Introduction to Experiment 11 (Scheme for ensuring posterity)
Experiment 11 was a project based around the idea of attempting to ensure my posterity via the production of time capsules containing evidence that would give those discovering them the impression that I had been a well known and successful artist. It was intended that only a piece of text detailing the project be exhibited and that the exact contents of the time capsules would remain unknown until their future discovery. This was so that the time capsules produced would be objects whose primary purpose was that of ensuring a place in history (this would have been disputable had they been exhibited), rather than this being merely a possible by-product of an objects production and functioning as is normally the case.
However whilst I believe that this method would indeed work for it to have been carried out effectively would have been extremely expensive and time consuming. Also the project was not genuinely intended as an exercise in vanity but rather as an experiment. Unfortunately the timescales involved would mean that the results would never have been known to me and although this in itself was not a particular concern it did mean that it would have therefore been necessary for knowledge of the experiment to have been passed through the ages were anyone ever to know whether it had been a success or not. Obviously this in itself would prevent the experiment succeeding unless it was kept secret amongst a select few and the difficulties involved in this, combined with the time and cost involved, meant that the decision was taken to abandon the project.
Initially it was the case that any possible meanings and readings within the work would have been a by-product of the primary purpose (albeit one still potentially useful to it) but as it was only the text that was ever intended to be seen then the abandonment of the project does not in anyway nullify these and instead causes them to become the main event. Therefore the further decision was made that there were still valid, albeit different, motives for displaying the text. This text is presented, unaltered from it’s original form, on the following pages.
Experiment 11 (Scheme for ensuring posterity)
The majority of the objects which we classify as art need to be experienced, whether in a direct or indirect manner, in order for them to function and as a result they are entirely dependent upon exposure to an audience. This means that an artist must not only make these things but also ensure that they are displayed and that knowledge of their existence is passed between people who would have an interest in viewing their work. The best way for an artist to ensure that what they make is seen is therefore to become famous as fame brings with it nothing if not exposure and anyway, if they are being honest, then most artists, at least those who would view themselves as such in terms of a career, would probably admit to harbouring at least some desire to become famous. This desire for fame might not be to the extent of them wishing to be known widely amongst the general public but they will at least desire some form of recognition within their field. However fame is fleeting and many artists will, perhaps inevitably, go further in their fantasies, wishing to be remembered well beyond their lifetime. They desire a place in history.
For those who have no qualms about admitting to indulging in such narcissistic tendencies the question arises of how does one go about achieving such a thing? Fame is certainly possible, especially in this day and age, however there is no certain route to it as it relies to heavily upon others - curators, dealers, collectors, critics etc. Besides fame doesn’t guarantee that one will be remembered for posterity. Indeed many artists who were among the most well respected and regarded in their time end up as mere footnotes in history, something which whilst being far from undesirable, given that it still represents a high level of achievement, would still non the less place one as a runner up. So what about that other route to posterity, that of the undiscovered genius? When such oversights are seen to have occurred they result in such a level of guilt within society that it must try to seek redemption for having allowed talent to pass unrecognised by ensuring that a constant remembrance subsequently takes place. However, as appealing as trying to achieve posterity through some form of posthumous emotional blackmail may appear, success would still be dependent upon others judging one to have surpassed certain levels in terms of the quality of one's production. Besides such is the paranoia in today’s culture surrounding the possibility of not recognising greatness that this option is no longer viable.
So how can posterity be achieved? By creating the best work you can so as to be deserving of it as possible? One would have to be almost pathologically confident of one's ability to rely on this when consideration is given to just how small a fraction of artists will be remembered in this way. What if the work just isn’t good enough? Besides such a thing a posterity may not even be an achievable goal for this generation of artists, at least not by traditional means, as there is just not the same potential for the level of innovation that would be necessary to achieve it in this day and age. From this it becomes clear than any method for achieving it must involve levelling the playing field not only against contemporary competitors but also against our forbears. However from this additional problem comes the beginnings of a solution, one which is not only designed to guarantee posterity but which can also be used to help one achieve fame in one's lifetime.
So what is this solution? Well the basis of it involves placing one's work in the same position as that of the cave painters of Lascaux and the Chauvet Cave. This in no way means that those seeking glory should daub on cave walls in an empty pastiche of our ancestors. Rather is means ensuring that one’s work is preserved in as safe and as isolated a manner as possible so that it can be discovered by future generations. This means that there is no need to be satisfied with being remembered for a few hundred years as a legacy can be achieved that stretches millennia into the future.
