Version Control: Mark Rothko’s Harvard Murals through the Lens of the Documentation Model for Time-Based Media Art

Abstract

ABSTRACT Long shrouded by a history of material change, Mark Rothko’s Harvard Murals are reassessed as a work of installation art, using the logic of the documentation model for time-based media art developed and published by Joanna Phillips in 2015. The documentation model and its theoretical framework aid in clarifying both the core identity of the work and its viability for future iterations. By applying the documentation model’s logic to this set of paintings, the model’s broad applicability is demonstrated.