Sven Spieker Proposes 'Slow Archive' Concept in ARTMargins Essay
In his 2016 essay, 'Manifesto for a Slow Archive,' Sven Spieker critiques the transition from tangible to digital archives, highlighting a crisis in traditional archiving due to the proliferation of unverified information. He proposes the 'slow archive' as a counter to rapid information exchange, promoting diverse engagement tempos with archival materials. Artists such as Luz Maria Bedoya, Akram Zaatari, Lina Selander, Jörgen Gasilewski, and Julius von Bismarck embody this philosophy. Bedoya’s 2008 video 'Linea de Nazca' showcases Peru's Nazca lines, while Zaatari's 2003 piece 'This Day' challenges archival integrity. Selander’s 2010 work delves into fragmented visuals of Hebron, and Gasilewski’s 2006 project intertwines fiction with police records. Dragan Espenschied supports 'digital obscurity,' citing theorists like Svetlana Boym and Arjun Appadurai.
Key facts
- Sven Spieker published 'Manifesto for a Slow Archive' on 01/31/2016
- The essay argues traditional archives are in crisis due to digital transformation
- Slow archive concept counters both humanist archives and neoliberal digital systems
- Luz Maria Bedoya's 2008 video 'Linea de Nazca' documents Nazca lines from ground perspective
- Akram Zaatari's 2003 video 'This Day' uses varying speeds to destabilize archival documents
- Lina Selander's 2010 project 'Around the Cave of the Double Tombs' explores Hebron through fragmentation
- Jörgen Gasilewski's 2006 novel 'The Gothenburg Events' blends fiction with police archives about 2001 EU summit
- Dragan Espenschied promotes 'digital obscurity' as resistance to high-speed information circulation
Entities
Artists
- Sven Spieker
- Luz Maria Bedoya
- Akram Zaatari
- Lina Selander
- Jörgen Gasilewski
- Julius von Bismarck
- Dani Gal
- Harun Farocki
- Dragan Espenschied
Institutions
- ARTMargins Online
- EU
Locations
- Peru
- Nazca
- Stockholm
- West Bank
- Hebron
- Jerusalem
- Gothenburg
- Sweden