The constant development and flux of technologies creates a unique opportunity for artists to experiment, play and create. At the same time, it  poses a challenge for those charged with the responsibility of ensuring future presentations of these works. The preservation of born-digital art is as challenging as it is important, and requires an understanding of the complex nature of such works in order to maintain the ability for others to experience them in the future. These works are not only a product of the artists’ creative expression, but also reflections of the technological possibilities and complex communication landscape of the time.

Given the rapid advances in technology, it is unrealistic to expect that each individual artist, academy, museum or heritage institution can continuously develop sustainability plans for every new medium. LI-MA is among the global pioneers dedicated to the research, preservation, and storage of digital art. With an international network, LI-MA initiates and participates in collaborative research programmes that address the challenges surrounding born-digital art artworks.

The FUTURE PROOF MEDIA ART project had two primary aims:

• To conserve ten media artworks by Geert Mul as case studies.

• To investigate the implications of technical and aesthetic developments in digital art, and to develop a method and script for its future presentation.

The research focused on key issues related to technical innovation, sustainability, presentation, and the justification of preservation strategies. Using multiple installations by Geert Mul, the project explored these themes in depth, resulting in the development of methods and guidelines that are valuable for a broader community of media artists and institutions working with digital, born-digital, and interactive artworks.

Key Outcomes of the Research

• A method for presenting the artworks in future contexts
  

• A presentation script to guide future exhibitions
  

• A structured overview of technical data
  

• A structured overview of contextual (‘soft’) data

• Conserved and securely stored content for all artwork case studies
  

The research was based on ten artworks by Geert Mul, who has been creating media art for over 25 years. The project coincided with his major retrospective at the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam in November 2016 — an ideal moment to re-stage, refurbish, and critically assess a substantial body of work dating back to 1990. This exhibition provided fertile ground for developing an “artwork script”, a framework for documenting and preserving complex born-digital and interactive installations. 

Overview of Artworks and Case Studies

Seven case studies were conducted, resulting in the conservation of seven works.

Individual case studies:

• Toen en Nu (1990)
  

• This Land is Man-Made (2000)
  

• The Library of Babel (2003)
  

• God’s Browser (2010)
  

• Match of the Day (2004–2008)
  

Combined case study:

• Data Architecture (2003)
  

• The Order of Things (2005)
  

• Random Access Memories (2008–present)

These works share a common software framework and interface. The conservation focused on Random Access Memories as presented at the Schiedam exhibition.

Academic collaboration:

• Horizons (2008) and Shan Shui (2013)

These two works, sharing the same software but different image databases, were examined by Claudia Röck, in the context of her PhD dissertation at the University of Amsterdam, for which Gaby Wijers (Director, LI-MA) served as one of the supervisors. Röck’s contribution led to the conservation of Shan Shui, which was also part of Match Maker presented at Schiedam and Dortmund.

Through these case studies, LI-MA developed a systematic and transferable approach to the preservation and presentation of media artworks, contributing to broader efforts in digital art conservation and supporting sustainable access to these complex works for future generations.