Documents Series
Encyclopedia
Documents Series is the overall title of a series of eighty-three fine artworks made collaboratively by Henry Bond
and Liam Gillick
between 1990 and 1995. It has been suggested that the intention behind the work was to "examine the procedures behind news-gathering."
Gazette
—a list of potentially newsworthy events in London. Bond worked as if a typical photojournalist, joining the other press photographers present; whilst Gillick operated as the journalist, first collecting the ubiquitous press kit
before preparing his audio recording device.
Interim Art —two of the galleries that were pioneering the development of the YBA art movement. Writing in 2001, whilst a curator at Tate
, Emma Dexter
stated, "Henry Bond and Liam Gillick posed as journalists at press and media events, creating as a result a series of photo/text works that are a neat elision of two distinct realms of information gathering and sorting: that of conceptual art and that of the news and publicity industry, Documents exposes the codes and rituals involved in news management, but it has also become, with time, an accidental history of our age." Examples of the series are held in the Arts Council Collection
and have been exhibited at Tate Modern
, London (Century City, 2001) and Hayward Gallery
, London (How to Improve the World, 2006). The complete series were showcased at the Walker Art Center
(Brilliant! New Art from London) in 1995.
Henry Bond
Henry Bond is an English writer, photographer curator, and visual artist. In his Lacan at the Scene , Bond made a contribution to theoretical psychoanalysis....
and Liam Gillick
Liam Gillick
Liam Gillick is a British conceptual artist who lives in New York City. He is often associated with the artists included the 1996 exhibit Traffic, which first introduced the term Relational Art.-Life and career:...
between 1990 and 1995. It has been suggested that the intention behind the work was to "examine the procedures behind news-gathering."
Praxis
In order to make the work the duo posed as a news reporting team—i.e., a photographer and a journalist—often attending events scheduled in the Press Association'sPress Association
The Press Association is the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland, supplying multimedia news content to almost all national and regional newspapers, television and radio news, as well as many websites with text, pictures, video and data content globally...
Gazette
Gazette
A gazette is a public journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper.In English- and French-speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name Gazette since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers bear the name The Gazette.Gazette is a loanword from the...
—a list of potentially newsworthy events in London. Bond worked as if a typical photojournalist, joining the other press photographers present; whilst Gillick operated as the journalist, first collecting the ubiquitous press kit
Press kit
A press kit, often referred to as a media kit in business environments, is a pre-packaged set of promotional materials of a person, company, or organization distributed to members of the media for promotional use...
before preparing his audio recording device.
Format
Each work in the group takes the form of a framed photographic print and a corresponding text panel which includes the time, date, and location of the event, together with a brief description and, in some instances, an extract of the audio recording made at each event by Gillick.Critical reception
The series was first shown commercially in 1991, at Karsten Schubert Limited and then, in 1992, at Maureen Paley'sMaureen Paley
Maureen Paley is the American owner of a contemporary art gallery in Bethnal Green, London, where she lives. It was founded in 1984, called Interim Art during the 1990s, and renamed Maureen Paley in 2004. She exhibited Young British Artists at an early stage...
Interim Art —two of the galleries that were pioneering the development of the YBA art movement. Writing in 2001, whilst a curator at Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
, Emma Dexter
Emma Dexter
-Career:Dexter wrote her M.Phil thesis at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, on The Relationship between Painting and Sculpture in 17th Century Spain...
stated, "Henry Bond and Liam Gillick posed as journalists at press and media events, creating as a result a series of photo/text works that are a neat elision of two distinct realms of information gathering and sorting: that of conceptual art and that of the news and publicity industry, Documents exposes the codes and rituals involved in news management, but it has also become, with time, an accidental history of our age." Examples of the series are held in the Arts Council Collection
Arts Council Collection
The Arts Council Collection is the largest loan collection of modern and contemporary British art in the world. With presently over 7500 works of art spanning more than sixty years, the Collection can be seen in exhibitions and displays at home and abroad, as well as through long-term loans to...
and have been exhibited at Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
, London (Century City, 2001) and Hayward Gallery
Hayward Gallery
The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre, part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames, in central London, England. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings and also the Royal National Theatre and British Film Institute...
, London (How to Improve the World, 2006). The complete series were showcased at the Walker Art Center
Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a contemporary art center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is considered one of the nation's "big five" museums for modern art along with the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Hirshhorn...
(Brilliant! New Art from London) in 1995.