Academic thesis

Nadia Behrmann-Brodatzki: Stahlweg I-XII (2007) – from a stage setting to an artwork? Conservation strategies of a multimedia installation by Christoph Schlingensief back

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Overview:  
 
Abstract: Subject of this diploma thesis is the multimedia installation Stahlweg I-XII (2007). During the performance Area 7 (2006) at the Burgtheater, Vienna, the surfaces of all 16 steel lockers had been reworked and given an artistic form by the artist and his co-workers. Recipients were able to watch videos of the artist’s former projects through peepholes in the locker doors. Extensive research in the framework of the diploma thesis provided valuable insights on the artistic working process and the biography of the artwork. The overall condition of all 16 steel lockers was recorded. The predominant conservation task was posed by serious iron corrosion occurring in areas of blue and yellow paint layers, leading to extensive losses. To clarify causes of this damage phenomenon and develop a conservation concept, three lockers were chosen for exemplary analysis, investigation and testing. Paint materials were analyzed using FTIR-ATR spectroscopy and SEM-EDX. Investigations finally led to the assumption that the lean and porous impasto paint layers and drippings are prone to water uptake, further activating the corrosive process. The video content from DVDs and miniDV cassettes had been transferred to an external hard drive and analyzed with QCTools. Preservation strategies, conservation methods and recommendations for preventive conservation were outlined.

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Keywords: Area 7, Burgtheater Vienna, consolidation, data transfer, hygroscopic paint layers, iron corrosion, Schlingensief, video analysis, video preservation
Details:
  • academic institution: Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien
  • kind of theses:  Diplomarbeit
  • main Tutor:  Univ. Prof. Mag. Gerda Kaltenbruner
  • assistant Tutor:  Dipl. Kons.-Rest. Martina Pfenniger Lepage
  • date:  2016
  • Language:  German
  • pages:  300
  • pictures:  84

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