In the 1970s, Erich Gantzert-Castrillo conducted a large-scale survey and sent 320 questionnaires to artists in the German-speaking countries. [2] He developed four different questionnaires, focussing on painting, sculpture and object art, graphics, and art in architecture, which he used to gather information on materials and techniques, and to ascertain the involvement of craft businesses, workshops and delivery companies. The answers in the 138 returned questionnaires show great variety in terms of their form and level of detail, ranging from a few words to descriptions over several pages.

The archived material was published in book form in 1979 under the title Archiv für Techniken und Arbeitsmaterialien zeitgenössischer Künstler – Band 1. The handwritten and typed statements were printed as facsimiles and illustrated with images of the artworks. The book was sold out in a short time, as was the 1996 reprint.

A Digital Copy of the reprint (german version) is available via the following link: Archiv für Techniken und Arbeitsmaterialien zeitgenössischer Künstler – Band 1, Reprint 1996