Contemporary Art and Media

Is Fluxus fluxing or can it be conserved? How can we preserve an event, a choreography or a performance? Is technological obsolescence a hindrance or an opportunity in the preservation of new media? What if decay is intentionally woven into the fabric of an artwork? These are just a few of the questions that define our research in the field of Contemporary Art and Media. 

This field of research focuses on the materiality and preservation of contemporary art and media art. It encompasses both theoretical and empirical research into the material and immaterial aspects of artworks. The ephemeral nature of many of these works requires the development, discussion, application and examination of new ways of thinking and approaches.

• Conservation of contemporary art and media 
• Theory, philosophy and ethics of conservation 
• Contemporary conservation 
• Understanding works as well as the theories and practices of materiality 
• Theories and practices of the archive and memory institutions 
• New horizons of conservation: Post-Preservation and Critical Conservation 
   

Performance: Conservation, Materiality, Knowledge

The aim of this research project is to explore innovative approaches to the preservation of performance-based artworks. By systematising new and current strategies, we seek to develop effective methods for safeguarding these dynamic art forms. The project focuses on various aspects, including documentation, archiving, residual materials and knowledge related to performance. 

Activating Fluxus

This research project examines the “life” and “afterlife” of Fluxus projects, performances and ephemera created in the 1960s and 1970s in Switzerland, Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States.