Art History, Curation and Practice After Media
CHArt Twenty-Second Annual Conference
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FAST FORWARD: Art History, Curation and Practice After Media |
Conservation and Preservation in the Post-Media Phase: A Suggested Strategy Theory
Timothy Mohn, Pratt Institute Digital Arts Laboratory, New York, USA
As the digital network, RFID, and custom hardware, among other technologies, become more prevalent in artistic practice, the very nature of the artefact begins to change. No longer is the technology limited to video or computational media, and no longer is the artist a bystander in the issue. As this transformation takes hold the required expertise and knowledge radically changes as well. No longer is it acceptable to replicate existing, historically-proven, methods for conservation. And no longer is the conservator the sole player in the situation. Now artists have very informed opinions on the conservation and preservation of their work, and at times they are concerned with the issues at the very beginning of the creative process.
With the integration of technology as just another medium in the palette of many contemporary artists, we are lead down a path lightly travelled. How does one define the role and skill-set a conservator needs to be relevant in this new area? Is it enough to replicate, or adapt, existing methods around a new medium? Or does a radical redefinition of the role need to take place? Even if we are adapting existing strategies questions still arise such as: if emulation is the strategy which individual will be programming the emulators? The conservators? Outsourced engineers?
This paper explores the contemporary re-examination of that which constitutes a conservator through a brief examination of the existing strategies for 'new media' conservation and preservation, a series of interviews with key authors of these strategies and relevant artists working within the field (including Jon Ippolito, Jill Sterrett, Pip Laurenson, Mark Napier, Scott Snibbe and Ken Goldberg, among others), and an analysis of the current situation from the perspective of the practicing artist. The paper closes with a strategic theory addressing the issues raised.