This text is from the publication Permanence Through Change: The Variable Media Approach, published in 2003 by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art, Science, and Technology.

In this text Guggenheim Conservator Carol Stringari outlines the serious conservation challenges facing variable media artworks, the new methods for dealing with them, and how traditional conservation methodologies may also be applied.

Conservators responsible for the preservation of contemporary-art collections are at times confronted with complex problems that require flexibility and resourcefulness, sometimes defying the traditional conservation impulse to be conservative. The Variable Media Network has forced its participants to consider issues such as how one ensures that a computer-driven interactive video installation, an Internet work driven by the viewer, or a slide-based conceptual work will live on for future generations to experience. How does one choose an appropriate format for migration and still retain the integrity of the original? How does one approach the logistical, technical, and legal issues surrounding time-based works on obsolete video formats or "dematerialized" conceptual works within a museum collection? What does one record and preserve when a work is meant to be refabricated for each exhibition, and how much of the "patina" of the period will we want to preserve in the future?

Although traditional conservation approaches—including thorough documentation, historical/ technical research, and critical judgment—still apply, interpretive possibilities for works executed after 1960 profoundly muddy the ideological and aesthetic waters. Whereas a traditional painting or sculpture requires extensive research and testing prior to treatment, the parameters are relatively clear within a particular aesthetic. Paradoxically, with many works produced since mid century, the criteria for interpretation and presentation can be illusory or difficult to categorize and archive.

Often materials or technology used to execute the works are unavailable or become obsolete rapidly. The meaning may not be specifically tied to any one element or artifact, or it may lie in its inherent transformation or degradation. The conservator must confront all of these issues before priorities for preservation can be established. Furthermore, the conservator cannot pretend to be the exhaustive source of knowledge about ever-changing technologies, and thus we employ the expertise of many other professionals.

Through new perspectives such as the Variable Media Network, which elucidates the ephemeral/transitory nature of some materials while striving to preserve the experience, we can work collaboratively to develop our knowledge base and make informed decisions about where to best apply financial resources for preservation. By encouraging an open dialogue across many disciplines, with the artist as a primary source whenever possible, we can influence the future of preservation in a positive way. This interaction will help define acceptable degrees of change in an effort to preserve essential components that must remain fixed for a work to retain its integrity.

By utilizing the questionnaire and its concepts, we have been able to restore and migrate works executed in early audio and video formats. We have also defined the parameters of many of our conceptual works in order to determine what elements are essential and whether specific materials in storage should be preserved or restored. Primary and secondary source materials such as slides, audiotapes, and certificate have been assessed and in some cases restored by using digital technology. Special storage conditions are being developed for these materials. The preservation of specific materials such as video, slides, or digital art requires that certain preservation decisions be made shortly after the work is acquired. By defining parameters, the conservators and technicians "in the trenches" can make informed judgments about the stewardship of the works, what to store and conserve, the essential function of all elements, and what resources and materials are necessary to maintain it as an artwork that will live into the future. Raising awareness within the institution also enables allocation of funds and a collaborative approach.

When an artwork is restored we attempt to reconcile the change with what we know about the meaning of the work. Defining acceptable loss when we are dealing with highly intellectualized works and sophisticated technological parameters is key to safeguarding these cultural artifacts. As we move farther away from their initial conception, we may have fewer tools to reconstruct the intention. By doing this in an open forum and across disciplines, with the artist as an active participant, we can minimize the chances that we will significantly alter or misinterpret an artist's intention.1

The studied and thoughtful discussion of alteration and artistic meaning is not a new phenomenon. Conservators have discussed the natural ravages of time and the consequences of conservation intervention throughout history. The classical scholar E. H. Gombrich, in Art and Illusion (1961), aptly describes our intolerance of ambiguity, an inherent rigidity that makes it difficult for us to accept that there may not in fact be one final solution, or even the possibility that no solution exists.2This ambiguity is inherent in history and perception, and the approach to preserving artworks has been the subject of many debates.3

Artworks have been constantly reinterpreted throughout history, i.e., changing an original frame, repatination or application of a surface coating, adapting a site-specific sculpture to a new space, eliminating lost elements or broken mechanical components. These transformations may happen because the works have not been documented properly, or possibly a curator determines certain aspects are superfluous or worth sacrificing to enhance another quality. In some cases it is inadvertent alteration; in others it is conscious choice.

A key aspect of the Variable Media Network is the notion of training conservators or specialized personnel to deal with these complex issues within the museum environment. A significant component of the project here at the Guggenheim Museum has been the Daniel Langlois Fellowship that allowed a carefully selected candidate, Caitlin Jones, to gain on-the-job training. Her impressions of this unprecedented position follow on pp. 60-64. She worked closely with curatorial, conservation, registrar and technical departments to help define gaps in training and infrastructure that impede the proper care and preservation of unconventional artworks.

I would like to encourage participation in the Variable Media Network and feedback to help test the strategies. Our team has found them extremely useful and they have certainly raised a lively philosophical debate. The ultimate goal is to establish a dynamic exchange with individuals who are actively engaged with these preservation issues and retain the highest standards for the appropriate presentation of contemporary culture.

1. See Sarah Walden, The Ravished Image (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985).
2. See E. H. Gombrich, Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation (New York: Pantheon Books, 1961).
3. See John Richardson, "Crimes Agains the Cubists," New York Review of Books, October 13, 1983; and Gerry Hedley, Measured Opinions: Collected Papers on the Conservation of Paintings (London: United Kingdom Institute for Conservation, 1993).