The Management of Display Equipment in Time-based Media Installations

A time-based media installation is best understood in its installed state as a dynamic system. The system transforms a media element into sound and image, which unfolds to the viewer over time, within the context of a prescribed environment. The installation may also include sculptural elements. In determining the identity of the work conservators are interested in the relationship of the components of the system to the meaning of the installation. Some of the components may have significance broader than purely functional value.

“Display equipment warrants special attention because it presents specific challenges to our ability to display these works in the future as the artist intended. Here lies the nub of the problem: display equipment is certain to fail and become obsolete, therefore any strong link between specific display equipment and authenticity or value will mean that a degree of loss is inevitable. The stronger and more specific the link, the more vulnerable the work is to loss.”

In this article, Laurenson investigates whether it makes sense to associate the identity of these works with elements that cannot be preserved.

Read the full text. Language: English.