In Between Performance and Documentation
By Dragan Espenschied

Organized by

Inge Hinterwaldner
Senior Fellow 2023–2024

Informations

This is a public event. Participation is free of charge and registration is not required.

Already with the earliest conversations and initiatives for the preservation and conservation of digital art during the beginning of the century, academics and practitioners agreed that documentation would have to play an essential role to stabilize works which are deeply embedded in a highly volatile digital environment. However, what exactly is meant by “documentation,” and what types of artifacts should it produce for what purpose, isn’t necessarily established. Since that time, various documentation techniques have been used to express ownership of immaterial artworks, to capture the impression of artworks when no effective preservation actions could be taken, to aid the record of institutional history. But what kinds of documentation can directly support preservation and conservation in the sense that the performance of a digital artwork can be maintained?