Art and Digital Records: Paradoxes and Problems of Preservation

  • John Roeder

Abstract

The second phase of InterPARES included an extensive investigation of art theory and practice. In the context of previous studies of records and authenticity in archival science, this is perhaps surprising, but it influenced the researchers’ conceptions of the new sorts of record-like electronic displays that are increasingly evident in business, government, and science. It also suggested new dimensions to the concept of authenticity for such displays, by referring to art theorists’ conception of performance. InterPARES 2 case studies and conceptual analyses showed how complicated these digital record-like documents are, embedded as they are in rich cultural and technological contexts, as well as the juridical and administrative ones familiar to archivists. Ironically, this clarifies how difficult it is to preserve both art and art-like digital records.

 

RÉSUMÉ
La deuxième phase d’InterPARES comprend une enquête étendue sur la théorie et la pratique de l’art. Dans le contexte des études précédentes sur les documents d’archives et l’authenticité dans le milieu des sciences de l’archivistique, on peut être surpris de constater que cette phase a influencé la pensée des chercheurs par rapport aux nouvelles sortes d’affichages électroniques à caractère documentaire qui deviennent de plus en plus courants dans le monde des af faires, du gouvernement et des sciences. Elle a aussi permis d’apporter de nouvelles dimensions au concept de l’authenticité pour ce genre d’af fichage, en se référant au concept de la performance, telle que définie par les penseurs de l’art. Les études de cas d’InterPARES 2 et les analyses conceptuelles ont révélé la complexité de ces documents numériques à caractère archivistique, influencés comme ils le sont par les contextes culturels et technologiques, ainsi que par les contextes juridiques et administratifs que les archivistes connaissent déjà. L’ironie du sort veut que cette clarification montre la complexité de la préservation de l’art et des documents numériques à caractère artistique.

Author Biography

John Roeder
Since 1985, John Roeder has taught music theory in the School of Music at the University of British Columbia, including courses in mathematical and computational models of music. He has received music degrees from Harvard College (1979) and Yale University (1984), and has worked as a programmer/analyst for computer -consulting firms. His recent publications analyze music of contemporary composers like Elliott Carter, Thomas Adès, and Steve Reich. In 2000, he began to participate in InterP ARES, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded project in archival science, at first directing research into issues of authenticity in the arts. In the second phase of the project (2002 to 2006) he served as co-chair of one of the research domains, on the project management team, and on the international team directing the project, and has written and spoken about its results in diverse venues.
How to Cite
Roeder, John. 1. “Art and Digital Records: Paradoxes and Problems of Preservation”. Archivaria 65 (1), 151-63. https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/article/view/13173.
Issue
Archivaria 65: Special Section on Archives and Photography (Spring 2008)
Section
Reflections on InterPARES

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