“Archive in Contemporary Art”
The archive is generally referred to as the classification of documents, papers, or objects that require a completely documented structure. However, in contemporary art, we encounter a definition that goes beyond the definitions we had in the past, such as the use of elements and documents as objects or direct functions for creating works, and beyond that, a way to organize artistic projects through which archival resources can be considered as artistic works. In terms of collection and display, it can be said that the archive in contemporary art has a very broad meaning and creates a separate and creative path in the intellectual development of contemporary art and its history and context.
This process may initially have been considered an interdisciplinary structure or the use of material resources as a background or supportive element for the work. However, it gradually became evident that archival resources are integrated into the artwork and artistic projects themselves, taking on an artistic form. This approach is distinct from works where archival resources are prioritized in the creation of the piece.
Gradually, as access to information and responses to curiosities accelerated, the attitude towards such issues and their accessibility underwent a profound and complex transformation, even shifting its function from documentation to independent and intricate projects, such as artistic endeavors. Examining this perspective and addressing it within the frameworks and ideas of contemporary art, particularly in terms of archiving and collecting documents, objects, and elements related to established goals, became a point of interest for artists and art collectors.
In the past hundred years, artists and scholars have played a significant role in various matters, and the idea of presenting an archive of elements and concepts in the form of contemporary art has gained considerable appeal, a clear language, a strong historical background, and diverse functions within contemporary art.
In the meantime, gradually developed attitudes opened up a space for organizing and creating a special framework in spatial archival perspectives for organizations, foundations, and museums that were inclined to play a role in these matters; museums and places that focus on collecting, categorizing, and presenting such projects. The distinction of such places from other dominant museums and foundations lies in a multifaceted approach to history, documentation, and contemporary art through the lens of archives and contemporary art. This approach can intertwine projects that involve historical reinterpretation of various forms with contemporary art in such a way that it gives them a unique structure and ultimately plays a role in the unity of the history and documentation of art. This approach sometimes starts from a fragment of a document or an object and can lead to various aspects that cannot be imagined in normal archival situations. This arises from the increasing application of contemporary art and its creative and latent dimensions, which can present even the smallest traces with the most significant hidden revelations in a creative, innovative, and reinterpretable language.
With this approach and expectation, the Nasser Archive Museum, which has been seeking a way to express and create a laboratory with an archive-centered perspective on contemporary art over the course of its twenty years of development, began its activities in 2021. The focus of this collection is on exploring the hidden and diverse aspects of the archive and its relationship with contemporary art.
The collection, explanation, and presentation of projects in the form of contemporary art layouts that fully embrace an archival perspective and contemporary art. In this context, it examines how to engage with archival discussions and their relationship with art, while striving to gather its own items. Through this collection of activities, it seeks to uncover hidden aspects of history and collective memory.
By studying projects that have an independent framework in Iran, one can conclude that they have never truly taken on independent aspects. Over the years, artists, experts, and organizations have all presented projects that are worthy of contemplation and admiration, which can be considered a starting point for examining such approaches. Museums like the Nasser Bakhshi Archive represent a structured and focused continuation of such activities, which have been shaped in the past. This aspect of distinction relates to the examination of society, culture, politics, and various aspects of studying our collective memory, which is explored through the lens of contemporary art.
The approach to such projects in the Archive Museum can be briefly summarized as follows:
- Studying collective memory through the lens of contemporary art
- Tracing the hidden aspects of collective memory
- Collecting and documenting documents and objects
- Refining and reinterpreting the collected works
- Collecting or creating contemporary artworks with a similar approach to the gathered documents
- Researching and investigating the relationship between documents and contemporary art
- Shaping and curating projects
- Creating space and defining projects for presentation
- Publishing research, works, and presented projects
Examples of presented projects:
- Letters from migrants of the past fifty years
- Child labor in the 1930s and 1940s
- Photographs from the albums of prisoners from the 1930s
- Hidden layers on the covers from the last two to three hundred years from the perspective of discovered designs and their relation to design
- Letters from fighters of the Iran-Iraq War, the graphics of the envelopes, and their connection to contemporary design