Versioning Cultural Objects

Digital Approaches

Roman Bleier, Winslow Sean M., Roman Bleier, Winslow Sean M.

• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9783750427020
• eBook ISBN: 9783750448285
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Computer Science General
• Index: Computer Science

This volume approaches an understanding of the term versioning in the broadest sense, discussing ideas about how versions differ across forms of media, including text, image, and sound. Versions of cultural objects are identified, defined, articulated, and analysed through diverse mechanisms in different fields of research. The study of versions allows for the investigation of the creative processes behind the conception of works, a closer inspection of their socio-political contexts, and promotes investigation of their provenance and circulation. Chapters in this volume include discussion of what a "version" means in different fields, case studies implementing digital versioning techniques, conceptual models for representing versions digitally, and computational and management issues for digital projects.

Case Studies

Pieces of a Bigger Puzzle: Tracing the Evolution of
Artworks and Conceptual Ideas in Artists’
Notebooks

Martina Scholger

Versioning Cultural Objects: Digital Approaches, edited by Roman Bleier and Sean M. Winslow. Schriften des Instituts für Dokumentologie und Editorik 13. Books on Demand, 2019, 27–56.

Abstract

Artist’s notes are a rich source for understanding the motivations behind an artwork, but have been largely neglected by both art history researchers and in scholarly editing. Using the digital edition of the notebooks of the Austrian artist Hartmut Skerbisch as a case study, this article discusses the various methodological approaches to versions in different disciplines–(digital) scholarly editing, musicology, and art history–and their transferability to artists’ notes. It explores where versions can be found in a single autograph, in contrast to multiple witnesses, and how they can be represented digitally. Special attention is given to the versioning of graphics– prominently used as form of expression in the relevant notebooks–proposingamodel for their formal description which makes them more comparable and reveals different versions and, consequently, the artistic development process.

1 Introduction

Ideas do not arise out of nowhere: they are the result of extensive processes of association and thought experiments. Note-taking may seem spontaneous, but notes are the result of a process of learning to write in a way that will communicate with the future reader (Mach 51). Permitting an idea to come to fruition requires a willingness to record it and to keep it as a note (Barthes 153). In a literary context, a note functions as a hinge between the source material and the text version (Van Hulle 53). Equivalent to this, the note of a visual artist can fulfil a double hinge function: between source (i.e., notes), artistic concept and the manifestation of the concept.

This paper investigates–using methods borrowed from (digital) scholarly editing, musicology and art history–the various definitions of versions in different disciplines, as well as to what extent these ideas can be transferred to artists’ notes. Based on this examination, the paper addresses both the current possibilities and shortcomings of formal digital representations of versions in artists’ notebooks, giving special attention to the similarities and differences in a series of textual and graphical modifications undertaken over periods of time.

Background to a case study: Harmut Skerbisch and conceptual art

In the 1960s, a new art movement emerged, originating in the United States of America and in Europe. Through this new movement, the concept, idea, and process of art production moved to the foreground, overshadowing the predominant emphasis on the final art product. Coined as conceptual in 1961 by the Fluxus artist Henry Flynt, the theoretical foundation for this transnational movement was provided by the artists Sol LeWitt and Joseph Kosuth, with their programmatic texts in the late 1960s. Set against the context of this paper, one statement from LeWitt’s paragraphs on conceptual art and the relevance of the idea and the thought process in the development of artworks, seems particularly applicable:

If the artist carries through his idea and makes it into visible form, then all the steps in the process are of importance. The idea itself, even if not made visual, is as much a work of art as any finished product. All intervening steps–scribbles, sketches, drawings, failed works, models, studies, thoughts, conversations–are of interest. Those that show the thought process of the artist are sometimes more interesting than the final product (LeWitt 82).

Here, drafts, notes and sketches as components of a larger meta-artwork were considered equal to the final executed work of art (in those cases where an object orientation, i.e. a precise aim to progress towards a final object, even existed) or became the artwork itself. After this point installations, happenings and performative acts were recognized as new forms of artistic expression. The lack of permanent physical manifestations, as well as the temporary and ephemeral character of these kinds of art require their own form of documentation on the history of their origins.

The following considerations on versions in notes, as precursors of artistic concepts and works of art, will be exemplified by the notebooks of the Austrian visual artist Hartmut Skerbisch (1945–2009). Although Skerbisch cannot be clearly assigned to a specific art movement–his work ranges from conceptual art to media art and object art–his 35 notebooks are without any doubt conceptual by nature. Over a period of almost 40 years, the artist used them for the conception and development of his artistic ideas: his experiments of thought, for forming his general understanding of artistic concepts, and the detailed planning of his executed works of art. Depending on his focus and purpose, Skerbisch expressed himself alternating between textual and graphical form (Scholger, “Assoziationsprozessen auf der Spur” 38).

