The fragility of technology-dependent works and their documentation

a case study of the work of Anna Barros

Abstract

This article discusses issues relating to the conservation and preservation of digital artworks in contemporary times, based on the case study of the work “200 Milhões de Anos: Árvore Pedra” (2010), by Anna Barros. It is based on bibliographical research and a technical visit to a recognised museum in the field of digital preservation. The text addresses the obsolescence of digital works and the challenges of safeguarding them. It delimits the concepts of conserving and preserving; it presents a work in the process of recovery at the ZKM in Karlsruhe; it defends the importance of expanded documentation for the maintenance of digital works. It presents an initial analysis of Barros’ work in the MACT/UFSM space, which opened in August 2021. This is the first work in the museum’s collection to be catalogued in Tainacan and later in Archivematica. A cataloguing model based on the ZKM model, Wiki Werke, is also being used as internal documentation, also in Tainacan and later in Archivematica, to guarantee safeguarding.