Sample Documentation and Templates
The Met has made the following documents and templates available for artists, organizations, and collectors of time-based media artworks. For further information regarding these documents and templates, please email the Time-Based Media Working Group at tbmwg@metmuseum.org.
Acquisition Procedures
The following documents describe The Met's acquisition procedures for time-based media artworks, and provide guidelines for what the Museum may require as part of the acquisition.
Since there are many different sub-categories of time-based media artworks, several documents have been created, each tailored towards the different types the Museum may acquire. These documents are intended to be a starting point in the acquisition process, and can be edited to reflect the needs of a specific artwork.
Artist Questionnaires
The Met requires the completion of an artist questionnaire as part of the acquisition process. This document provides valuable information about the artwork's composition, creation, and how it may be exhibited and preserved in the future.
There are several versions of this form, including prompts have been tailored to different sub-categories of time-based media artworks. The artist questionnaires are used to inform The Met as to what materials to request as part of the acquisition process, as well as provide guidelines for the installation and long-term care of the artwork.
Identity and Iteration Reports
The Met has adopted the use of iteration reports and identity reports in the documentation of time-based media artworks. These forms, which are based on documentation templates developed by Joanna Phillips at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, are intended to be completed by Met conservators and collection managers. The completed iteration and identity reports seek to document the variable nature of time-based media artworks and aid in the preservation future exhibition of the artworks.
Artwork Identity Report
Describes the core identity of the artwork, including how it was created, what materials are owned by The Met, when and how it was exhibited in the past, and the flexibility or inflexibility in terms of how it can be displayed.
Artwork Iteration Report
Documents all of the equipment, characteristics, and decision-making processes related to a specific exhibition of the artwork.
Ericka Beckman (American, born 1951). You the Better (detail from still), 1983. Single-channel digital video, transferred from 16mm film, color, sound, 32 min. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Vital Projects Fund Inc., Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2012 (2012.95). © Ericka Beckman