performance-festival collaborating with Kiasma focusing on Finnish performance. In Malmö Teater Lilith opened Lilith Performance Studio; a residency enabling production and showings (www.teaterlilith.com). In Stavanger AKT-S will present Performance Day for the third year running (www.touscene.com) to name but a few. Internationally I might also mention The Performance-biennale ''Performa07'' in New York 1. -20. November (http://www.performa-arts.org) and of course Live art Development agency in London. (http://www.thisisliveart.co.uk/)

If you are going to organize a collection of performance art, there are a number of questions that arise. Rickard Borgström arranged PERFORM06 in Trondheim in 2006, showing an archive of Nordic video-documentation of performance from the 70-s through to today. In collaboration with Camilla Eeg he plan to curate a conference this autumn and in this occasion will be presenting an international performance-network. The conference aims to facilitate a discussion on archiving and documentation where several participants are invited. The conference is meant to focus on the paradox of an archive rather then discuss the actual functions and documentary strategies.

'Film and video-cultural historical documentation', (post 74) presented during ABM-development was in 2006 transferred to the Norwegian Art Council and financially supports museums to produce film and video recordings. The main aim is to support the use of these medias in the work of cultural historical documentation and this may also include support for film and video recordings to ensure cultural historical documentation, which concerns other institutions of artistic activity. But as the name implies this concerns the major institutions such as , The Open Air Museum, the Jewish Museum and the Norwegian Mining Museum. - whilst exhibitions with performance, video or visual art falls out of this program. Could it that a similar arrangement and financial support could be achieved? In the next run this might be of importance and value for a future archive of performance art.

Norwegian Center for Dance and the Norwegian House of Dance recently received 900.000 NOK from the Norwegian Arts Council for a three-year project documenting the history of Norwegian dance. Material from 1945 to 1960 has already been collected and is scheduled to be digitalized. More material is to be collected from the period between1960 and 1994. Amongst all the material are 50 in depth interviews with photographic programs and video recordings. After 1994 the Norwegian Center for Dance has systematized this material as part of their work. At the same time a research report considering a video archive is being made. It is in this context fair to believe that performance art will have some part in this and that in time one will have the various art expressions archived in an accessible and informative way.

Links:

Kunstbanken Hedmark: http://www.kunstbanken.no

Live Art Development Agency: http://www.thisisliveart.co.uk

Kiasma: http://www.kiasma.fi Kiasma:

Teater Lilith: http://www.teaterlilith.com Teater Lilith:

Norsk kluturråd:http://www.kulturrad.noNorsk kluturråd: Norsk kluturråd:

Billedkunst: http://www.billedkunstmag.noBilledkunst: Billedkunst:

Performa: http://www.performa-arts.org

Translations by Emma Lind Edito Anne-Marte Eidseth Rygh