[(The Archive)] [ Edited by Charles Merewether ] [October, 2006]

Whitechapel: Documents of Contemporary Art

by Charles Merewether

In the modern era, the archive--official or personal--has become the most significant means by which historical knowledge and memory are collected, stored, and recovered. The archive has thus emerged as a key site of inquiry in such fields as anthropology, critical theory, history, and, especially, recent art. Traces and testimonies of such events as World War II and ensuing conflicts, the emergence of the postcolonial era, and the fall of communism have each provoked a reconsideration of the authority given the archive--no longer viewed as a neutral, transparent site of record but as a contested subject and medium in itself. This volume surveys the full diversity of our transformed theoretical and critical notions of the archive--as idea and as physical presence--from Freud's "mystic writing pad" to Derrida's "archive fever"; from Christian Boltanski's first autobiographical explorations of archival material in the 1960s to the practice of artists as various as Susan Hiller, Ilya Kabakov, Thomas Hirshhorn, Renée Green, and The Atlas Group in the present.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Theory, Reference, Philosophy, History

Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Suzanne LaPierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most comprehensive book I've found on contemporary art relating to the theme and function of the archive. It's a great resource for those doing research on the topic, but a bit esoteric for the casual reader. Some of the pieces are excerpts but can point one in the direction of other sources. The introduction by Charles Merewhether is a good overview of the theme. See Fred Wilson's Mining the Museum for another great example of a conceptual re-interpretation of a historical society collection that is not included in this volume.

[amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tons of short essays and selections from all over. Wouldn't recommend reading them all at once -- it's kind of a lot. "Discovered" (haha ugh) one possible early source for the "archives are neutral" straw man argument. (It was always a straw man.)

Also lol at this cover. The Archive! It's full of ladies!

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Archives are art.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice collection of essays dealing with the archive as a methodology for shaping and constructing meaning. Derrida, Hal Foster, Freud, and many working artists.

[Mills College Library]

027 A6735 2006

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Archive's greatest hits.