Description
Karsten Bott has been collecting artifacts in a private collection he calls the “Archive of Contemporary History.” His installations are based on selections from this archive, as well as objects he acquires on location. Bott loves collecting, storing, exhibiting, and scientifically classifying objects. How he determines the placement of objects with companion pieces is an intricate process. Bott creates huge computer databases with categorical headings such as: Occupations, Death, Festival/Customs, and Household Pets. A knife could end up in the Death or in the Kitchen category. Bott spends a great amount of time inputting data on each object with links and cross-references. Even though he assigns storage and placement categories, his exhibited items have no labels so that the viewer may freely associate with the objects. He tries to create a link with peoples’ personal histories through his collection.
“I put a structure on the collection of my archive that defines things other than alphabetically, ... I am humanizing these things. It's like a giant polka.”