Notes as versions

In the context of this volume’s topic, namely versioning, but also considering the process of editing in general, the question arises around whether and how it is possible to actually capture the versions of this specific type of artistic creation process.

Which kinds of versions exist in artists’ notebooks, i.e. a single witness, and are these–graphical and textual notes–conceptual modifications and alterations comparable to those more prominently examined in textual criticism with multiple textual witnesses (Shillingsburg, Scholarly Editing)? What does the successive development of sketches in Skerbisch’s notebooks have in common with the genetic criticism of draft manuscripts of literary texts (Grésillon), the writing process in Werkstattdokumenten (workshop documents) of musical works (Appel and Veit), and Fassungen (versions) in the context of art production (Hartmann)?

First, however, it is important to establish an understanding of a version in the context of artist’s notebooks.¹⁴ According to Peter Shillingsburg and Siegfried Scheibe, a version denotes a certain stage in the life cycle of a work at a certain time (Shillingsburg, Scholarly Editing 47; Scheibe 207). While their definitions mainly refer to (literary) texts, Bodo Plachta explicitly includes works of art in his definition of a version as a completed or unfinished execution of a work of art, which differs from another execution (136). Daniel Ferrer states that genetic variants can be treated as interpretations of earlier versions, whereas a variation manifests implicit aspects of the original form (Ferrer, “Genetic Criticism” 62).

Typically, one speaks of variants, when there is a choice between elements regarded as equivalent, and of variation when the similar but different elements are juxtaposed in space or in time (Ferrer, “Variant and Variation” 35).

In a visually oriented context–in contrast to a textual one–it is difficult to identify where the original form is, since that term could be assigned to any record of the initial idea, the first recognizable note or conceptual drawing, or even the first manifestation of an artistic concept.

The paper starts with an examination of notebooks as a unique genre, a meta-artwork, and a medium for capturing fleeting thoughts and maturing ideas, discussing their peculiarities and their value in reconstructing the development of specific artistic ideas over time and drawing on the exemplary corpus. It will then propose two hypotheses regarding the formalisation of the creation process, essentially combining methods from (digital) scholarly editing, musicology, and art history and practice to propose a working definition of versions in the context of Skerbisch’s notebooks. Following a discussion on the practices for formalisation of textual notes, the paper will then move towards a thorough examination of how an equally-rich and precise formalisation of graphical notes can reveal the genesis of an artistic expression, and propose a model suitable for that task. In conclusion, the paper will discuss the benefits of applying such a formalisation in the revelation and chronological placement of versions throughout a notebook corpus.

2 Notebooks, an artist’s warehouse of ideas

Artists’ notebooks allow a view behind the scenes and are a valuable resource for grasping the story and creation process behind artistic activities. The significance and value of artists’ notebooks for the examination of ideas and concepts at a specific time in the life cycle of an artwork will be evaluated through a digital scholarly edition (Scholger, Die Notizbücher) of the notebooks of Skerbisch, which the artist kept from the summer of 1968 to March 2008, just one year prior to his death. Around two thirds of the notebooks are textual notes, and one third are sketches and formulas, which mostly refer to Skerbisch’s artistic work. Only a few entries throughout the corpus deal with personal issues and because of this were documented–but omitted–in the digital representation of the edition, to respect the personal rights of the author and others involved.

Notebooks provide a very intimate view into the author’s studio (Radecke, “Notizbuch-Editionen” 27). They contain immediate, unfiltered, and spontaneous thoughts and inspirations, which are collected in a warehouse of ideas for later use. William Somerset Maugham wrote in his preface to A Writer’s Notebook: “I meant my notebooks to be a storehouse of materials for future use and nothing else” (xiv). Indeed, the notebooks of Skerbisch (figure 1 shows some representative sample pages) seem to be one large collection which, when considered as a unit, provide a macro-perspective on the basic concepts and associative processes of the artist. Because of this, they can be regarded as a meta-artwork accompanying his artistic work. The fragmentary, unstructured and non-sequential textual and graphical notes were not intended for the public.

The texts switch between unrestrained, spontaneous notes on the one hand, and structured, sophisticated records on the other. Some of the entries...

Table of contents

• Notes
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• What is Variance?
• Case Studies
• Ontological Approaches to Versioning
• Electronic Versioning
• Appendix
• Copyright