Time-Based Media Conservation Fellows and Interns

Conservation, Digital Preservation, and Workflow Standardization for Time-Based Media Artworks

Jenny spent her fellowship working with the museum’s time-based media (TBM) collection. Much of her time went to condition-assessing and auditing works already in the collection and to supporting acquisitions and incoming gifts, alongside the ongoing digital preservation work of keeping files stable and accessible. She developed and refined the tools and workflows that would contribute to the long-term care of TBM artworks, including two Python scripts, filesystem-name-inspector and snapshot, written to automate parts of the digital preservation process. She also worked with the museum’s Conservation Studio team to refine TBM-specific conservation reports and documentation workflows. For the Department of Photographs, she rehoused and relabeled TBM media carriers and prepared handling guidelines for future conservators.

Artist intent shaped how she approached her work. Across the two-year fellowship, she worked to close gaps in documentation for both new acquisitions and works already in the collection, drawing on existing records and on direct conversations with artists. With the TBM team, she participated in interviews with Jonathan Horowitz about Maxell and Ho Tzu Nyen about Critical Dictionary of Southeast Asia, and her research on Lutz Bacher’s Closed Circuit took her to the artist's archive. Through these projects, she looked at how artists' intentions, production histories, playback technologies, and exhibition practices inform the preservation of time-based media artworks.

Conservation and Acquisition Process for Time-Based Media Artworks

During their one-year fellowship, Kayla focused on the conservation and acquisition process for time-based media artworks. Kayla contributed to identity reports and iteration reports for time-based media artworks, as well as produced condition reports. They also contributed time to other activities related to the exhibition of time-based media artworks. Their time was spent working together with Jonathan Farbowitz, Associate Conservator of Time-Based Media, and Felice Robles, Conservation Intern.

Long-term Management and Documentation Practices for Software-Based Artworks

The conservation of software-based artworks in necessitates continuous management and care of a complex artwork system including digital files, equipment, and artist-provided documentation. Caroline supported the long-term management and storage of time-based media artworks in the Met’s collection. She contributed to an audit of digital artwork components, and by updating TMS database records with distilled information culled from artists' interviews, installation instructions, and original research. As a continuation of her prior work at MoMA, Caroline focused her attention on Philippe Parreno’s With a Rhythmic Instinction to be Able to Travel Beyond Existing forces of Life and Jim Campbell’s Motion and Rest #2.

Developing Policies and Procedures for the Conservation of Time-based Media at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This project focused on developing policies, workflows, legal contracts, and documentation templates for the acquisition, exhibition, and preservation of time-based media (TBM) at The Met. Nichols worked closely with Nora Kennedy, Sherman Fairchild Conservator in Charge, as well as with conservation and curatorial colleagues across the museum, Legal Counsel, IS&T, Digital, Registrar, and Exhibition Design. She researched and identified improvements to The Met’s infrastructure for the care of digital art and assisted with the TBM Conservation Assessment, which advocated for resources to support the conservation and preservation of these artworks in the collection. Read more.