18: Digital Curators Series 02—Regina Harsanyi & Jon Ippolito on Preserving the Digital

Episode page and full transcript: lerandom.art/episodes/digital-curators-series-02

In this conversation, Peter Bauman (Monk Antony, Le Random's editor in chief) interviews Regina Harsanyi (lerandom.art/subjects/regina-harsanyi) and Jon Ippolito (lerandom.art/subjects/jon-ippolito), two digital curators and experts in digital art's preservation.

Harsanyi is the Associate Curator of Media Arts at the Museum of the Moving Image (lerandom.art/subjects/museum-of-the-moving-image) and an independent advisor on preventive conservation for variable media arts.

Ippolito is a new media artist, writer and former curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (lerandom.art/subjects/solomon-r-guggenheim-mus…). He is also a professor of new media at the University of Maine, where he founded the Graduate Digital Curation Program.

The conversation covers the complexities of digital art preservation, especially concerning blockchain and AI-based works.

Links:
transfergallery.com/data-trust
dweb.grayarea.org
DigitalCuration.UMaine.edu (digitalcuration.umaine.edu)

Also in this episode: Dan Flavin (lerandom.art/subjects/dan-flavin), Nam June Paik (lerandom.art/subjects/nam-june-paik), Holly Herndon (lerandom.art/subjects/holly-herndon), Allan Kaprow (lerandom.art/subjects/allan-kaprow), Donald Judd (lerandom.art/subjects/donald-judd), Google (lerandom.art/subjects/google), Auriea Harvey (lerandom.art/subjects/auriea-harvey), Casey Reas (lerandom.art/subjects/casey-reas), Christiane Paul (lerandom.art/subjects/christiane-paul), Cory Arcangel (lerandom.art/subjects/cory-arcangel)

Listen next: Ep. 43, New York Frieze Week—Michael Connor, Regina Harsanyi & Karyn Nakamura with Peter Bauman (lerandom.art/episodes/new-york-frieze-week-mic…), Ep. 21, Digital Curators Series 03—Val Ravaglia on Displaying the Digital (lerandom.art/episodes/digital-curators-series-…)

On the Living Timeline: TV Buddha and TV Garden by Nam June Paik (1974) (timeline.lerandom.art/m/tv-buddha-and-tv-garde…)

Chapters 📖:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:47 What does preservation really cost?
00:05:22 Why is preservation an industry problem?
00:10:49 What is variable media?
00:14:19 Whose intent guides preservation?
00:27:09 What standards should museums set?
00:38:27 Is blockchain robust enough for storage?
00:43:12 Who holds copyright on blockchain art?
00:54:27 How do you preserve digital art?
01:03:59 What makes up digital conservation?
01:13:37 Where can collectors and artists learn?