Legacy Media Art

Media art in storage or not otherwise displayed but where the artists or technicians are available to support installation.

Digital Species: Media Art

Consensus Decision

Added to List: 2019

Previously: Endangered

Imminence of Action

Action is recommended within three years, detailed assessment in one year.

Significance of Loss

The loss of tools, data or services within this group would impact on many people and sectors.

Effort to Preserve | Inevitability

It would require a small effort to preserve materials in this group, requiring the application of proven tools and techniques.

Examples

Media art in storage.

‘Critically Endangered’ in the Presence of Aggravating Conditions

Lack of documentation to enable maintenance; uncertainty over IPR or the presence of orphaned works; complex interdependencies on specific hardware, software or operating systems; lack of capacity in the gallery or workshop; lack of strategic investment; complex external dependencies; loss of institutional memory resulting from staff churn; poor working relationship between the gallery and artist/workshop; lack of conservation assessment.

‘Vulnerable’ in the Presence of Good Practice

Strong documentation; clarity of preservation path and ensuing responsibilities; proven preservation plan; capacity of workshop to support re-installation; capacity of gallery to conserve; capacity of gallery to re-install; retention of institutional memory including archives of correspondence between gallery and artist/workshop; strong and continuing working relationship between the gallery and artist/workshop; regular conservation assessment.

2023 Review

This entry was added in 2017 as ‘Media Art,’ which was first introduced with particular reference to historical media art. The 2019 Jury rescoped this entry to ensure greater specificity in its recommendation to represent works held in galleries but no longer displayed, but where there is a continuing working relationship between the gallery and the artist or workshop and reasonable expectation that support for preservation could still be obtained when required. The 2020 Jury identified a trend towards greater risk, given that many museums and galleries, which often rely on visitors for income, had been closed for extended periods. Moreover, any form of digital materials that rely on an individual’s knowledge is at particular risk by a pandemic. For similar reasons, the 2021 Jury also identified a 2021 trend towards greater risk, noting that digital materials in museums and galleries records are likely to be at greater risk in these circumstances.

The 2023 Council agreed with the Endangered classification with overall risks remaining on the same basis as before (‘No change’ to trend), while also noting a decrease in imminence of action as well as the required effort to preserve.

2024 Interim Review

The 2024 Council agreed These risks remain on the same basis as before, with no significant trend towards even greater or reduced risk (‘No change’ to trend).

Additional Comments

This entry attempts to capture a point in the lifecycle of media art where preservation risks are increasing but not yet critical. There is a risk that preservation issues will not become apparent until the piece is brought out of storage when considered for loan or exhibition – often on timescales that make it too late to address preservation concerns effectively. Galleries should be aware that the range of data/formats/hardware/software embedded in media art can be wide and vary at different speeds.

Sooner action is needed to prevent the material from becoming Critically Endangered once the artist has died or relationships break down. Where the artist is still around, there is a major reduction in the inevitability of loss and its potential to be a potentially newsworthy subject. The loss of it would be just as impactful and significant though.

Preservation of legacy media artworks is dependent on access to obsolete technology and also the knowledge of how to operate said technology. Documentation around the production process and artist intent can be limited. This is a risk in terms of preserving a truly authentic artwork.

See also:

• The DPC ‘Preserving Digital Art’ Technology Watch Guidance Note is aimed at institutions starting to collect digital art as part of a wider collecting remit. It offers basic guidance on the specificities of digital art and how it may differ from other digital content in an institution’s care. See: Falcão, P. (2024) ‘Preserving Digital Art’, DPC Technology Watch Guidance Note 24-02. Available at: http://doi.org/10.7207/twgn24-02

• Archiving Australian Media Arts Project is a research project funded by the Australian Research Council involving collaboration between university researchers and cultural institutions. The aim was to develop a good practice method for stabilising digital media artworks, providing emulated access to the artworks to researchers in reading rooms, and to investigate the contemporary exhibition and re-display of historical media artworks. This has also led to Aus Easi project. Available at: https://aama.net.au/ and https://auseaasi.org/ [accessed 06 September 2024]

• NEW MEDIA MUSEUMS: Creating Framework for Preserving and Collecting Media Arts in V4, initiated by the Olomouc Museum of Art as a joint international platform for sharing experience with building and maintaining collections of new media artworks across different types of institutions. The aim of the project is to find workable methods for heritage institutions to build and maintain collections of media arts, which are necessary for safeguarding this area for the benefit of society. See Central European Art Database (2021) ‘NEW MEDIA MUSEUMS: Creating Framework for Preserving and Collecting Media Arts in V4’. Available at: http://cead.space/Detail/projects/3797 [accessed 24 October 2023].

• The Collaborative Infrastructure for sustainable access to digital art LIMA project, to prevent the loss of digital artworks and to commonly develop the knowledge to preserve these works in a sustainable way. The project ‘Infrastructure sustainable accessibility digital art’ invests in research, training, knowledge sharing and conservation to prevent the loss of both digital artworks and the knowledge to preserve them. See LIMA (n.d.) ‘Collaborative infrastructure for sustainable access to digital art’. Available at: https://www.li-ma.nl/lima/article/collaborative-infrastructure-sustainable-access-digital-art [accessed 24 October 2023]