Between Canon and Coincidence: using data-driven approaches to understand Art Worlds

Introduction

The BECACO project applies a novel multidisciplinary framework to studying the provenance of ethnographic and archaeological collections. Moving away from the current focus in provenance research on single objects, collectors, or institutions, the aim of the project is to reconceptualize provenance as the large-scale study of the socio-politico-historical conjunctures that led to the translocation of cultural material.

Conceptual Framework

To do so, it introduces the concept of Art World Patterns, an expansion and reframing of the idea of Art Worlds (Becker 2008[1982]). These patterns will be identified through an innovative combination of various data-driven methodologies.

Methodology

By applying quantitative analyses, network analysis, and data mining on a large corpus of provenance data, the project will explore the promises and limitations of different data-driven approaches in the context of large-scale ethnographic/archaeological provenance research. Through this process, the project will devise new models for provenance research in ethnographic and archaeological museums.

Case Study

These conceptual and methodological advances will be mobilized through the study of Indigenous Latin American material from 12 museums in 9 countries. The project will create a ground-breaking diachronic, international, and cross-institutional understanding of the collecting of Indigenous Latin American material in Europe.

Impact

In doing so, the BECACO team will reconstruct how – through the formation of collections – the Indigenous Latin American Art World as it existed in Europe between 1850-2000 constructed a discourse of art, aesthetics, and academic research that shaped how Indigenous Latin America is represented and understood in Europe until today.