On the front page of its June 10, 2013 issue (“below the fold” where the human interest pieces go), The New York Times published an article by Melena Ryzik (“When Artworks Crash: Restorers Face Digital Test”) about the issues and ethical problems that arise when digital or Web-based works of art need restoration. The catalyst for bringing the subject to the world’s attention was the Whitney Museum of American Art’s treatment of Douglas Davis’s work, “The World’s First Collaborative Sentence”.
While it is true that a great deal of innovative work is taking place in the field of electronic media, conservators who specialize in other media face exciting challenges too. If there are current projects in the more traditional arts which would lend themselves to front page rather than Arts section coverage, perhaps this is the time to build on the momentum of Ryzik’s article and bring them to The Time’s attention.
It’s not only digital-born art that has exciting challenges
Good points Rebecca. What was interesting to me is that two of the people interviewed in the article actually were speakers at this year’s annual meeting — in fact, Pip Laurenson was the first general session speaker! So the author got the right people to interview… now how can AIC and others get this great profession into the limelight.