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Apologies for cross-posting ---------------------------- I'm currently looking at questions surrounding works of art involving new media technologies, and temporally-defined creative enterprises e.g. in the performance art arena. I'm particularly interested in approaches towards ensuring the preservation & long term viability of such works and issues raised by elements which characterise & distinguish them (and consequently their curation & conservation) from more traditional creative arts. A number of observations and questions have emerged in the course of research undertaken hitherto on this subject, which I've listed here as part of an attempt to stimulate feedback from the digital/conceptual/performance art community at large. My perspective is more that of digital conservator than of artist or curator, and my argument is that it is the application of practices more commonly found in the work of digital librarians and information specialists that offer the best solutions to artists, curators and others whose central concern is with the types of contemporary art described above. The Variable Media Initiative at the Guggenheim Museum has been a useful starting point; I would very much like to hear about similar or related projects going on elsewhere, and issues that have been raised in the course of them. In addition, any comments list members would like to offer in response to the following broad observations will be very gratefully received: * Existing boundaries between artistic disciplines which have hitherto been distinct have been eroded by the conceptual & material complexities of new hybrid forms * Documentation of such works plays a crucial role in ensuring their viability in the long-term, and in addressing questions of authenticity when restaging/re-installation is planned * The increased use of information technology as a central part of the creative process (often as the focus of the work created) has led to a higher degree of interactivity and practical engagement on the part of the viewer/audience, which has led in turn to a fundamental change in the artist's role and our understanding of the notion of "artistic integrity" * There exists a tension (which is exacerbated within the new forms focused on here) between notions of permanence in art/its place in our cultural heritage and the idea of some pieces being entirely transient and ephemeral, with no existence or future beyond the temporal or spatial boundaries within which they occur * The question of process is often as much an integral part of the work itself as any material manifestation and is as central a focus for any party addressing the conservation/documentation of that work as any physical elements are My thanks in advance for any comments/suggestions/related information list members might care to offer. These should be addressed to me directly at [log in to unmask] rather than to the list, though I'll be glad to post a summary of findings to the list when I have a critical mass of replies. Eileen Maitland Collections Description Officer Performing Arts Data Service Department of Theatre, Film & Television Studies University of Glasgow