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PoliticsofTruth

DocumentarismintheArtField

HitoSteyerl

Documentarystrategiesareamongthemostimportantfeaturesofcontemporaryart.
Sincetheearlyninetiesthereasbeenasuccessionofvariouswavesofan
adaptationofdocumentarytechniquesinart,whichhavealsobeenintegratedinthe
mainstreamwithdocumentaXand11.Especiallyinthecontextofinstitutioncritical
practices,arevivalofformsaroseinthenineties,whichweredevelopedprimarilyin
theseventiesandbasedonpracticessuchasresearchandjournalistictechniques.
Atthesametime,althoughtherehassofarbeenlittletheoreticaltreatmentofit,a
zoneemergedofanoverlappingofvideoart,cinema,reportage,photoessayand
otherforms,inwhichvariousexistinggenresandformatsintersectandconstantly
changetheirstylisticdevicesintheformofaudiovisual,film,videoandinstallation
works.Didacticandrealisticworksalternatewithreflexivedocumentaryproductions,
withvisualmachines,whichreflectontheorganizationofdocumentsandorganize
thesubjectivitiesthusproduced.Aninterestintheformalspecificcharacteristicsof
thedocumentaryformintheartfieldhasonlyrecentlybegun,forinstancewith
exhibitionssuchas"TrueStories"[1]atWittedeWithinRotterdamor"ItisHardto
TouchtheReal"[2]attheKunstvereinMunichbuthashardlytakenplaceyetatthe
theoreticallevel.
TruthofPoliticsorPoliticsofTruth
Documentaryformsintheartfieldarecurrentlyassumingprimarilytwocontrary
functions.First,theyrepresentastrategyofauthenticity,whichisintendedtoensure
theclaimofartisticworkstocontactwithanauratizedfieldofthesocialorthe
political.Theformaldevicesemployedhereareoftensocialrealisticandattemptto
remainastransparentaspossible.Examplesareartdocumentations,inwhich
performancesorinterventionsaredepictedandwhichillustratecertaineffectsinthe
socialfield.Herethedocumentarymomentisusedasproofofsocialrelevanceand
evidenceofanorganicrelationshiptothefield.Inthisperspectivesomeformsof
artdocumentationrepresentoneofthecurrentlymostwidespreadstrategiesof
authenticationintheartfieldbycultivatingtheRousseauanmyththatthereisanart
activelyembeddedinlocalpracticesandcommunities,whichisabsolutely
uncorruptedbyanyartmarketthatfirstproducesitthroughitsdemand.Intheir
functionofstructuringandinterveninginthesocialfield,thesedocumentaryforms
assumebiopoliticaltasks.
Authenticitybecomesavitalisticideologyhere,whichischosenasthedesiredraw
materialofdifference,particularlyalsointhecontextofglobalization.Itisnourished
fromthemythofthegenuineanddifferentlocal,whichiscurrentlyreproducedin
postethnographicandneoculturalistexhibitions.[3]Thedocumentaryisintendedto
depictacertaintruthofthepoliticalhere,anauthenticand"genuine"coreofthe
social,whichisreproduced,accordingtoMarinaGrzinic,in"flatdocumentaries".[4]
Grzinicclaimsthatthe"flatdocumentarystyle"formsamodel(whichworks
accordingtothelogicofcloning),withwhichgivenlocalsituationscanbefedintothe
globalartfield:throughanambivalentprocedurethatmakesauthenticityripefor
globalserialproduction.Thiscanbereproducedthroughreportagelikeformsof

