[-empyre-] empyre Digest, Vol 55, Issue 16

[James Way]

I just picked up on the thread and haven't been able to go back and read all the entries yet, so please forgive any redundancy.
 
Atsuko and Christina raise interesting questions/points about the documentation of participatory and performance art. One being immediacy, the present and presence and the other mediation, past and memory.
 
PKN is definitely privileges the former it is mixed conversation, sweat and beer, especially in the tight confines of the smoky subterranean den in Roppongi. 
 
PKN Blog moves toward the latter as it becomes documentation. The interesting thing about blogs is it's reader response which keeps it tied a little more closely to the present. That is, it can always be active and in the present through commentary and the discussions and collaborations that may emerge. But they do easily fall into oblivion - the blogs themselves or the information archived there - either poorly organized, buried, or we just plain forget where some nugget of information was.
 
For me, documentation, either of previous works or of current conditions, for architectural and installation work, are part of the process of design and are folded into the new project with differing degrees of transparency - the trace can be literal, visible or a memory and invisible in the produced artifact.
 
The question of documentation in the present, taking Christina's lead, reminds me of the passing photo stills of La Jetée. Photos still seem to be the preferred/dominant medium for documenting performance and participatory art, although with growing attention to video now that it is becoming more easily disseminated with YouTube, Vimeo, etc.
 
The present always becomes the past while setting the stage for the future. Photography as documentation - freezing a moment in time as evidence, which automatically passes. Websites maintain the digital presence. Google Images finds and yields the trace. However, if we look at photo sharing sites - flickr, fotolog - we have a completely different life and time line of photos whose role is not only archiving "the past" but making collections - curating a present which can lead to future inquiry and connections. Images are no longer tied merely to their historical narratives but become examples/evidence in contemporary narratives, or in design forums. We cannot identify an audience (unless we use registration and security settings), but we can expect a typical audience based on theme and interest. In this sense, yes the dependence on museums and galleries, and also print publications, is weakened but they still are the dominant form of legitimacy. 
 
Best,
James


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