I’m thankful for my most recent trip to Lisbon, as it provided the best opportunity to conduct this interview. During my first trip, the workflow was intensive as I was only there for 10 days and had to collect as much material as I possibly could. With this second trip- I had a more lax approach to collection, as the majority of items were documented and accounted for, and the extra time on my hands led to more quality time with Belén. Reviewing her files led to interesting conversations about her work and different aspects of archiving the process that I didn’t consider at first. For example, I remember Belén telling me of works that had either been broken or destroyed, but the pieces still existed in photos. This led to the thought process of what to do with these images and categorizing them as work. Are the photos now the work? Or are they just documentation of prior work?
Video: Expressing excitement to some friends about the opportunity to interview Belén. Completing the research and having the discussion with Belén has been the highlight of my time on the project.
Having these conversations allowed me to formulate these questions in real time, and when it came down to talking to Belén, I was able to have a free-flowing discussion that didn’t feel like a formal interrogation. These conversations became my best form of research for the interview, and allowed a jumping-off point for further discussion. Next week, in our final part of this discussion, we’ll look at my plans and the future of this interview in the archive.
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