Wee, Cecilia Liang May (2012) Rationales of documentation in British Live Art since the 1990s: the pragmatic, memorial and holistic. Doctoral thesis (DPhil), University of Sussex.

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Abstract

This thesis investigates rationales behind Live Art documentation, by examining the work of British artists working under the banner of ‘Live Art’ since the 1990s. My aim has been to write an account of Live Art’s history and major themes that incorporates primary research, analysis and criticism of recent research on documentation. Works by Live Artists are not discussed chronologically, but so that they might function as points of departure for discussions about Live Art’s relationship to documentation and its relevance as a contemporary cultural form.

The thesis starts with an introduction setting out definitions of Live Art and documentation and contextualising Live Art’s relationship to Performance Art.

The rationales for documenting Live Art are grouped into three categories: documentation as pragmatic, documentation as memorial and documentation as holistic. The main text is divided into three parts, each part discusses issues relating to one of the above categories.

Part 1 addresses practical reasons why artists working under the banner of Live Art
document their work. The section includes an exploration of the infrastructure for the
development of Live Art in the UK as well as an analysis of the market for Live Art and its documentation.

Part 2 interrogates perspectives from the discipline of performance studies on the relationship between live action and documentation, exploring how these issues have been interpreted in Live Art’s history. In particular, this section will assess how writers and artists have approached discussion of Live Art in oral and written form.

Part 3 proposes models of rethinking documentation based on works by British Live Artists that develop documentation in tandem to live action and enjoy a privileged relationship to technology.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Schools and Departments:	School of Media, Arts and Humanities > Music
Subjects:	M Music. Literature on music. Musical instruction and study > ML Literature on music > ML0159 History and criticism > ML0430 Composition and performance N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR > N0061 Theory. Philosophy. Aesthetics of the visual arts N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR > N5300 History > N6350 Modern art > N6447 19th and 20th centuries
Depositing User:	Library Cataloguing
Date Deposited:	11 Jul 2012 07:18
Last Modified:	16 Mar 2022 15:37
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/39562

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