SOMEART

"Sociological identification of the actors, practices, discourses and technologies involved in the conservation of media-art works"

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The increasing engagement of artists with film, video, computers and the internet, has enabled the emergence of an unprecedented variety of ‘media-art’ forms, such as video-art, audio-visual installations, multimedia art, digital-art or net-art. However, the dependence of these media-art works on rapidly evolving technologies makes these works one of the most fragile parts of our contemporary artistic heritage. This research proposes a pioneering sociological investigation on media-art conservation practices. Its main objective is to identify the networks of technologies, practices, discourses and actors involved in the preservation of media-art works These objectives will be met by undertaking advanced training at New York University’s Sociology Department (USA) and by conducting an ethnographic study of media-art conservation practices at the Museum of Modern Art of New York (MoMA). This investigation will be transferred to the Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change (CRESC) at The Open University (UK), where it will contribute to establish a new line of research on the material dimensions of culture. The results of the study will be of great significance for both museum professionals in charge of the conservation of media-art collections and for cultural sociologists dealing with the processes of cultural preservation. This project will be instrumental to forge an international and interdisciplinary research network of academics, museum and cultural-policy professionals working on the intellectual and policy-related challenges facing contemporary art conservation and, more widely, culture in a digital age.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

The rapid rate with which media is developing is creating challenges for conservationists of media-based artwork.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Media-based artwork is comprised of a variety of materials such as DVDs, slides, videocassettes and playback equipment like slide projectors, monitors and film loops. An EU-funded project, SOMEART, investigated how the Museum of Modern Art of New York (MoMA) addresses various challenges to conserve its media-based artwork.

Conservation methods are mostly relevant for traditional artworks, such as paintings and sculptures. The materials involved in media-based artwork, however, defy these traditional conservation methods.

Additionally, conservation efforts to date have largely been medium-based, focusing on the best way to preserve a specific type of art. To meet the new and ever-changing needs of media-based art, museums are being forced to reorganise their conservation efforts and take an interdisciplinary approach.

For example, at the MoMA, conservation of media-based artworks is handled by a newly formed Media Working Group comprised of curators, conservationists, archivists and audiovisual experts. This group not only manages the set-up of a particular project, but also its maintenance, the ways it can be displayed, which materials can be changed, and other elements.

To address the challenges presented by this mutable art form, museums have been changing the way they run their business. For example, they have begun collaborating, forming alliances and pursuing co-ownership of acquisitions, particularly at local and regional levels.

Media-based artwork will continue to present issues for conservation, which may spark even more changes in the way the museums operate, cooperate and view art.