I have gained control over a whole space through the use of video projections, soundscaping and various other materials including some interactive media, enabling me to give the audience a fuller sensual experience. Multi‐media has made it possible for artists such as myself to create artworks that require more than a visual conversation with the viewer. The manipulation of memory by time became a physical manifestation in the environments that I create with the use of multi‐media installations.

In this thesis, I will examine the difficulties of documenting ephemeral art and the possible solutions that archivists, curators, artists and other museum professions have come up with. I will begin by presenting a background of the history of performance art, which was the impetus for all ephemeral art to come. Then I will present case studies of three artists: Allan Kaprow, Eva Hesse, and Richard Tuttle, and their archival processes, all of which provide very different approaches to similar artistic problems. Finally, I will discuss the implications of re-performance and re-creation of ephemeral artworks.

A tese DA IMENSIDÃO AO POEMA apresenta obras de arte e experimentos poéticos realizados entre os anos de 2014 e 2018, os quais exprimem uma busca intrinsecamente relacionada à imensidão. Incorporada a esta busca estão as produções de livros de artista, de poemas, instaurações, registro de caminhadas e relatos poéticos. Reunidos a este volume estão outros sete volumes compostos por livros de artista. Na busca pela imensidão foram abordadas as hipóteses de percepção da imensidão como elemento constitutivo de lugares e formador de não lugares, cuja análise desenvolveu conceitos tais como: heterotopia e atopia e sua relação com o tempo que pode coexistir permanentemente e de forma efêmera (heterocronia). Foram analisadas outras obras produzidas por outros artistas cuja composição e contextos se relacionam com os experimentos produzidos neste relato poético. / The dissertation FROM IMMENSITY TO POEM presents artworks and poetic experiments carried out between the years 2014 and 2018, which express a search intrinsically related to the immensity. Incorporated in this search are the productions of artist\'s books, poems, instaurations, documentation of walks and poetic narratives. Added to this volume are seven other volumes composed of artist\'s books. In the quest for immensity, the hypotheses of perception of immensity as a constituent of places and non-places were discussed, whose analysis developed concepts such as: heterotopy and atopy and their relationship withs time that can coexist permanently and in an ephemeral way (heterochrony). Artworks produced by other artists whose composition and contexts are related to the experiments produced in this poetic research were analyzed too.

Since the 1970s, the work of Los Angeles-based artist Paul McCarthy (b. 1945) has included live performance, video, sculpture, kinetic tableaux, and installation. Tracing the development of McCarthy’s work between 1974 and 2013, I undertake a critical discussion of the development of performance in relation to visual art practices. Using one artist’s work as a guide through a number of key discussions in the history of performance art, I argue that performance has influenced every aspect of McCarthy’s artistic practice, and continues to inform critical readings of his work. My thesis follows the trajectory of McCarthy’s performance practice as it has developed through different contexts. I begin with the early documentation and dissemination of performance in the Los Angeles-based magazine High Performance (1978-83), which established a context for the reception of performance art, and for McCarthy’s early work. I then examine specific examples of McCarthy’s practice in relation to his critical reception: live performances and videos from the 1970s are discussed alongside critical readings of his work influenced by psychoanalysis; and the wider public recognition of McCarthy’s object-based art in the 1980s and early 1990s. I then look more broadly at the recent trend of re-enacting historical performances in the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time project (2011-12), as a mode of engaging with performance history and exploring how histories of ephemeral art are re-iterated over time. Finally, I discuss a number of McCarthy’s recent exhibitions and installations that mobilises a wider consideration of the histories of performance and ephemeral practices in art institutions. McCarthy’s work is firmly established in the art world, and I argue that his work also provides a significant touchstone for histories of performance. I look historically at how McCarthy’s work has been documented, disseminated, curated, and re-performed, and open wider discussions about ways of engaging with performance history. In turn, I complicate the relationship between performance and the art world; between ephemeral art and object-based art practices; and between scholarly engagements with performance history, and the public presentation of performance in curatorial practices and institutional contexts.

M.Tech. (Fine Art) / The development of contemporary artistic practice, often termed ‘new media’ art, has bought about new challenges in the re-interpretation of conservational data for the curatorial re-presentation of such artworks. These challenges are intensified in artworks of a non-traditional, transient, intangible and / or ephemeral nature. As such, new media works embrace dynamism and fluidity as part of their intangibility and ephemerality. The conservation of such works now requires consideration of the various elements that make up the work, particularly those where the medium predicates meaning. In this study I investigate the institutions and systems which intervene in this conservation of intangible and ephemeral art for future re-presentation and exhibition. I argue that, by compiling notational data (as a work’s ‘score’) of culturally significant ephemeral and intangible artworks the curator is required to refer to the gathered notational data as a reliable guideline for the re-presentation of a work’s ‘true nature’. This raises questions about which parts of an artwork form its true nature and which components are considered variable allowing them to be altered, replaced or migrated. Any re-presentation of the work is therefore dependent on a thorough investigation of the artwork’s essential elements in terms of the artist’s intent, as well as an in-depth contemplation of external / environmental influences. The dynamic (and thus true) nature of specific ephemeral and intangible art objects in the work of Olafur Eliasson, James Webb as well as my own upon, re-presentation, is the focus of this research study.

