Preservation of a Computer-Based Art Installation

In contemporary digital art computer technology plays an integral part not only in the creation of art pieces but also in their functioning as art works. Such digital art works have usually a performative or interactive character and therefore rely on an underlying working computer system. Since computer and information technology advances with such unrelenting pace, hardware and software modules soon become obsolete. How to preserve such digital art works in these circumstances from a art conservation standpoint is much debated but not clear yet. In this article we present and discuss issues in the conservation of digital art works using a case study of a ten years old interactive art installation.