Peripheral witnessing: needlework repair in Tacita Dean’s “Darmstädter Werkblock” (2007)

ABSTRACT This short provocation considers the entangling potential of visible needlework mending, using Tacita Dean’s 2007 film Darmstädter Werkblock to question how paying attention to sites of repair can highlight ongoing, often unnoticed, forms of maintenance within an institution. During the film Darmstädter Werkblock, Dean pays homage to the markers of age in the original textile paneling of Block Beuys, giving attention to the frayed, faded and restored areas of the walls. In contrast to the large-scale refurbishment chosen by the gallery, the earlier needlework repair presented by Dean reflects a slower, more ongoing form of maintenance.