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recording,whichtransportquasisociologicalknowledge,orconverselythroughvery
personal,"intimist"forms.Astrikingexampleofthebiopoliticalaspectofthe"flat
documentarystyle"aretheworksbySantiagoSerra,whosehyperrealisticand
naturalisticdisplaysofsocalledconcernedpersons[5]representsadrasticformof
miseryvoyeuristicexhibitionism.The"flatdocumentarystyle"arisesmostofallfrom
thedecontextualizationanddrainingoftheauthenticityobjectstobetransferred,asa
quasibiotechnicalproduct.Herethemythoftheauthenticthatformsthevistalistic
fetishofdocumentarydiscourseprovestobeasophisticated,hybridandartificial
productofpalatabledifferenceandrepetition.
Incontrasttothis,thereisanother,morereflectedcurrentofthedocumentary,which
perceivesitsowndevicesassociallyconstructedepistemologicaltools.Inthese
worksthereisnointentionatallofdepictingtheauthentictruthofthepolitical,but
ratherofchangingthe"politicsoftruth"onwhichitsrepresentationisbased.The
visualandepistemologicalformationsofthedocumentarythemselvesarethus
definedasfunctionsofthepolitical.Theterm"politicsoftruth"[6]isoriginallyfrom
MichelFoucaultanddesignatesasocialorderoftruth,whichgeneratesthe
acknowledgedtechniquesandproceduresforproducinganddeterminingthistruth,
andwhichisalwayslinkedtospecificpowerrelations.Powerandknowledge
interlockintheorganizationandproductionoffactsandtheirinterpretations.Itisin
thisindissolubletensionbetweenpowerandknowledgethattheconceptofthe
documentalsomoves.Thisconceptisderivedfromlegaldiscourseandrepresents
atechnologyoftruth[7],inotherwordsarecognizedprocedurefortheproductionof
truth.Othercodifiedproceduresoftruthproductionincludewitnesstestimonials,the
integrationofhistoricaldocuments,thetalkingheadformat,etc.
Thusthequestionposedtodocumentaryworksintheartfieldcaninnowaybe
limitedtotheappropriatenessoraccuracyoftherespectiverepresentation,butmust
insteadbedirectedtotheirinternalpoliticsoftruth.Whichpoliticsoftruthare
articulatedindocumentaryimagesandsounds?Whichstrategiesofauthenticityare
appliedtosupporttheirassertions?Whichrhetoricsoftruth,sincerity,objectiveness
orgenuinenessarearticulatedpolitically?Howdodocumentaryworksrefertoreality
ortruth?Whichroledosocialagreementsonthestatusandproductionoftruthplay
inthis?Howistheirinterconnectionwithpowerrelationsandtheproductionof
subjectivitiestobeunderstood?Whichtechnologies,practicesandrhetoricsoftruth
aredevelopedintheprocess?Whatistheirconnectionwithinstitutions,political
discourses,andsocialorbiopoliticaltechnologies?Whatimpactdotheytherefore
haveontheintersectionsbetweenpowerandsubjectivitythatFoucaultcalled
"Gouvernementalit"[8]?TheconceptofgovernmentalitythatFoucaultdeveloped
definesaspecificformofexercisingpower,whichoperatesthroughtheproductionof
truth.[9]Documentaryformscanalsoassumethisfunctionofgovernmentality
throughtruth.[10]Fordocumentaryimagesarehistoricallyconnectedwith
technologiesofcontrol,surveillance,normalizationandotherpolicetechniques.[11]
Colonialorfascistregimesproducedtheirown"documentalities",whichwereclosely
linkedwithethnographicgazeregimes,theproductionofracistknowledgeand
militarytechnologies.Photographsofcolonialpeoplescirculatingaroundtheworld
contributedtothespreadofcolonial"knowledge",justasfascist"documentalities"
endeavoredtomakeSovietprisonersofwar,amongothers,appear"subhuman".
[12]

Thisintersectionbetweengovernmentalityanddocumentarytruthproductioncanbe
termed"documentality".Documentalitydescribesthepermeationofadocumentary
politicsoftruthwithsuperordinatedpolitical,socialandepistemologicalformations.
Documentalityisthepivotalpointwhereformsofdocumentarytruthproductionturn
intogovernmentorviceversa.Itdescribescomplicitywithdominantformsofa
politicsoftruth,justasitcanalsodescribeacriticalstancetowardstheseforms.
Amorerecentworkthatproblematizesthismultiplepoliticalfunctionof(inthiscase
historical)documentsistheinstallation"Searchingformymother'snumbers"by
SanjaIvekovic,whichwasalsoshownatDocumenta11.Threevideoprojections
flankaninstallationarrangedlikeanarchive,whichisintendedtobeusedfor

