Artwork Documentation Tool for Artists

Building on feedback from the “What, When, Where and Why of Caring for the Future of Your Own Digital Artwork” workshops, LI-MA has developed an online Artwork Documentation Tool to empower artists to independently document and preserve their complex, software-based installations. This tool serves as a practical resource, enabling artists to create “artwork scripts” that capture both technical and contextual information about their works.

The Artwork Documentation Tool was designed to simplify the more intricate Artwork Documentation Package developed during the project. It offers artists a structured, step-by-step process to document their works, including guidelines and tasks presented in an easy-to-navigate online environment. Each artist receives a personal login to manage and store their documentation securely.

The tool allows artists to:

• Store essential information about their artwork (technical, contextual, and other key data).
  

• Share this documentation with galleries, museums, collectors, and preservation organisations.

• Keep a personal record for future reference.
  

How the Tool Works

Upon creating an account, artists can begin a documentation package for each of their artworks. They move through eight focused steps:

1. Save sketches and working notes

2. Make backups and store appropriately

3. Document software

4. Document hardware & playback equipment

5. Create wiring diagrams & document installation build-up

6. Document key information about the artwork
   Make a video registration of the artwork
   

7. Gather & store all additional available material
   

These steps provide artists with a comprehensive approach to ensure their works are properly archived for future presentation and preservation.

Target Audience and Impact

The tool is designed for artists at various stages of their careers – whether they are documenting works in progress, revisiting past works, or updating existing installations. It’s especially suited for artists working with born-digital, complex software-based art forms.

Developed within the framework of LI-MA’s ArtHost project, the Artwork Documentation Tool is freely accessible via the LI-MA website. 

Since its launch, the tool has been positively received by over 600 artists and art labs across the Netherlands. To expand its reach, LI-MA has also collaborated with art academies such as KABK, ArtEZ (Interaction Design), and the Gerrit Rietveld Academie (Unstable Media Department).

In the 2017/2018 academic year, LI-MA worked with interaction design students from these academies to refine the tool’s functionality. This collaboration not only helped raise awareness among emerging artists but also provided a unique opportunity for students to contribute to the tool’s design and development.

Interactivity Script and Artwork Experience

For interactive artworks, an interactivity script defines what occurs during each phase of audience engagement. Originally developed by Claudia Röck in the context of her doctoral research into Geert Mul’s works Horizon and Shan Shui, this script format was later applied across Mul’s broader body of interactive works within the FUTURE PROOF MEDIA ART project.

The interactivity script serves as a framework for describing the behaviour and timing of an artwork’s interactive elements. It outlines the modes of interaction, the interface used, available user options, and how the artwork responds to varying numbers of participants. At a deeper level, it also describes what occurs within the software when the work is activated.

Integrated into the overall artwork script, the interactivity script provides essential guidance for future presentations, ensuring the correct operation of the piece after installation. Focused specifically on the experience of the artwork, it acts as a key tool in preserving the authenticity of the work over time.

Video Registration

A crucial component of the artwork script is the video registration. This audiovisual record provides an impression of the artwork in operation, capturing its behaviour, timing, and overall appearance. Video is particularly valuable for conveying the look and feel of the work – aspects that are often difficult to express through written documentation alone.

Ideally, each registration features the artist, who guides the viewer through the work’s key elements, offering insights into its function and interaction.

In the process of documenting Geert Mul’s installations, LI-MA developed a practical script for artists to support the creation of video registrations for complex, software-based installations. These registrations serve as reference materials for future presentations, supporting accurate reinstallation and preservation of the artwork’s intended experience.