A Recipe to Begin Analysis of a Computer-based Artwork
- Registration Closed
Online, June 13, 2023 at 12:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Instructor: Emma Dickson
This workshop aims to give anyone who may need to interact with computer-based artwork, including technical conservators, non-technical conservators, and even outside technicians, a framework with which to structure their investigation into how code within the artwork functions. When tasked with explaining how code in an artwork actually works, it can be hard to know where to begin. This “cookbook” recipe simply offers a series of questions to guide the analysis of a piece. The resulting answers could be used to fill out portions of a standard Matters in Media Art structure and condition report, or to create a higher level and more narrative explanation of a piece’s functionality and vulnerabilities.
The four questions outlined in the recipe focus on drawing the investigator and readers attention to the piece's unique technical components, its methods of operations, functionality, and long-term vulnerabilities. Each section has detailed steps explaining how one might go about getting the information necessary to answer the question, allowing even those with limited technical ability to participate. Workshop participants will examine a case study where this recipe was used to help analyze the work, Ten Thousand Cents, by Aaron Koblin and Takashi Kawashima, in conjunction with the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum. Participants will gain an understanding of to use this recipe to guide their own investigation into compute- based works.
This workshop is free for those registered for the AIC Annual Meeting. Limited space is available and those who register must attend the live online workshop. Please do not register if you don’t plan to participate. The online session will take place in Zoom and automated captions will be available.
Emma Dickson
Emma Dickson has worked in the preservation of time-based media since 2015 and is currently a programmer in the Legacy Department of Antimodular Rafael Lozano-Hemmer's studio. As a freelance contractor, they worked for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Tate Modern Museum, The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Small Data Industries, Shulea Cheang and the Electronic Literature Organization. In working with a variety of institutions and professionals with varying levels of technical fluency they have developed an understanding of how important it is to document and communicate clearly about technical details. They created this recipe and have applied it in their own work many times. In addition, they conducted the case study they will be highlighted in this workshop.
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