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researchontheprisoner'snumberofIvekovic'smotherintheconcentrationcamp
Auschwitz.Inthevideotapesthevariousfunctionsofdocumentsareinvestigated
alongwiththeirdifferentformsofwritingandrecording.Officialdocumentslike
endlesslybureaucraticforms,onwhichapensionforthemotherisdeniedbythe
responsibleYugoslavianagencies,arecontrastedwithanotherdocument,namely
themother'shandwrittendiarylaconicallyrecountingherarrestandliberation.The
interviewwithcontemporarywitnessesthatisotherwiseconventionalinthiscontext
isdispensedwithentirelyinthiswork.Insteadthefocusisonthedocumentsintheir
materialreality,whichare(partially)readinavoiceover.Ontheonehandthey
functionasinstrumentsofrepressionandthenonacknowledgmentofhistorical
facts,asintheofficialcorrespondence.Ontheotherhand,though,adocumentsuch
asthemother'sdiarycanalsobearwitnesstoawritingofhistorythatnotonly
"rescues"marginalizedfacts,butalsoformsalaconiccounterpointtothedepictionof
helplessandintimidatedconcentrationcampvictims.Inthiscase,thedocumentis
notthebasisofahistoriographypermeatedbypower,butinsteadbecomesa
monumenttothe"traditionoftheoppressed",ofwhichWalterBenjaminspeaksinhis
thesesontheconceptofhistory.[13]
Anotherexampleoftheproblematizationofthestatusofhistoricaldocumentsisthe
shortvideo"SchwarzaufWei"(BlackonWhite)bytheartistgroupKlubZwei.
"SchwarzaufWei"concentratesonthequestionofthephotographicdocument
specificallybymeansofaradicalwithdrawaloftheimagesoftheShoahthatare
spokenofinthevoiceover.Whilethesupervisorofaphotoarchiveraisesquestions
onmemory,imageandhistory,allweseearewrittenplaquesonblackandwhite.
Despitetheirprincipletechnicalreproducibility,imageschange,accordingtothe
thesis.Greytonesdisappearwitheverygenerationofthephotographicprintwhat
remainsintheendarethehardcontrastsofblackandwhite.Itisparticularlyby
withdrawingthepicturesthatarespokenof,however,thatareflectionissetoffabout
whatdistinguishestheirstatusashistoricaldocuments.Itisnotexclusivelytheface
ofthepicturesofobliteration,whichareoftenusedpurelysymbolically,butratherthe
inconspicuousbackwithitsstampsandremarks,whichfirstgivesthepicturestheir
historicalcontextandthusalsotheirsignificance,asKlubZweiargues.Theuseof
picturesasicons,ontheotherhand,frequentlyleadstotheiruseasmere
illustrationsofauthenticity.Incontrast,"SchwarzaufWei"insistsonperceiving
photographsassomethingwehavegivenup"reading"(WalterBenjamin)[14].The
videoispositionedwithinadebatethatattemptstocarryoutacriticalreadingof
picturesyetwithoutrejectingeveryrepresentationaltogetherasapurelysocialor
mediaconstructioncontainingnotruth.Unlikemanymediacriticalapproachesof
recentyears,thisreflectionthereforedoesnotleadtoanendless,circularand
narcissistselfreflexivity,butrathertoanethicalpoliticalstance.
Forthereflexivedocumentaryformsthereisalsoalwaysthedangerofgeneratinga
kindofidlingreflexivity,whichcringesbeforetheethicaldimensionofthethemes
treatedinfavorofthecomfortofunresolvableambivalenceandthetaskofclaiming
anykindoftruth.Thistendencyisarticulatedforinstanceinameanwhilealmost
ornamentalformofapparatuscriticism,asitisevidentinthereflexiveintegrationof
satelliteimages,surveillancepictures,flowchartsandnetworksurfacesin
documentaryworks.Amateurmaterialthatisoftenrealisticandsensationalistis
garnishedwithelementsofselfreflexivityhere,whichhavethemselvescongealed
intoclichedandaffirmativephrasesofglobalmediality.Theseformsadditionally
developinterestingaffinitieswithmorerecenttelevisionformatssuchas"BigBrother"
andotherRealityTVshows,inwhichitisspecificallytheaspectoftheconstantly
concurrentselfreflexivityofthemediathatconverselyachievesthegreatest
authenticityeffect.[15]Theresultisanexponentialrealismthatonlydiffersfrom
classicstrategiesofrealisticauthenticitybydegrees.Thisformofidlingreflexivityis
anticipatedbythedocumentaryfilmtheoristBillNichols:Althoughitmaycontaina
politicalpositionatthecontentlevelithasnonefortheviewersthemselves,who
areheldinazoneofinescapableambivalence.[16]
Withtheimportofdocumentaryformsintotheartfield,newversionsoftheclassical
problemsofthedocumentaryappearedtheretoothelinkingofdocumentaryforms
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withpoliticalandsocialpowerrelationsandwiththemajorpower/knowledge
complexesoflaw,scienceandjournalism.Yetthegazeregimesofthedocumentary,
theirconnectionwithformsofcontrol,objectivizationandcategorizationarealso
importedintothespaceofart.Oneofthenewaspectsofdocumentaryapproaches
inartspaceisitsspatializationininstallationform,whichalsogeneratesnewformsof
the"attentioneconomy",accordingtoTomHolert,aswellasnewdiagramsof
visibility.Thisgoeshandinhandwithachangeinthearrangementsofthegazefrom
centralperspectiveperceptionsituationstospatiallyheterogeneousarrangements
workingwithvariousmediaandformsofpresentation.Thisinturnaffectsthe
relationshipofthedurationandspaceofthedocumentaryensemble.Whatis
articulatedintheclassicaldocumentaryfilmasdurationandthusasintensityinits
perception,isnowarticulatedconceptuallyinmanydocumentaryinstallationsand
thusformulatedasanidea,forwhichthedocumentarypicturematerialinpartonly
suppliestheillustrationortheproof.Manydocumentaryinstallationsthusfunction
lessthroughthearticulation,organizationandintensificationofduration,butrather
throughasynecdochiccompressionofasituationinspace,whichcanbecaptured
toacertainextentinamemorableimage(ofaplot).Inthenewdocumentary
conceptualismthedocumentaryimagethusfunctionsasatechnologyoftruthandas
proofforaproposedhypothesisaswell.
Inbetweenbiopoliticalrealismandidlingreflexivity,betweendocumentary
conceptualismandaprecisereadingofgazesandimagesandtheethicalpolitical
negotiationoftheirclaimstotruth,therearethemostdiversedocumentary
approaches,whicharenotonlyarticulatedthroughvariousdocumentalities,butalso
representvariousformsofapoliticsoftruth.Thusitisparticularlythequestionsof
truth,ethicsandrealitythathavebeenincreasinglybannedfromtheoryinthelast
twentyyears,butwhicharenowraisedinanewformduetotheemergenceof
documentaryworksinartspace.

