This project of the MEIAC, started in 2008, consists of an on-line archive in continual development dedicated to the conservation of works of art generated for the web. This includes net art, digital poetry, electronic literature, CD ROMs, applications, actions and interventions with technological devices and other formats that imply digital strategies.
Its primary objectives are to protect, distribute and catalog the abovementioned works, using the Internet medium itself to achieve these ends, thus enabling it to grow and be updated on an ongoing basis.
Protect:
The museum’s server will act as backup, storing replicate copies of the works that are on-line in each creator’s site or of those that, for a variety of reasons, may not be available any longer. Works by national and international artists will be brought together here, although the focus will be on the Spanish-American sphere.
Catalog:
Said works will be included in a database by way of which, in addition to offering links to each work, it will be possible to access further information about each one and its creator, the context in which it was produced, critical texts and technical information.
Distribution:
The opportunity to navigate this information in a relational manner and carry out searches using keywords, in addition to the other possibilities offered by the database format, will also transform this into a useful tool to be used by the public, artists, curators and theoreticians interested in investigating digital production.
In this way, the MEIAC continues to carry forward its vision of expanding the museum’s field of action beyond the limits of its physical space, serving as a platform for production, distribution and reflection in different areas of the arts and strengthening ties within the electronic arts community.
[ list of works ]
This initiative is open to the inclusion of works by any artist who feels an affinity with the project. Works proposed for inclusion will be evaluated by the museum and those selected will go on to form part of NETescopio. You can send a proposal to netescopio @ gmail.com
Some considerations regarding the conservation of net art
The task of conserving works that have been conceived for the web presents us with issues that are very different from those related to protecting physical works corresponding to a museum. The ephemeral nature of many of these works, and the constantly evolving architecture of Internet demand a dynamic strategy for cataloging and documentation, one that makes use of the medium’s implicit particularities.
For all these reasons, the NETescopio project goes beyond merely storing copies of works on a server, proposing instead to preserve the production environment and context that will allow their conservation to extend beyond the support: interviews with each artist, technical information and critical analysis will be able to overcome the fetishistic nature of a mere collection of static codes, and achieve the preservation of the ideas that gave rise to the artworks.
Credits:
Concept and curatorship: Gustavo Romano
A project by MEIAC (
Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporáneo),
Badajoz, Spain