Now there are some problems that are inherent to this method if it is copied precisely and therefore some alterations are necessary. The first problem is that no matter what steps are taken to preserve work there is a slim chance of it remaining intact until it is discovered. This is where the first of two distinct advantages we have over prehistoric artists comes in. We have available to us a range of methods of reproduction that means it isn’t necessary to preserve actual work, merely documentation of it. This allows for a multiple pieces of evidence for each piece to be preserved, increasing the likelihood of a good representation of one's oeuvre being preserved. However there is another problem in that we do not wish to be remembered in the same manner as prehistoric artists as they are remembered as anonymous beings within a culture rather than as individuals. Luckily this is something that can be remedied by combining our first advantage with our other main advantage - the fact that we are historical. There are two benefits to this - the first is that we are able to record information about ourselves. The second is that history is not something which is fixed and exists independently of us but rather something that is created. What this means Is that as well as preserving evidence of ones work it is also possible to preserve evidence of ones achievements. Whether these achievements are real or not does not matter - various artefacts can be created to give the impression of a successful and well respected career (though an amount of controversy should be included) - appearances in books, catalogues and newspapers and magazine cuttings of reviews, articles and awards. These artefacts need not even position fictional achievements in the immediate now but can be used to temporally undercut real innovators. These ‘creations’, placed in time capsules before being buried and hidden in a range of locations will, when discovered, instigate history to be rewritten
Obviously other contemporary archaeological evidence will come to light for which ever future culture discovers these time capsules so it is important to try and ensure that this will contradict any constructed evidence as little as possible. This isn’t an insurmountable problem by any means and there are various strategies that can be employed in ensuring that any invented history will fit as tightly as possible with the real thing. For instance should one wish to have one the Turner Prize than it would be advisable to choose the year 1990 for this due to their having been no prize given that year and documentation of this fact is less likely to survive than of who did win in other years. It is however inevitable that evidence will be unearthed that will disagree with the personally preferable history that one is endeavouring to present although it should be remembered that even (presumably) genuine sources from antiquity disagree with each other as history is generally subjective. Therefore there just has to be effort put into ensuring there is a wide enough range in the various sources which are designed and produced so that they can be seen as being separate from one another whilst simultaneously backing each other up. It is also important to not be too obvious in the way in which the evidence is preserved so as not too arouse any suspicion. Therefore the time capsules produced must not only contain various elements of any constructed history (Indeed these should be kept to a minimum as subtlety is key.) but also other items from the contemporary landscape and must be designed so that they give the appearance of having been buried by a wide range of individuals and organisations for a wide variety of reasons.
Not only does this solution provide those with foresight a good chance at achieving posterity but it also gives them the opportunity for some bold entrepreneurship by allowing them to offer a service to the very people that one's contemporary success depends on. This can be seen as a kind of second stage to the scheme and it is designed to so as to use the first stage to maximum advantage. It’s basis is the fact that artists are not the only members of society to harbour notions of being a part of history and it offers the opportunity to curators, collectors, critics and dealers to have themselves woven into history so that one day they will be remembered as figures akin to Greenberg, Guggenheim and Gagosian. If they so desire they can even be remembered as artists (albeit ones of lesser stature than the instigator of this scheme). Of course in exchange for this their support, whether financial or critical, will need to be offered so that there is an increase in ones contemporary standing. Indeed the purpose of this text is to act as promotional material in order to alert possible candidates to this opportunity.
As an additional benefit it is entirely possible that presenting the idea of attempting to ensure posterity in this manner becomes read as something other than the result of vanity (which the display of all art is, to a degree, an exercise in anyway) and gross charlatanism. An audience may be able to see art to exist within it and it may be interpreted as containing various meanings. This may in turn lead to support being given to the artist without them even having to offer anything in exchange from those who have a influential voice within the cultural landscape. This means that the very act of trying to achieve posterity via the production of fake artefacts will drive a process whereby genuine cultural artefacts will be produced which back up those which have been invented. This will allow not only the objects created as a result of the idea but also the idea itself to play a practical role in succeeding in it’s aims.
