Interview with internet pioneer Martine Neddam on artist intention in the context of a research project at the University of Amsterdam. Neddam explains her development as a viusal artist, her work in the public space, already using language to interact with an audience. The technological advances and supportive environment found in Amsterdam in the 1990s created the perfect atmosphere to develop her work further using the internet. She explains her working process as ‘bricolage’ and compares working with the web at the time, as working with clay. Especially in relation to her internet artwork mouchette.org, the concept of ‘vintage’ is discussed, user interaction, community involvement, perpetuation of the work, for which preservation and presentation of the work are ideally done in dialogue. Two different presentation moments of mouchette.org at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam are used to illustrate her ideas. The interview concludes by how the discourse around mouchette.org, including artist interviews, contribute to the conservation of her work, and a side note on the location where the interview is conducted, her studio where she works and lives.

Interviews in Conservation Research is a growing oral history collection to inform research in conservation, restoration and presentation of works of art and cultural heritage in the Netherlands and beyond. Generally conducted by museum professionals and relatively inaccessible, such interviews with artists, assistants, conservators, curators, collectors, designers and material specialists are now being made available, supported by research through the Interviews in Conservation Initiative. The interviews focus on the art-making processes in relation to underlying ideas and the socio-cultural context as well as cultures of conservation. The collection is ongoing and additions are welcome to build a rich collection of unique source material to help sustain our cultural heritage for future generations.

The files can be consulted by registrering with DANS and request access through the Datastation by selecting the desired files under the files tab, and indicating the purpose of use as part of the request.