MAPS 2017: “What Is The Role Of The Conservator”

“Save as…”—What will remain of new media art?
Parallel exhibition
February 24–March 26, 2017

Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art Budapest continues the work revolved around the conversation and the preservation of contemporary art, started in 2015, involving international conservators, art historians, and experts.

Artists today can choose from a wide and growing variety of new, ever-changing techniques, while the equipment they use—and media art itself—tends to become more and more complex. This poses a constant challenge to museums as far as collection and conservation is concerned, which requires a long-term solution. With international experts from the New York-based MoMA, Tate (London), Reina Sofia (Madrid), LIMA Amsterdam, or conservators and professors from the Humboldt University (Berlin), the MAPS 2017 conference concentrates on the practical side of the topic, while a related exhibition entitled “Save as…”—What will remain of new media art? tries to open up further questions regarding the conservation of media art

A changing environment requires different preservation strategies for long-term sustainability, as opposed to traditional painting, statue, and object prevention processes.

The lifetime of media artworks—such as photo, video, film, digital art, internet-based, and other digital contents—is significantly shorter than that of artworks made with traditional techniques (paintings, statues, monuments, etc.). Compared to artworks preserved in museums, the obsolescence of technical devices is considerably faster. Conservators have to accept that contemporary art belongs to our cultural heritage and it plays a role equal to that of historic artworks.

Target group
–qualified professionals with a degree in conservation
–collections with media art content
–contemporary media artists
–curators
–institutions and students of higher education in the field of IT and art

Specific questions
–identification of different video and new media processes
–Conservation and Collection Care Strategy
–recognize and understand the needs and long-term sustainability of digital art conservation
–analysis of the condition identification of corresponding documentation and treatment needs
–prioritize the conservation needs in the field of digital art

Schedule and full list of speakers
Find more details on the conference website.

Registration
Please note that registration is limited to 100 participants.
Purchase Conference Pass and registration here.

You may purchase a ticket and apply for the MAPS 2017 symposium online. Payment is in local currency (HUF). The displayed amount (in EUR) is indicative and based on the exchange rate at the time of booking.
 

“Save as…”—What will remain of new media art?­
Parallel exhibition

The conference-related exhibition presents media art in Hungary from its beginnings to our present days, also, the lifework of artists who apply perpetually renewing technologies in creating their works. Focus will be on particular artworks from Ludwig Museum’s collection, which provide a comprehensive view of the main tendencies in media art, while illustrate special Eastern European features of this genre. Not only the artworks will be shown to the public, but the process of their making will be rendered visible as well. In addition, the curator’s unconcealed intention is to explore problematic issues related to the conservation and exhibition of technology-based artworks, as well as to draw attention to the fact that amortization of media-based artworks is inescapable, unless institutions start to develop an adequate conservation plan. The associate partner of Ludwig Museum is C3 Center for Culture & Communication.