During Transformation Digital Art 2024, LI-MA will share insights into the AMIGA NU project, and ZKM (Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe) will showcase Amiga artworks from their collection, including Table of Orientation (1995) by Stansfield/Hooykaas and The Surprising Spiral (1991) by Ken Feingold, with a focus on emulation as a preservation strategy.

Taking place on 20 March in collaboration with ZKM, this session will introduce the Amiga Computer Artist Index, a curated list of artists who worked with the Amiga, and present LI-MA’s Identification Model for Amiga Artworks. ZKM will also discuss their emulation techniques for digital preservation, highlighting key case studies. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with an Amiga 4000, gaining hands-on experience with this historically significant technology.

Upon its release, the Commodore Amiga (1985) quickly became popular with artists for its unique graphics and sound capabilities. However, Commodore’s bankruptcy in 1994 posed significant challenges for preserving Amiga-based artworks. 

Notable Amiga Artworks

It is difficult to select one notable Amiga artwork. Olivia Brum, junior conservator at LI-MA, reflected on this challenge: "It’s difficult to name a single notable Amiga artwork, especially since we’ve encountered so many interesting pieces during this project. However, one particularly compelling work is Raul Marroquin’s animation Eureka.

Marroquin’s Eureka was created using Deluxe Paint, a widely used Amiga animation program at the time. "The animation exhibits key Amiga-specific characteristics, such as a limited color palette—only four in this case: yellow, black, blue, and white,” Brum explains. “Depending on the available RAM and resolution, there could be up to 64 colors. It also reflects the lower resolution and pixelation typical of Amiga graphics."

Many renowned artists also experimented with Amiga computers. For the launch of its family computer series, Commodore staged a live event at Lincoln Center, where Andy Warhol used ProPaint to create a digital portrait of Debbie Harry. He later produced Amiga-based drawings, including a Campbell’s soup can and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, using GraphiCraft. When asked about computers in art, Warhol remarked, “When the machine comes out fast enough, it will probably take over from the graffiti kids.” Keith Haring also explored Amiga’s creative potential in the late 1980s, producing several digital works that remained on floppy disks until recently.

Why Develop a Standardised Model to Analyse Amiga Artworks?

Identifying Amiga-based works from other computer generated works is essential, yet many time-based media collections lack a collaborative vocabulary to recognise these artworks accurately. "The model we’re developing isn’t just about categorising Amiga artworks—it’s about being able to identify them within larger collections,” explains Brum. 

For LI-MA specifically, the most precise available category was "computer-based art," a broad term that encompasses various technologies and disconnects an artwork from the cultural and technological context in which it was created. Being able to tell if an artwork was originally made with Amiga by looking at a migrated file gives you information on how a work was originally presented, how it was made and a bit about the artist's intention.

Emulation as a Preservation Strategy

Media artworks rely on ephemeral physical computer hardware, which can quickly become obsolete. To ensure long-term accessibility, conservators often turn to emulation.

"Unlike migration, emulation does not involve changing the original digital object. Instead, it allows the digital object to be accessed using the software originally used to create it," explains Brum. Emulation has become a key method of media art preservation among institutions such as archives, museums, and libraries, which regularly acquire digital works that can no longer be opened using modern technologies.

AMIGA NU Project

With the support of Cultuurfonds, LI-MA launched the AMIGA NU project in October 2024 to identify and preserve Amiga artworks.

Initially released in 1985, Amiga computers quickly gained popularity, particularly in Europe and the UK, where they became known for their advanced graphics and sound capabilities. In the Netherlands, LI-MA took care of this legacy providing artists with access to Amiga computers, fostering a collaborative environment where knowledge and creative practices were shared. Artists and heritage institutions are welcome to come over and view and emulate their Amiga artworks. With the support of the Dutch Digital Heritage Network (Netwerk Digitaal Erfgoed) LI-MA is continuing upgrading these facilities and their accessibility.

The AMIGA NU project aims to:

• Index of significant Dutch computer art from the 1980s and 1990s
• Identify missing pieces in LI-MA’s collection
• Develop a standardised model to describe and categorise Amiga works

By creating a standardised way to identify Amiga works, and by giving access to the artworks, machines and  tools, we help ensure that these artworks are recognised, preserved, and understood within their proper historical and technological context. 

Curious to know more? Join us at Transformation Digital Art 2025 to explore the world of Amiga-based art and its lasting impact.

Header image: Photo by Dan Counsell, Unsplash