The Cost of Decommissioning

Abstract

This chapter explains and evaluates the new museological practice of “decommissioning”re-creatable artworks after an artist’s death. Decommissioning, the act of removing such works from permanent collections when deemed to be non-viable,marks a determination by the museum that an accessioned work is not art, and should never be made or shown again to the public as art. In most such cases, the now-deceased artist renounced the work prior to death, and the museum is responding to the artist’s lifetime wishes that the work not be remade posthumously. Although well-intentioned, decommissioning comes with dangers, particularly where the specialized knowledge and skill to make the works rests with a handful of master fabricators who are themselves aging. As there is little to be gained by decommissioning posthumous works, and much to be lost, this chapter argues that the designation is best avoided in most cases.