This doctoral project combines a performance-led practice with contextual research in order to demonstrate how arts practice can challenge historical perceptions of clay and enhance its material status. The core knowledge deduced from this research is that embodied performance transforms connectivity between artist and clay and produces a unified incarnation of both elements. Through the use of immersive research methods I gained insights which could not have been predicted - particularly that my experiential performances were a process of ‘clay becoming’ in which I ultimately became the clay. In terms of locality, the practice, comprising eight performance-led works and related documentation, focuses on the China Clay and Ball Clay of South West England. Traditionally in the arts, these materials are associated with ceramics, where through heating, clay becomes rigid and fixed. In contrast, my research investigates the textural fluidity and metamorphic potential of these clays in their raw state. The practice encompasses two interrelated groups of work; the In-breath and Out-breath. These terms are significant in three respects. Firstly they define two different modes and moments of practice. Secondly they refer to myself as a living component of these practices. Thirdly they reflect the cultural associations of clay as a metaphor for life. During the initial exploratory ‘In-breath’ phase of my practice, comprising four site-specific pieces, I engaged with clay at sites of historical relevance, building an expansive knowledge of my material. During the later ‘Out-breath’ phase, identification with site was relinquished. These works took place within neutral spaces, allowing the clay to be explored in relation to my body. The introduction of layering, where photographic elements of private clay rituals were situated within the context of a live performance, allowed a texturally dynamic and immersive experience to be created for both artist and viewer. By collecting and preserving clay traces from these live performances (e.g. foot and body prints) additional value was given to the embedded significance of the clay.

This study investigates effects on the ephemeral artwork and its ephemeral quality when documented and archived. To define the ephemeral artform a definition presented by Mary O’Neill in her thesis Ephemeral Art: Mourning and Loss (2007) is used, and two ephemeral artworks are studied: Zoe Leonard’s Strange Fruit (for David) (1992-1997) and Felix Gonzalez-Torres' ”Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) (1991). Results from these case studies are compared to each other and to Peggy Phelan’s critical stance on the possibilities of documenting time-based and performative artforms in Unmarked: The Politics of Performance (1993). Results show that the ephemeral artwork becomes ephemeral through slow degradation and the experience this degradation generates in the observer; processes in time that cannot be documented. However, documentation can affect the observer’s experience of ”here and now,” which may alter the artwork’s communicative abilities and its effectiveness in creating a sense of presence within the passing of time. / I denna studie studeras påverkan på det efemära konstverket och dess efemära egenskap när det dokumenteras och arkiveras. För att definiera den efemära konstformen används en definition som presenteras av Mary O’Neill i avhandlingen Ephemeral Art: Mourning and Loss (2007), och två efemära konstverk studeras: Zoe Leonards Strange Fruit (for David) (1992–1997) och Felix Gonzalez-Torres ”Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) (1991). Resultat från verkanalyser av dessa verk jämförs mot varandra samt mot Peggy Phelans uppfattning att performance-baserad konst inte kan dokumenteras i Unmarked: The Politics of Performance (1993). Resultat visar att det efemära konstverket blir efemärt genom sin långsamma nedbrytning och genom betraktarens upplevelse av denna nedbrytning – temporala processer som inte kan dokumenteras med exakthet. Dokumentering kan dock innebära att betraktarens upplevelse av ”här och nu” påverkas och således verkets förmåga att kommunicera effektivt om passerande tid och frambringa närvaro i nuet.

