Getting Started

A Shared Responsibility. Caring for Time-based Artworks in Collections

These resources come from MoMA Workshops 1 and 2 (May 2017 and June 2018)

Acquisitions

The Acquisition Process presentation features Athena Holbrook, Collection Specialist, Media & Performance Art, The Museum of Modern Art; Kate Lewis, Agnes Gund Chief Conservator, The Museum of Modern Art; Erica Papernik-Shimizu, Associate Curator, Media & Performance Art, The Museum of Modern Art; Sarah Primm, Assistant Registrar, The Museum of Modern Art. 

This presentation was designed to generate discussion about what it means to acquire an artwork, to provide an overview of the concepts behind the key milestones in the acquisition process, as well as to share some rules of thumb for common scenarios. The presentation opens with a discussion on the importance of collaboration within the acquisition process. 

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Conservation Surveys

The Conservation Surveys presentation features Mona Jimenez, Media Consultant and Principal, Materia Media and Glenn Wharton, Clinical Associate Professor of Museum Studies, New York University.

This presentation addresses conservation surveys for time-based media collections. Glenn Wharton introduces the session with a presentation on aims, resources, and uses of conservation surveys within a museum, including basic survey methods. He also discusses his experience in conducting surveys and implementing standard procedures at The Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mona Jimenez details her experience conducting surveys in a variety of institutions and her codified “organizational systems” method and “areas of investigation” when carrying out a survey.

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Developing a Media Lab

Developing a Media Lab presentation features Reinhard Bek, Conservator of Contemporary Art, Bek & Frohnert LLC, New York; Flaminia Fortunato, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Media Conservation, The Museum of Modern Art; Christine Frohnert, Conservator of Contemporary Art, Bek & Frohnert LLC, New York and Time-based Media Art  Conservation Program Coordinator, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University; Caroline Gil, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Media Conservation, The Museum of Modern Art; Martina Haidvogl, Associate Media Conservator, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Peter Oleksik, Associate Media Conservator, The Museum of Modern Art. 

The presentation focuses on what comprises a lab, the location where media conservation takes place. The talk provides an overview of various time-based media-collecting institutions and what they have developed, by taking a closer look at the collection needs, skill sets of staff, sustainability, functionality and resources.

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Documentation

Documenting An Artwork presentation features Amy Brost, Assistant Media Conservator, The Museum of Modern Art and Martina Haidvogl, Associate Media Conservator, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 

This presentation introduces the theory and practice of time-based media art conservation documentation. Core concepts presented include why, when and how to document artworks. Brost presents the documentation framework and reports being used at MoMA. Haidvogl provides an overview of the development and functionality of The San Francisco Museum of Art's collaboratively generated Mediawiki, a dynamic, multi-author platform for internal records of time-based media artworks. In addition to sharing a range of documentation approaches, strategies and tools, the speakers also suggest possible future directions in documentation. 

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Physical Storage

Physical Storage for Media Art Collections presentation features Amy Brost, Assistant Media Conservator, The Museum of Modern Art and Sarah Primm, Assistant Registrar, Collections, The Museum of Modern Art. 

This presentation covers physical components which comprise time-based media artworks which can include artist’s boxes, digital carriers, dedicated electronics and display equipment. In addition to sharing general storage methodology, this talk features practices and unique housing scenarios in the media collection at The Museum of Modern Art. A discussion of storage areas, including ideal environmental conditions for media will also be discussed during this presentation.


Digital Storage

Digital Art Storage presentation features Ben Fino-Radin, Founder, Small Data Industries. 

At many institutions and collections, collection care staff are increasingly tasked with the new responsibility of stewarding and defining the storage conditions for the digital components of time-based media artworks. Ensuring proper digital housing for transportation, transmission, and long-term preservation requires collaboration with a whole new set of colleagues, technical consultants, and vendors. Developing effective collaborations with these new colleagues requires new knowledge, skills, and vocabulary. This session will provide workshop attendees with the fundamental concepts and vocabulary needed in order to approach the housing and storage of digital materials in time-based media art collections.

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