Relational Archival Investigation

What changes when the records are compared?

Accurate statements can produce an inaccurate history when they refer to different objects or occasions. RAI examines the grounds for joining them. The following examples summarize findings already published in the main paper and its supplements. They are distinct from the three constructed teaching exercises in the interactive explorer. These published demonstrations do not establish independent validation of the method.

Lee Kang-so (이강소): production and presentation

For Painting–78–1, MMCA’s acquisition entry 75 assigns 1978 while collection record 7924 gives 1977. A published conversation dated 14 October 2018 records Lee Kang-so distinguishing production in 1977 from presentation in 1978. The comparison therefore supports an attributed production–presentation sequence. It does not establish why the annual-report compiler used 1978, when a museum field changed, or why the two records give different durations. The methodological result is to preserve the supported chronology while keeping those separate questions open.

Main paper, PDF pp. 7–8 · Supplement 1, PDF p. 4, C-75.

Park Suk-won (박석원): a supported difference and a rejected identification

For Jeok–Eungnyeok, acquisition entry 76 gives 1974 and collection record 7925 gives 1972, alongside a separate statement that the wooden elements were remade in 2016. Distinguishing the remaking leaves the production-year difference intact. The comparison does not establish which year is correct or why the assignments differ. A related, separately numbered work dated 1973 has different materials and dimensions; it does not supply a third date for this installation. RAI retains the unresolved comparison and the rejected extension as different judgments. Accession documentation, a contemporary photograph or an explicit connection between the works could reopen a particular claim.

Main paper, PDF p. 9 · Supplement 1, PDF pp. 4 and 6–7, C-76 and section C.

Kim Youngjin (김영진): one work, different presentations

For 1978–2, catalogued by MMCA under KIM Youngjin b, both leading years are 1978. Collection record 7928 distinguishes an early presentation on one monitor from the twelve-monitor arrangement at the 2016 Busan Biennale. The work’s historical year and a later component count cannot together establish that twelve monitors were used in 1978. That sentence is an inference tested in the paper, not an error attributed to another scholar. The museum’s fuller account supplies the necessary distinction. Playback order, installation plans and spectators’ attention remain separate questions requiring further evidence.

Main paper, PDF p. 8 · Supplement 2, PDF p. 7, section 4.

The seven-entry acquisition comparison was selected retrospectively. Its findings concern those records; they do not estimate institutional error rates or demonstrate that RAI outperforms competent historical practice. PDF page references above count the cover as page 1.

About this methodology record

Author: Dorian Vale · ORCID 0009-0004-7737-5094. Publisher: Museum of One. Public overview: V.1, first published 9 November 2026. The three DOI-linked publications are separate documents, each version 1.0, issued 9 November 2026.

This website is the main public introduction to RAI. The OSF companion wiki provides a related repository account, and the OSF files area holds deposited copies. Cite the specific paper or supplement when using its argument or evidence; use the overview citation below when referring to this explanation of the method.

Applications in Korean experimental art

When Documentation Becomes the Work examines the place of photographs in performance, reperformance and later collection histories through Rim Dong Sik, Kim Kulim and Sung Neung Kyung. Cite version 2.0.

Titles, Dates, and Reconstructed Works examines naming, dating and artwork identity through four cases from Korean museum and archival records. Cite version 1.0.