A pesquisa observa as novas relações de produção e difusão da arte que surgiram com a utilização da internet e das novas tecnologias, pelas instituições culturais, para a expansão de suas atividades. A investigação propõe que essa nova forma de comunicação pode unir o alcance das plataformas virtuais, a credibilidade de grandes centros artísticos e a força dos processos colaborativos de criação em rede para ampliar a propagação da arte e da cultura. O estudo pretende mostrar como museus, galerias e instituições culturais em geral, têm desenvolvido trabalhos na world wide web, desde o começo dos anos 90, de forma a ampliar o acesso do público, não apenas a seus acervos e exposições, mas também à possibilidade de criação conjunta do conhecimento museológico e de nossa herança cultural. Através da observação dos conteúdos disponibilizados na rede por museus variados, nacionais e internacionais, relacionados a artigos sobre questões contemporâneas da museologia, são analisados como os objetivos das instituições artísticas quanto ao uso do ciberespaço têm evoluído. Há um crescente esforço em suprir as necessidades culturais dos novos espectadores da era conectada da internet. Hoje, modelos de exposições virtuais permitem que formatos de arte efêmera, como performances ou intervenções, possam efetivamente fazer parte dos espaços museológicos. Foi criada uma nova ligação com o visitante do museu, que pode estar em qualquer lugar do mundo e, utilizando redes sociais e mídias móveis, passa a ser criador e difusor de conteúdo, além de receptor. Por fim, há a reflexão sobre como, enquanto se adéquam às novas relações do homem com a arte e a cultura através do mundo virtual, as instituições devem se preocupar com a responsabilidade social e a democratização do acesso aos bens culturais por aqueles que ainda não tem contato frequente com as novas tecnologias. / The research points the new relations of production and dissemination of art that emerge with the use of the Internet and new technologies, by cultural institutions to expand their activities. The research suggests that this new form of communication can put together the reach of virtual platforms, the credibility of major artistic centers and the strength of networks for collaborative creation processes, to enlarge the propagation of art and culture. The study aims to show how museums, galleries and cultural institutions in general, have developed activities on the world wide web since the early \'90s, in order to increase public access, not only to their collections and exhibitions, but also to the possibility of joint creation of the museological knowledge and cultural heritage. How the goals of art institutions in the use of cyberspace have evolved are analyzed through observation of the content provided on the net by various museums, national and international, related with articles about issues on contemporary museology. There is a growing effort to meet the cultural needs of the new spectators of internet connected age. Nowadays, virtual exhibitions models allow ephemeral art formats, such as performances or interventions, to effectively be part of the museum spaces. A new connection was created with the museum visitor, who can be anywhere in the world and, using social networks and mobile media, becomes a creator and disseminator of content, as well as a receiver. Finally, there is the observation on how, while adapting with the man\'s new relationship with art and culture through the virtual world, institutions should concern also about social responsibility and democratic access to culture for those who do not have frequent contact with new technologies.

A pesquisa observa as novas relações de produção e difusão da arte que surgiram com a utilização da internet e das novas tecnologias, pelas instituições culturais, para a expansão de suas atividades. A investigação propõe que essa nova forma de comunicação pode unir o alcance das plataformas virtuais, a credibilidade de grandes centros artísticos e a força dos processos colaborativos de criação em rede para ampliar a propagação da arte e da cultura. O estudo pretende mostrar como museus, galerias e instituições culturais em geral, têm desenvolvido trabalhos na world wide web, desde o começo dos anos 90, de forma a ampliar o acesso do público, não apenas a seus acervos e exposições, mas também à possibilidade de criação conjunta do conhecimento museológico e de nossa herança cultural. Através da observação dos conteúdos disponibilizados na rede por museus variados, nacionais e internacionais, relacionados a artigos sobre questões contemporâneas da museologia, são analisados como os objetivos das instituições artísticas quanto ao uso do ciberespaço têm evoluído. Há um crescente esforço em suprir as necessidades culturais dos novos espectadores da era conectada da internet. Hoje, modelos de exposições virtuais permitem que formatos de arte efêmera, como performances ou intervenções, possam efetivamente fazer parte dos espaços museológicos. Foi criada uma nova ligação com o visitante do museu, que pode estar em qualquer lugar do mundo e, utilizando redes sociais e mídias móveis, passa a ser criador e difusor de conteúdo, além de receptor. Por fim, há a reflexão sobre como, enquanto se adéquam às novas relações do homem com a arte e a cultura através do mundo virtual, as instituições devem se preocupar com a responsabilidade social e a democratização do acesso aos bens culturais por aqueles que ainda não tem contato frequente com as novas tecnologias. / The research points the new relations of production and dissemination of art that emerge with the use of the Internet and new technologies, by cultural institutions to expand their activities. The research suggests that this new form of communication can put together the reach of virtual platforms, the credibility of major artistic centers and the strength of networks for collaborative creation processes, to enlarge the propagation of art and culture. The study aims to show how museums, galleries and cultural institutions in general, have developed activities on the world wide web since the early \'90s, in order to increase public access, not only to their collections and exhibitions, but also to the possibility of joint creation of the museological knowledge and cultural heritage. How the goals of art institutions in the use of cyberspace have evolved are analyzed through observation of the content provided on the net by various museums, national and international, related with articles about issues on contemporary museology. There is a growing effort to meet the cultural needs of the new spectators of internet connected age. Nowadays, virtual exhibitions models allow ephemeral art formats, such as performances or interventions, to effectively be part of the museum spaces. A new connection was created with the museum visitor, who can be anywhere in the world and, using social networks and mobile media, becomes a creator and disseminator of content, as well as a receiver. Finally, there is the observation on how, while adapting with the man\'s new relationship with art and culture through the virtual world, institutions should concern also about social responsibility and democratic access to culture for those who do not have frequent contact with new technologies.