Introduction to Experiment 11 (Scheme for ensuring posterity)
Experiment 11 was a project based around the idea of attempting to ensure my posterity via the production of time capsules containing evidence that would give those discovering them the impression that I had been a well known and successful artist. It was intended that only a piece of text detailing the project be exhibited and that the exact contents of the time capsules would remain unknown until their future discovery. This was so that the time capsules produced would be objects whose primary purpose was that of ensuring a place in history (this would have been disputable had they been exhibited), rather than this being merely a possible by-product of an objects production and functioning as is normally the case.
However whilst I believe that this method would indeed work for it to have been carried out effectively would have been extremely expensive and time consuming. Also the project was not genuinely intended as an exercise in vanity but rather as an experiment. Unfortunately the timescales involved would mean that the results would never have been known to me and although this in itself was not a particular concern it did mean that it would have therefore been necessary for knowledge of the experiment to have been passed through the ages were anyone ever to know whether it had been a success or not. Obviously this in itself would prevent the experiment succeeding unless it was kept secret amongst a select few and the difficulties involved in this, combined with the time and cost involved, meant that the decision was taken to abandon the project.
Initially it was the case that any possible meanings and readings within the work would have been a by-product of the primary purpose (albeit one still potentially useful to it) but as it was only the text that was ever intended to be seen then the abandonment of the project does not in anyway nullify these and instead causes them to become the main event. Therefore the further decision was made that there were still valid, albeit different, motives for displaying the text. This text is presented, unaltered from it’s original form, on the following pages.
Experiment 11 (Scheme for ensuring posterity)
The majority of the objects which we classify as art need to be experienced, whether in a direct or indirect manner, in order for them to function and as a result they are entirely dependent upon exposure to an audience. This means that an artist must not only make these things but also ensure that they are displayed and that knowledge of their existence is passed between people who would have an interest in viewing their work. The best way for an artist to ensure that what they make is seen is therefore to become famous as fame brings with it nothing if not exposure and anyway, if they are being honest, then most artists, at least those who would view themselves as such in terms of a career, would probably admit to harbouring at least some desire to become famous. This desire for fame might not be to the extent of them wishing to be known widely amongst the general public but they will at least desire some form of recognition within their field. However fame is fleeting and many artists will, perhaps inevitably, go further in their fantasies, wishing to be remembered well beyond their lifetime. They desire a place in history.
For those who have no qualms about admitting to indulging in such narcissistic tendencies the question arises of how does one go about achieving such a thing? Fame is certainly possible, especially in this day and age, however there is no certain route to it as it relies to heavily upon others - curators, dealers, collectors, critics etc. Besides fame doesn’t guarantee that one will be remembered for posterity. Indeed many artists who were among the most well respected and regarded in their time end up as mere footnotes in history, something which whilst being far from undesirable, given that it still represents a high level of achievement, would still non the less place one as a runner up. So what about that other route to posterity, that of the undiscovered genius? When such oversights are seen to have occurred they result in such a level of guilt within society that it must try to seek redemption for having allowed talent to pass unrecognised by ensuring that a constant remembrance subsequently takes place. However, as appealing as trying to achieve posterity through some form of posthumous emotional blackmail may appear, success would still be dependent upon others judging one to have surpassed certain levels in terms of the quality of one's production. Besides such is the paranoia in today’s culture surrounding the possibility of not recognising greatness that this option is no longer viable.
So how can posterity be achieved? By creating the best work you can so as to be deserving of it as possible? One would have to be almost pathologically confident of one's ability to rely on this when consideration is given to just how small a fraction of artists will be remembered in this way. What if the work just isn’t good enough? Besides such a thing a posterity may not even be an achievable goal for this generation of artists, at least not by traditional means, as there is just not the same potential for the level of innovation that would be necessary to achieve it in this day and age. From this it becomes clear than any method for achieving it must involve levelling the playing field not only against contemporary competitors but also against our forbears. However from this additional problem comes the beginnings of a solution, one which is not only designed to guarantee posterity but which can also be used to help one achieve fame in one's lifetime.
So what is this solution? Well the basis of it involves placing one's work in the same position as that of the cave painters of Lascaux and the Chauvet Cave. This in no way means that those seeking glory should daub on cave walls in an empty pastiche of our ancestors. Rather is means ensuring that one’s work is preserved in as safe and as isolated a manner as possible so that it can be discovered by future generations. This means that there is no need to be satisfied with being remembered for a few hundred years as a legacy can be achieved that stretches millennia into the future.
