Net Art at the Grey Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

1. NET ART
Kat Fanning | Anna Holbert | Grace Pamperien | Daisy Tainton | Anthony Volpe

2. Background
Net Art at the Grey Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
! 10 years of commissions
! 50+ works
Access
! Museum website
! In-gallery dedicated terminal
Current Status of Materials and Constituents
! Requires evaluation

3. Project Scope
Goals:
! Establish best practices
○ Update records for works currently in the collection
○ Apply to records for future acquisitions
! Safeguard against threat of obsolescence and loss
Systematic approach:
! Establish numbering scheme
! Create/update individual records
! Define standards to be used in records
! Consider hardware and software needs

4. Timeline for Completion
Months 13-18
Implementation
Create individual Records
Backup Files
Maintenance/Upkeep
Preservation/Conservation
Months 1-6
Evaluation
Current Documentation Techniques
Digital Storage Capacity
Staffing & Supplies
Financial Considerations
Months 7- 9
Staffing &
Supplies
Train current staff
Hire new staff
Purchase supplies
Months 10-12
Define
Standards
Numbering Scheme
Vocabulary Guide
Standards for Data
Content
File Naming
Conventions

5. Conceptual Workflow

6. Examples of Net Art

7. Methodologies of Work
! Item inventory
! Collection assessment
! Processes evaluation
! Contextualization of works
! Standardization

8. Technologies
Support computers
Servers
Storage
Software
Document creation
Database management

9. Staff and Supplies
Support from existing staff
Collection manager
Curatorial Staff
New media/web art conservator
Taxonomist
IT

10. Collections Manager
Plan and manage projects
Liaise between departments internally and outside
parties
Oversee administrative requirements, navigate
rights agreements
Process new acquisitions and records
Facilitate development of controlled vocabulary

11. Curatorial Staff
Creates records, documents, copies of same,
Conducts artist interviews
Ensures completeness of records, revisiting existing records
once new systems are in place
Utilizes and normalizes new standards and vocabularies,
setting the example for best practices

12. Conservator
Conducts interviews with artists
Monitors, documents, and arranges support for net art
works
Maintains knowledge of trends and developments,
assesses risks and sustainability
Defines best practices for preservation based on artworks’
individual needs

13. Taxonomist
Develops numbering scheme and naming conventions
Defines content standards for individual records
Categorizes and groups assets and content for ease of
discovery and retrieval.

14. IT
Assesses technology needs and costs
Customizes software and provides support for all staff using
said software
Upgrades hardware and software, performs installations and
monitors wear and tear, as well as approaching
obsolescence

15. Documentation example

17. Net Art Collection Cataloging
Year of work acquisition (yyyy), followed by acquisition
number of net art. Alpha-numeric naming schema for sub-
file types associated with work.
Ex. 2017.12 (artwork); 2017.12.A (condition report);
2017.12.B (copy of code); etc.

18. Sample xDAMS screenshot

19. Sources:
General:
“Matters in Media Art”. Accessed [October] 2017. http://mattersinmediaart.org/
"Taxonomy Vs. Metadata | DPCI". 2017. Dpci.Com. http://www.dpci.com/insights/taxonomy-vs-metadata.
Images:
"Preservation And Access To Born-Digital Culture - International Symposium". 2017. Imal. http://imal.org/en/
preservationsymposium.
1:1 Portrait, accessed 12/4/12017.
http://artport.whitney.org/exhibitions/biennial2002/jevbratt.shtml
Proxy, accessed 12/4/2017
htttp://artport.whitney.org/exhibitions/biennial2002/nideffer.shtml