Colloquium on collaboration in conserving time-based art

It's widely understood that the special challenges of conserving
film, video, computer-based, and interactive art demand
collaborative efforts shared responsibility among a wide array of
disciplines. Over the past decade, best practices and shared
principles about the care of this art have been developed:
emulation, migration, variability. But how do these practices
actually work in the real world?

This colloquium brings together conservators, artists, curators,
exhibition designers, and audiovisual specialists in a series of
case studies about collaboration, designed to provoke debate about
how we have cared for these works thus far. Are we listening to all
the voices that have a stake in caring for these works? Are we
listening to the works themselves allowing the work itself to
determine its own future state? Are we willing to relinquish control
over a work in order to save it? Are we as a community truly capable
of insuring the long-term survival of these works, or is our job
simply ensuring that they will have a dignified death?

Participants will also have the opportunity for first-hand
engagement with number of major time-based installations that will
be on view at the Smithsonian museums, including works by Nam June
Paik, Paul Sharits, Douglas Gordon, John Gerrard, Miguel Angel Rios,
Phoebe Greenberg, and David Hockney.

    Wednesday, March 17

        7 PM
        Location: Ring Auditorium, Hirshhorn Museum

                Keynote address by

                John Hanhardt
                Senior Curator for Media Arts Nam June Paik Media
                Arts Center
                Smithsonian American Art Museum

    Thursday, March 18

        9:30 am - 4:45 pm
        Location: McEvoy Auditorium, Reynolds Center

            Panels and presentations
            Speakers will include

                Jill Sterrett
                San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

                Glenn Wharton
                Museum of Modern Art

                Chris Laciniak
                Audiovisual Preservation Solutions

                Andrew Lampert and John Passmore
                Anthology Film Archives

                Richard McCoy
                Indianapolis Museum of Art

        7 pm
        Location: Ring Auditorium, Hirshhorn Museum
        Meet the Artist: John Gerrard

    Friday, March 19

        10-11:30 am
        Location: Hirshhorn Museum

            Q and A Discussion about time-based installations on
            view

        1-5 PM
        Location: Reynolds Center

            Working discussion groups tackling specific questions
            related to SI's future plans for conserving time-based
            art.

The evening talks are free and open to the public.

Thursday's daytime presentations are free and open to professionals
in the field who have an interest in caring for these works.
Advanced registration is required for the Thursday program only.

For practical reasons, participation in the Friday working groups
will be strictly limited, by invitation only.  For more information,
contact

    Jeff Martin
    Conservator for Time-Based Art
    Hirshhorn Museum
    martinj<-at->si<.>edu or
    lunderconservationcenter<-at->si<.>edu


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 23:29
                Distributed: Thursday, February 11, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-23-29-010
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