Art in Time: Permanence, Ephemerality, and Preservation

The arts have always been and continue to be a great mediator, the lens through which we understand our collective humanity over time. However, if history is written by the victor, how much can we actually know about our history and, furthermore, our arts history?

As an arts archivist, I’ve been consumed by questions relating to preservation and permanence. How many artists and artworks have slipped through the cracks of our historical record? Who has documented thriving D.I.Y arts scenes, street art and public performances? What artworks, created in an ephemeral state, have been lost forever? And, more importantly, what voices and perspectives have been omitted from our arts history?

We exist in a born-digital culture—every second of every day, thousands of images, videos and documents are created and transmitted across digital platforms. The chances of an artist’s shoe-box of sketchbooks, diaries and correspondence being discovered into the future is miniscule. How will historians and scholars tell the story, interpret the past and research an artist if no paper trail exists?

Answering these questions is vital to understanding the potential of archives in contemporary art and local history. Artists’ archives are more than just piles of paper in a dark basement; they are the documents of human existence, providing a window into understanding the artist’s intent, process and sources of inspiration. Contemporary archiving is not a passive act; rather, it is a radical one, in which the people play an active role in who and what is archived and what is deemed “history.”