Even in capitalist systems, there are inalienable rights for the arts. One of these rights is the right to authorship. Who created the work, who painted or copied it, and if so, did they respect this inalienable right and properly identify the source. In photography, proof of authorship used to be possession of film, negative or slide. Today it is often the digital data set, outcropped in the highest resolution.
When a photographer refers to his career and experience, he is actually referring to his archive. That is his greatest treasure, that is the foundation of his authorship.
In the digital age – which will certainly also pass – analogue film is already considered old-fashioned and antiquated. Nevertheless, it still stores far more pixels per inch than modern digital cameras. The advantage lies in its easy availability and handling, not in its quality. The idea of keeping the analogue for a while and preserving it for posterity is therefore a good one. But what is happening today? Most photographers cling to their archives and their descendants see little value in them. Most of it ends up quietly and secretly in the trash.
What would be the alternative if you know that you cannot preserve something yourself? You can try to anchor it in stories and hope that they live on. But that would be a media disruption in which a lot would be lost.
In professional IT, it is considered wise to create data backups in a decentralized manner and also to store them in a decentralized manner, i.e. in physically distant locations.
The eternal archive of the MUARCO museum takes this approach. It distributes the works of art from its archive worldwide.
If you can let go while you are still alive, you are also freeing yourself to some extent. And that feels good. And if you encode the information in art, you can assume that some of it will last for a long time. The perception of an object as a cult object – and that is what a work of art is in an archive or an exhibition – is helpful in generating attention and care in future generations, also with regard to the preservation of the work itself.
The seemingly foolish act of giving up the proof of authorship is rewarded with ease and sustainability.
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