Nam June Paik Glenn Wharton Kira Perov
Portrait of Kira Perov
Photo by: Blake Viola. Image courtesy of James Cohan Gallery, New York

© 2006-2009 | Independent Media Arts Preservation, Inc.


Installation

The term "installation art" can be used to describe works that are site-specific, often created by artists for specific exhibition spaces. Created from nearly any medium, material, or object, these works may be as permanent as concrete or as ephemeral as cotton candy. The preservation needs of installation art are equally broad in scope. This website, however, will focus on a narrow range of installation components-those commonly referred to as "media." This umbrella term includes such things as analog videotape, born-digital moving images, and computer-based interactive devices.

Because of their complex nature, installation works can require a broad range of preservation expertise-expertise that has often been developed by conservators specializing in other areas. Preserving the video component of an installation, for example, involves the same actions required to preserve any other video work. The same applies to the digital components of the work. For this reason, there will be a certain amount of overlap between this section and the other preservation sections of this website.