Now there are some problems that are inherent to this method if it is copied precisely and therefore some alterations are necessary. The first problem is that no matter what steps are taken to preserve work there is a slim chance of it remaining intact until it is discovered. This is where the first of two distinct advantages we have over prehistoric artists comes in. We have available to us a range of methods of reproduction that means it isn’t necessary to preserve actual work, merely documentation of it. This allows for a multiple pieces of evidence for each piece to be preserved, increasing the likelihood of a good representation of one's oeuvre being preserved. However there is another problem in that we do not wish to be remembered in the same manner as prehistoric artists as they are remembered as anonymous beings within a culture rather than as individuals. Luckily this is something that can be remedied by combining our first advantage with our other main advantage - the fact that we are historical. There are two benefits to this - the first is that we are able to record information about ourselves. The second is that history is not something which is fixed and exists independently of us but rather something that is created. What this means Is that as well as preserving evidence of ones work it is also possible to preserve evidence of ones achievements. Whether these achievements are real or not does not matter - various artefacts can be created to give the impression of a successful and well respected career (though an amount of controversy should be included) - appearances in books, catalogues and newspapers and magazine cuttings of reviews, articles and awards. These artefacts need not even position fictional achievements in the immediate now but can be used to temporally undercut real innovators. These ‘creations’, placed in time capsules before being buried and hidden in a range of locations will, when discovered, instigate history to be rewritten
Obviously other contemporary archaeological evidence will come to light for which ever future culture discovers these time capsules so it is important to try and ensure that this will contradict any constructed evidence as little as possible. This isn’t an insurmountable problem by any means and there are various strategies that can be employed in ensuring that any invented history will fit as tightly as possible with the real thing. For instance should one wish to have one the Turner Prize than it would be advisable to choose the year 1990 for this due to their having been no prize given that year and documentation of this fact is less likely to survive than of who did win in other years. It is however inevitable that evidence will be unearthed that will disagree with the personally preferable history that one is endeavouring to present although it should be remembered that even (presumably) genuine sources from antiquity disagree with each other as history is generally subjective. Therefore there just has to be effort put into ensuring there is a wide enough range in the various sources which are designed and produced so that they can be seen as being separate from one another whilst simultaneously backing each other up. It is also important to not be too obvious in the way in which the evidence is preserved so as not too arouse any suspicion. Therefore the time capsules produced must not only contain various elements of any constructed history (Indeed these should be kept to a minimum as subtlety is key.) but also other items from the contemporary landscape and must be designed so that they give the appearance of having been buried by a wide range of individuals and organisations for a wide variety of reasons.
Not only does this solution provide those with foresight a good chance at achieving posterity but it also gives them the opportunity for some bold entrepreneurship by allowing them to offer a service to the very people that one's contemporary success depends on. This can be seen as a kind of second stage to the scheme and it is designed to so as to use the first stage to maximum advantage. It’s basis is the fact that artists are not the only members of society to harbour notions of being a part of history and it offers the opportunity to curators, collectors, critics and dealers to have themselves woven into history so that one day they will be remembered as figures akin to Greenberg, Guggenheim and Gagosian. If they so desire they can even be remembered as artists (albeit ones of lesser stature than the instigator of this scheme). Of course in exchange for this their support, whether financial or critical, will need to be offered so that there is an increase in ones contemporary standing. Indeed the purpose of this text is to act as promotional material in order to alert possible candidates to this opportunity.
As an additional benefit it is entirely possible that presenting the idea of attempting to ensure posterity in this manner becomes read as something other than the result of vanity (which the display of all art is, to a degree, an exercise in anyway) and gross charlatanism. An audience may be able to see art to exist within it and it may be interpreted as containing various meanings. This may in turn lead to support being given to the artist without them even having to offer anything in exchange from those who have a influential voice within the cultural landscape. This means that the very act of trying to achieve posterity via the production of fake artefacts will drive a process whereby genuine cultural artefacts will be produced which back up those which have been invented. This will allow not only the objects created as a result of the idea but also the idea itself to play a practical role in succeeding in it’s aims.