The Online Archive is a research project of the VALIE EXPORT Center Linz, whose development and programming was supported by a grant from the Austrian Federal Ministry Section IV for Art and Culture Division IV/1. Open access to selected holdings of VALIE EXPORT's archive constitutes the first phase of a long-term digitization strategy.
The continuously growing, searchable holdings include metadata on the artist's library as well as digital copies of photographs, posters, typescripts, concept sheets, sketches, film scripts, press releases, invitations, lecture manuscripts, and materials in several languages connected with VALIE EXPORT's teaching activities.
Ordering Principles of the Artist's Archive
The artist has made bundles of materials and filed them in consecutively numbered folders and boxes. These packages — the compilations and reference structures created by VALIE EXPORT — have been adopted as an ordering principle (provenance principle). At the level of objects the archive documents are indexed in depth. The assigned shelfmark numbers may refer to a single page as well as to consecutive pages of a text or to more extensive collections of material.
Web-based access ensures that the collection of material, which VALIE EXPORT has been creating since the beginning of her artistic work in the 1960s, and which has been continually expanded and curated, is visible. In the Online Archive, the description, classification, and contextualization of the archive material by the VALIE EXPORT Center team, as well as by international researchers, artists, and experts, make archive users’ research easier. The Online Archive provides an overview of the holdings for researchers and enables them to make an initial assessment so that they can plan targeted on-site viewing of material. For legal reasons (copyright, personal rights, and rights of use), certain archive materials are not displayed online; however, their metadata is searchable.
Structure and Functions
There are different options for users to get started. They can begin their research with the random selection on the homepage of the website or work with advanced search functions. These are shown in the menu on the start page and include the functions index, curations, and search.
The index lists in alphabetical order the works’ titles, exhibition titles, themes (e.g., body), and formal keywords (e.g., exhibitions). The terms in the index link to the archival materials.
Curations show a selection and compilation of materials that are thematically related.
Simple keyword searches or advanced searches are possible by using the SEARCH function in the menu.
Search results can be narrowed down by filters, for example, to search only for certain types of objects (e.g., flyers/pamphlets, press releases, lectures, etc.). Texts are provided in PDF format and are searchable via a full text search. Under certain circumstances, searches lead to metadata of archive documents that cannot be viewed online for copyright reasons.
Extended Options of Using the Archive for Researchers
After signing a user agreement with the VALIE EXPORT Center, researchers can set up accounts to access extended options of use. The digital workbook allows users who are logged on to manage their research: research results can be filed, reordered, saved, and shared with other archive users.
Users who are logged on can view more extensive material inventories and browse the fully displayed PDF documents.
Using and Referencing Image Material in Publications
If image material is to be used for publication purposes, the user must agree to terms of use and the rights must be clarified in consultation with the VALIE EXPORT Center. For scholarly publications, high resolution images without watermarks are provided free of charge. For planned publications, the rights of third parties must be taken into account and, if necessary, permission to publish must be obtained by the user.
For publications, the following form of citation must be used:
Author, title/designation, date, medium (if applicable), dimensions. VEC, bundle, reference code.
VEC is subsequently used in short for VALIE EXPORT Center Linz _ Research Center for Media and Performance Art / Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz.
Example:
VALIE EXPORT, Split Realities, 1994, lecture manuscript, blue pen on paper, 29.7 x 21 cm. VEC, bundle 169, VEC.002.345.
Technical Notes
The website is optimized for desktop use. Use on mobile devices (tablets, cell phones, etc.) may result in limited functionality and is not recommended. Users can access the Research Archive via common browsers such as Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari. For viewing PDFs, the default setting View in browser is recommended and not the download option.