Conservation of Video Art

These resources were produced for “Workshop 4: Conservation of Video Art” (summer 2021, online, hosted by MoMA). For more information about the workshop leaders and speakers, please refer to their biographies.

Life of a Video Artwork

Speaker: Peter Oleksik, Associate Media Conservator, MoMA, NY

The overarching theme of the workshop was managing change in video artworks over time. To introduce the workshop, this video provided an overview of the “life” of video artworks in MoMA’s collection. These examples were revisited throughout the workshop.


Basic File Anatomy and Preservation, Parts I & II

Speaker: Jonathan Farbowitz, Associate Conservator of Time-based Media, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

These presentations were originally developed as part of the workshop “Introduction to Digital Preservation” at the American Institute for Conservation 2020 Annual Meeting.


Metadata and Checksums Demonstration

Speaker: Alexandra Nichols, Conservator, Time-based Media, Tate, London.

This demonstration was originally developed as part of the workshop “Introduction to Digital Preservation” at the American Institute for Conservation 2020 Annual Meeting. Although technology evolves rapidly and some of the features and commands shown in this video may have changed, this presentation provides a solid introduction to metadata exposure and creating checksums. Please note that the demo documents and sample files mentioned during the talk were available to workshop participants only.


BagIt Demonstration

Speaker: Alexandra Nichols, Conservator, Time-based Media, Tate, London.

This demonstration was originally developed as part of the workshop “Introduction to Digital Preservation” at the American Institute for Conservation 2020 Annual Meeting. Although technology evolves rapidly and some of the features and commands demonstrated in this video may have changed, this presentation provides a solid introduction to creating and verifying bags on Mac and PC. Please note that the demo documents and sample files mentioned during the talk were available to workshop participants only.


Basics of Video

Speaker: Peter Oleksik, Associate Media Conservator, MoMA, NY


Characterization of Video

Speaker: Peter Oleksik, Associate Media Conservator, MoMA, NY


Video Condition Assessment Overview

Speaker: Lia Kramer, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Media Conservation, MoMA, NY

Additional resources


Software Demonstration: QC Tools

Speaker: Lia Kramer, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Media Conservation, MoMA, NY


Software Demonstration: Sonic Visualiser

Speaker: Lia Kramer, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Media Conservation, MoMA, NY


Software Demonstration: DaVinci Resolve

Speaker: Lia Kramer, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Media Conservation, MoMA, NY


Video Materiality

Speaker: Agathe Jarczyk, Time-based Media Conservator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY and Partner/Conservator-Restorer FH, Atelier für Videokonservierung / Studio for Video Conservation, Bern, Switzerland


History of Exhibition Technology

Speaker: Kate Lewis, Agnes Gund Chief Conservator, MoMA, NY. Co-authors: Kate Lewis and Peter Oleksik, Associate Media Conservator, MoMA, NY


Video Art in the HD Age

Speaker: Sophie Bunz, Time-based Media Art Conservator, Atelier für Videokonservierung / Studio for Video Conservation, Bern, Switzerland


Artwork Case Study: Gretchen Bender’s Dumping Core

Speakers: Maurice Schechter, Conservation Engineer, M. Schechter, Inc., NY, in conversation with Peter Oleksik, Associate Media Conservator, MoMA, NY


Workflows at EAI: Video Condition Checking

Speaker: Jon Dieringer, Technical Director, Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI)


Workflows at EAI: SD File Preparation in an HD World

Speaker: Jon Dieringer, Technical Director, Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI)