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1. Research questions (April 2007)
creator(s) Maike Grün (conservator)
Thomas Hirschhorn's ‘Doppelgarage’ occupies a very special position in the contemporary art collection of the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, but it also poses the museum staff – conservators, art historians, storage managers and art handlers – a number of complex questions, some of them entirely new. What differentiates the environment above all from most of the artworks in the museum is its dimensions, the very large number of objects it comprises and its art-technological idiosyncrasies.
The environment is composed of nearly four hundred objects dispersed over an area of some 120 square metres. This presents significant logistical challenges in terms of packing, shipping and storage. Setting-up and dismantling is a risky business given the fragile condition of many of the objects. The short life of many of the materials used by Hirschhorn raises serious conservational questions. To take adhesive tape as an example, what is to be done when the tape begins to lose its adhesive properties?
What kind of documentation will be required to establish a basis for determining future changes in condition, deterioration and damage? How can replication of the ordering and positioning of the objects precisely in line with the artist’s original conception be ensured in the future? What are the best methods for the preservation and storage of all the different components of ‘Doppelgarage’? What is the artist's attitude to the effects of the ageing process and the resulting conservational implications? The key research topics derived from examination of these questions are presented on this website.
We are grateful to Thomas Hirschhorn for his kind cooperation in the presentation of this research.
PHOTO a giant mushroom modelled in adhesive-tape (Haydar Koyupinar © VG Bild-Kunst Bonn, 2007)
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