Posted by Steve Dietz on September 12, 2005 1:40 AM
Preservation of new media work is a hot topic in many quarters. In 2003, I wrote about some of the pragmatic issues regarding upkeep of new media art (Public Art, Interactive Publics). Michael Naimark'sSee Banff!, which is in The Art Formerly Known As New Media, could have been a case study, especially in that the artist had to determine and pay for a solution, even though the work is owned by a museum.
During Naimark's show in Pasadena, See Banff!, based on the idea of a Edison kinetoscope, broke down. The hand crank would not "turn" the laser disc. Rather than try and repair the old hardware, the artist decided to replace the aging laser disc player and assorted cabling (top right photo) with a Mac mini (top left photo). A technician had to be flown in from Montreal, but See Banff! is fixed now and ready to crank away. Thank you Michael and Matthew! (Apologies for the fuzzy cell phone camera pix.)
