Hello, this is Rosanna Flouty - writing to thank you for all the response to my questions regarding the role of new media curation and education in large institutions.  I am particularly interested in this relationship, as we are approaching a time where interface is more than strong design and working links, but a clear portal to understanding new media.  It is the "understanding" part that makes digital interface suitable for education - - as well as its approachability.  I hope to continue this conversation here in the future.

I was shy about introducing myself, but briefly: I have worked in museums since 1993, including with Intel at the Whitney, conservation at the Hirshhorn, exhibition design at the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta, and currently in museum education at the Guggenheim Museum.  I am writing my graduate thesis on the subjugation of the aura of an original art object in the digital realm (for those who were in Seattle, I just gave myself away!)

Below, please find this release and program outline for a conference here at the Gugg, organized by Jon Ippolito, Assistant Curator for New Media and John G. Hanhardt, Senior Curator for Film and Media Art.  It will unveil the Guggenheim's radical proposal to preserve works in new media.  For those of you who will be in the New York area at the end of the month (mere miles away from Sunderland), we hope to see you there!  Notes will be taken for those who are interested but cannot attend.

Cheers,
Rosanna Flouty
***

Will the museum of the 21st century be an incubator for living artworks or a mausoleum for dead ones? Find out at...

Preserving the Immaterial: A Conference on Variable Media
Peter B. Lewis Theater
Sackler Center for Arts Education 
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue (at 89th Street)
New York City

Friday, March 30, 7-9 pm
Saturday, March 31, 10 am-6 pm

This conference gathers experts in diverse fields, from science fiction writer Bruce Sterling to emulation specialist Jeff Rothenberg, to weigh in on the prickly issues of preserving art in ephemeral media. Participants will examine eight artworks--including a candy spill by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, a video installation by Nam June Paik, and a Web site by Mark Napier--through the lens of the Guggenheim's Variable Media Initiative. This radical paradigm for new media preservation begins from the assumption that some artworks can be defined outside of the constraints of their respective mediums--and concludes that such redefinition is essential to the survival of the most innovative art forms of the twentieth century. Acclaimed filmmaker Ken Jacobs will present a live film performance of Bitemporal Vision: The Sea on the opening night of the conference.

Detailed information about the case studies and the Variable Media Initiative will be available closer to the date at 

www.guggenheim.org/variablemedia

----------Conference Program----------

***Friday 7 pm to 10 pm***
7:00-7:15 Opening remarks by John G. Hanhardt

7:15-7:45 Keynote by Bruce Sterling

7:45-8:30 Introduction to the Variable Media Initiative by Jon Ippolito

8:30-9:15 Live film performance of Ken Jacobs' Bitemporal Vision: The Sea by the artist

9:15-10:00 Reception on Rotunda floor

***Saturday 10 am to 6 pm***
10:00-10:15 Opening remarks by John G. Hanhardt

10:15-12:30 SESSION ON REPRODUCIBLE ARTWORKS
Case studies:
--Jan Dibbets, A White Wall, 1971. Photo collage. 
--Bruce Nauman, False Silence, 1975. Audio installation. 
--Ken Jacobs, Bitemporal Vision: The Sea, 1994. Film performance.
--Nam June Paik, TV Garden, 1974. Video installation. 
Discussants: Jon Gartenberg, John G. Hanhardt, Jon Ippolito, Ken Jacobs, Carol Stringari, Stephen Vitiello
Respondents: Bill Brand, Paul Kuranko, Mona Jimenez

1:30-3:15 SESSION ON PERFORMATIVE ARTWORKS
Case studies: 
--Robert Morris, Site,1964, performance; Untitled (Stadium), 1971, performative sculpture.
--Meg Webster, Stick Spiral, 1986. Installation. 
--Ken Jacobs, Bitemporal Vision: The Sea, 1994. Film performance. 
Discussants: Jon Gartenberg, Jon Ippolito, Ken Jacobs, Robert Morris, Carol Stringari, Meg Webster
Respondents: Bill Brand, Susan Hapgood, Tiffany Ludwig, Stephen Vitiello

3:45-6:00 SESSION ON INTERACTIVE/DUPLICABLE ARTWORKS
Case studies: 
--Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled (Public Opinion), 1991. Interactive installation.
--Mark Napier, Net Flag, 2001. Web site.
Discussants: Jon Ippolito, Mark Napier, Andrea Rosen, Nancy Spector
Respondents: Jennifer Crowe, Alain Depocas, Steve Dietz, Richard Rinehart, Jeff Rothenberg, Benjamin Weil

----------Conference Participants----------

Bill Brand, independent film restorer and artist
Jennifer Crowe, ArtBase Consultant, Rhizome.org; Producer, EGG Online Thirteen/WNET New York 
Alain Depocas, Head of the Centre for Research and Documentation (CR+D), Daniel Langlois Foundation
Steve Dietz, Director of New Media Initiatives, Walker Art Center
Jon Gartenberg, independent film curator and restoration specialist
John G. Hanhardt, Senior Curator of Film and Media Arts, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Jon Ippolito, Assistant Curator of Media Arts, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Susan Hapgood, Curators of Exhibitions, American Federation of Arts
Ken Jacobs, artist
Mona Jimenez, Interim Director Independent Media Arts Preservation (IMAP) and artist
Paul Kuranko, Media Arts Specialist, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Tiffany Ludwig, Producer of Virtual and Physical Programs, Franklin Furnace 
Robert Morris, artist
Mark Napier, artist
Richard Rinehart, Digital Media Director, UC Berkeley Art Museum and Art Department Faculty; Conceptual & Intermedia Arts Online (CIAO) Founding Member and Architect
Andrea Rosen, Executor, Felix Gonzalez-Torres Estate 
Jeff Rothenberg, independant computer science researcher 
Nancy Spector, Curator of Contemporary Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Bruce Sterling, science fiction writer and journalist
Carol Stringari, Senior Conservator, Contemporary Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Stephen Vitiello, independant media curator and artist
Meg Webster, artist
Benjamin Weil, Curator of Media Arts, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Tickets $10 ($7 members, students, and seniors) per day 
Box Office (212) 423-3587 
[log in to unmask]