CHAPTER 5. From Identification to a New Insight of Preservation Theory for Contemporary Art: Innovative Approaches to Complex Care in Alina Szapocznikow Case Studies

Abstract

The research and theory of the complex preservation of visual art legacy, in relation to modern and contemporary art, implies identifying the essence of the work of art, both material and immaterial, as well as its context. The authors present several case studies related to the preservation of famous avant-garde artworks by Alina Szapocznikow, such as State of Weightlessness—Homage to Komarow (1967). In total, the authors have completed the full preservation (including conservation-restoration, reconstruction and arrangement) of one hundred and fifty-two works up until July 2018. These case studies are the basis on which the reflections presented in this article are founded. The innovative approaches of complex care for Szapocznikow’s legacy provide new light on modern and contemporary conservation and research needs. Along with the necessary research into the physical and chemical qualities of materials, they raise questions of an ontological nature and are an important reason to reflect on the need to extend the theory of preservation/conservation/restoration/reconstruction based on the individual needs of an artwork. We thus need properly to preserve the ideas and intent of artists. The research is focused on protecting the heritage of visual art of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and combining tangible, intangible and digital-born heritage offers a good perspective for the future.