First off: These are my opinions. They do not represent the opinions of my coworkers or my employer. They are also not all negative opinions. I'm not trying to piss on anybody's parade. But I keep seeing the same problems pop up over and over, maybe you should hear me out.
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I'm thinking about this because a work in our collection (not going to name it here) needs to be reinstalled in our galleries in the near future. It's browser-based. We can't run it on a newer computer because modern browser security features block what it wants to do.
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We basically have to find, somehow, an ancient version of Windows, an old version of Chrome, and old versions of a lot of other pieces of software. Then we have to put it all on an older computer because said old version of Windows won't support new hardware.
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We can solve some of these problems with disk imaging and just archiving all of the old applications alongside the artwork, but think about what that means for us for just a sec.
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We have to store all of that somewhere, and we have to do it in a way that isn't volatile. I'm not talking about backing something up for a few years. We have art in our collection that is centuries (sometimes millennia) old. We plan to keep your digital art for a long time.
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The longer this goes on, the more ridiculous it becomes. It's hard enough, in 2020, for us to support a work of art that projects at 540x480 and only runs on Windows 98 with a Pentium processor. In twenty more years, will that even be possible?
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We have another work that requires a specific model of CRT monitor, like twenty of them, and they all destroy themselves over time because they're installed face up on the floor (where the reflected backscatter rays quickly kill the CRT).
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We have work that requires specific network services to operate. That stuff is doomed. It's literally impossible to preserve that.
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And here's the thing: Most of it isn't that hard. Most of it could last a lot longer if it were built differently. Most of it doesn't *need* a web browser, or particular OS, or <insert volatile technology here> to do what it wants to do.
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There's definitely a lack of expertise involved in some of these choices, but I think it's also a reluctance to ask for help. “What should I do this in if I want it to stand the test of time?” is a question that just doesn't get asked.
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So much of the defining work of the early digital era will be lost forever. Like, we're doing our best here. We have a fantastic conservation team doing some genuinely cutting-edge work trying to save these things. But the way they're made is self-destroying.
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And I don't blame the artists. No one taught them software engineering, computer science or whatever else they need to build this stuff for the long term. It's not like an art program goes into the depth required to solve this problem (or even could go that deep).
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But I keep thinking of how Monet made his own paintbrushes. Most of the great artists made their own paints, their own tools. Lots of them still do. I feel like there's a commitment to craft that's just missing in digital art that is present in so many other media.
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And maybe it's because it's so much more complicated, or at least it seems so (I question whether it actually is). Maybe it's because technology design is (usually) practiced with short-term goals in the commercial sector, and that's all we have to learn from.
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But seriously, if you want your artwork to last more than a couple of years you need to start thinking about this stuff. You need to start thinking about whether or not the work you create will be broken by a security patch in 6 months or will comically speed up on a faster CPU.
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I'm not even trying to be critical of your work. I want it to last. I want people to see it. I want people to see it for generations to come. Right now, it's disappearing. You're disappearing it. We can't stop it. We're trying. Help us out.
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Anyway, enough diatribe, how about some guidelines: - Don't use a web browser, any web browser. - Does that mean don't use Javascript? Maybe. - Don't tie anything to machine performance. USE EXPLICIT TIMING MECHANISMS.
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- Don't use the latest programming language, whatever it is. Use the boring, stable thing that's widely supported. Enterprise software will require it to function for years so we'll have resources to keep it going. - Same thing with hardware
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Document the hell out of your work. Describe it in great detail. Record video of it. Give us as much reference material as is humanly possible so we can know your intent. Sometimes, the only way to make art work is to rebuild part of it. If we know the target, we can hit it.
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If we don't know what you originally wanted, we either: A) Won't show it ever again or B) Will change it while trying to make it work
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Again, none of this is meant to be a criticism of the artists in question. Think of it as an intervention. We want your work to live on. That's why we acquire it. Help us make that possible.
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