ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses perspectives on the incorporation of live performances into art collections. The authors are currently conducting the research project Collecting the Ephemeral (2019–2023), founded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, which aims to overcome real and perceived difficulties in this regard. Their present contribution is based on the research conducted together with their team. It addresses some of the objections often raised against the possibility of including live performances in art collections and fosters the development of new perspectives and procedures in the institutional context. Current experimental practices are compared. The urgency to shift from the concept of “authenticity” to that of the “identity” of the work is emphasized, as is the shift from its “conservation” to its “care.” The authors ask: How is the artwork to be determined in the field of live performance art? How can it be preserved, and what tools and documents are needed to do so? What new expertise does it require? Do institutions and other art collections need to rethink their roles and tasks based on the challenges posed by this art genre? The authors’ discussion of recent approaches and concepts contributes to a mapping of museums’ treatment of live performance.
