Scholarly record

THE CONCEPT OF RUIN IN THE DIALOGUE WITH CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS

R. Llamas-Pacheco, de Sousa Jr., M. Anacleto

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a research project seeking to assess how the several possibilities of a social psychology subject – the social representation of the subject – might contribute to the study of conservation and restoration, as well as to further analyse the relationships between the subjects involved in producing, promoting and preserving contemporary art: the artist, the public and the conservator-restorer. The study is part of a research project granted by the Spanish Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness. It is known that contemporary art currently focuses on three key elements: the image of the artist and their creative freedom, the poetics of the material and the arts market – which makes artistic production into unique cultural products, evaluated according to the demand for novelty, and the need for durable and innovative materials with regard to the idea. The possibility of a work of art ageing has grown less acceptable, to such an extent that it might begin falling into a state of ruin due to currently-available technical impossibilities of restoration, conservation and preservation. From this starting point, we propose a discussion on the concept of ruin in contemporary art through interviews with artists. With this contribution of the concept of ruin and its relation to the material as a discursive and aesthetic value, we investigate how the contemporary art world addresses the issue of ageing, even up to the point of total degradation of the work of art that leads to its eventual and unavoidable loss and accepting the imminent possibility of the death of the idea.

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