Introduction
  >Research approach
  General documentation theory
  Current documentation strategies for installations
  Research results

Video documentation of installations

Requirements for video documentation of installations

Conclusion

Glossary

Literature

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Introduction – Research approach

As producer and distributor of media art installations Montevideo has a long history in the production, presentation and (re-)installation of installation art. Since 2002, Montevideo has conducted case-based research of complex multimedia installations including video documentation research on installations and other transitory artistic events. However, until now, no conceptual framework has emerged nor good practice on how to document an installation (including its experience) on video.

The research approach of our special study within the Inside Installations project was two-fold. It included literature research into current documentation practices (of project partners and beyond) as well as analysis of existing video documentation of installations. The videos analysed came both from case studies within the Inside Installations project as well as some from Montevideo’s own collection of video documentation from 1976-2006.

The following case studies from the Inside Installations project were analysed:
— Albert’s Ark (1990) by Bill Spinhoven, collection Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage / ICN
— Revolution (1989) by Jeffrey Shaw a.o., collection Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage / ICN
— Circle Puppets (1994) by Dennis Oppenheim, collection Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid
— Clamp (1995) by Franz West, collection Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
— Doppelgarage (2002) by Thomas Hirschhorn, collection Doerner Institut, München
— Liquid Time (1993) by Fabrizio Plessi, collection ZKM/Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe
— Notion Motion (2006) by Olafur Eliasson, collection Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam

Installations in the collection of the Netherlands Media Art Institute are among others by:
Marina Abramovic, The Vasulkas, Peter Bogers, Bill Spinhoven, Lydia Schouten and Bert Schutter.

As a starting point we used the following installation documentation:
4 Case Studies of Media Art Installations (2003)
— 25 Caramboles and Variations. Birthday Present for a 25 Year Old, (1979/1980) by Miguel-Ángel Cárdenas, collection Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
— Outside / Inside (1982) by Elsa Stansfield and Madelon Hooykaas, collection of the artist
— Are You Afraid of Video? (1984-1994) by Servaas, collection Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
— A Word of Welcome (1997-2007) by eddie d, collection of the artist.
In total we analysed some 200 video documents. These were viewed, researched and discussed in several sessions by the technical team at Montevideo who are used to make recordings; Ramon Coelho, Ward ter Voorde, Sami Kalinen and the results were evaluated by the curatorial and preservation team; Jennifer Steetskamp, Annet Dekker and Gaby Wijers.