As a beginner art manager or collector, you might think you don’t need an archive. It is rather simple to keep all recordings in a notebook or a separate file in your Google Drive. Yet, as your collection grows, the need to archive artwork increases as well. The archive is a handy way to keep all details about each item in one place, thus avoiding confusion or losing some vital information underway.
Why Archive Artwork?
Artwork documentation is getting more and more important for all art practices and collecting efforts. Information can come from a variety of sources and be stored in different formats, thus making the tracking process much more complicated. Those who start archiving art are sure to notice tangible benefits – keeping all data in one place, retrieving all relevant data items about specific artwork instantly, and maintaining control over the collection’s complexity.
Both artists and art owners can reap the benefits of archiving. Artists may keep their artistic process documented so that they don’t lose their vital milestones out of sight. Owners ensure sustainable growth and expansion of their collections, which can factor in all changes without causing an extra mental load.
What Should an Archive Include?
Since archives are the main source of the history of art, either on a small scale of a single artist or collector or on a larger scale of the entire art institution, they should be taken seriously in the broader art industry. All reputable art entities archive artwork, such as the National Gallery of Art or Tate. They use these archives differently – for student education, research, and new art form creation.
Archives as Art Objects
Interestingly, archives can not only help people trace the history of art production and circulation but also become the objects of new art creation as well. One famous example of archive-related artwork is Yinka Shonibare’s “The British Library,” a project that fuses artwork and archiving. It represents an installation featuring a bookshelf covered in the Dutch wax print fabric, with the names of early British immigrants on the book spines. Every time the exhibition is held, Shonibare invites the visitors to add their unique stories of immigration to the archive and next time, their names also emerge on the book spines. Other examples include Richard Bell’s “Embassy,” works by John Akomfrah, and the activities by the Black Audio Film Collective.
As you can see, archives are both instruments of record-keeping and sources of creative inspiration in the world of art. Their role will remain pronounced because of their ability to accumulate historical evidence and share it with successive generations.