Archives and Contemporary Art: A Matter of Individuality

By employing tools of collection, classification, and indexing borrowed from archival theory and practice, artists have been exploring artistic languages capable of transcending the objecthood prevalent in post-World War II art. This exploration led to the development of an expressive form that remains relevant today and is mostly based on conceptual art practices, generally referred to as archival art.While the archive has being serving as an artistic model, its contemporary incarnation as an institution offers a formidable resource for reconstructing recent art history. Research efforts are expanding to develop criteria for the conservation and administration of contemporary art archives, describe case studies on the acquisition or museamisation of art document collections, and critically reinterpret artistic and artists’ documents sourced from their archives.In what perspective, and according to what possible definitions or counter-definitions is it possible to historicise or reinterpret archival art today?How do archives speak about contemporary art? What approaches can be taken to utilise visual and documentary archives as sources for art history?