Translation:AileenDerieg

1TrueStoriesJeanPierreRehm,TrueStories,24Januaryto30March2003.
Flyer,WittedeWithCenterforContemporaryArt,Rotterdam,2003
2SorenGrammel:EsistschwerdasRealezuberhren.Printedmaterial,
KunstvereinMnchen,Spring2002,p.4445
3Seeforinstance:BorisBuden:DabumstderWahnsinnigedenVerwirrten,in:
springerin2/2003
4MarinaGrzinic:GlobalCulture,Biotechnology,Imperialism.Unpublished
manuscript2003
5Forexamplein"HiringandArrangementof30WorkersinRelationtotheirSkin
Color":"Hepositions30peopleofdifferentethnicoriginaccordingtothecoloroftheir
skinalongthefrontofthecompletelyclosedexhibitionspace.[&]Sierraoften
employsradicalmeans:bymakingworkersexecutecertainthingsinmuseumsand
galleries,heturnsthemintoexhibits.Transferringthemintothesystemofartand
explicitlypresentingthem,heutilizesthemethodsemployedinthesphereof
economy.Thisiswhyheoftenprovokesprotestswithhisprojects,asforexample
whenhepaidpeopleforagreeingtobeingtattooedablacklineontheirbacks.He
hasalsohighlightedtheambivalentsituationofpoliticalrefugeesinEuropewhoare
forbiddentoearnanymoneybypayingthemtocrawlundercardboardboxesand
hidethereforseveralhours.Partoftheprovocationiscertainlybasedontheobvious
absurdityoftheassignmentsandtheirunproductivecharacter."(Announcementtext
KunsthalleWien,September2002)
6PasqualePasquino,AllessandroFontana:WahrheitundMacht.Gesprchmit
MichelFoucaultvomJuni1976,in:MichelFoucault:DispositivederMacht.Berlin
1978,p.51
7MichelFoucault:TechnologienderWahrheit,in:JanEngelmann(Ed.):Foucault
BotschaftenderMacht.ReaderDiskursundMedien.Stuttgart1999,p.133144

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8MediaformsasformsofgouvernementalitarealsodescribedbyTobyMiller:
TechnologiesofTruth.CulturalCitizenshipandthePopularMedia.Minneapolis1998,
p.1418
9ThomasLemke:EineKritikderpolitischenVernunft.Hamburg1997,p.32.
10Ontheseterms,seealsoLemke1997,p.31
11MarthaRosler:Drinnen,DrumherumundnachtrglicheGedanken(zur
Dokumentarfotographie),in:MarthaRosler:PositioneninderLebenswelt.Wien,
GeneraliFoundation1999,p.105.Cf.alsoJamesR.Ryan:PicturingEmpire.London
1997
12Seeforexampletheexhibition"BeutestckeKriegsgefangeneinderdeutschen
undsowjetischenFotografie19411945"attheGermanRussianMuseumBerlin
Karlshorst,14Juneto14September2003
13WalterBenjamin:GeschichtsphilosophischeThesen.ZurKritikderGewaltund
andereAufstze.Frankfurt1978,p.84
14WalterBenjamin:DasKunstwerkimZeitalterseinertechnischen
Reproduzierbarkeit.Frankfurt/Main1966,p.64
15Cf.also"DasAuthentischeistProdukteinerLaborsituation".JudithKeilbachin
ConversationwithWolfgangBeilenhoffandRainerVowe,in:nachdemFilm,12/00,
http://www.nachdemfilm.de/no2/bei01dts.html
16BillNichols:RepresentingReality.Bloomington/Indianapolis1997

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