Monoskop

Monoskop archive of media arts in east-central Europe
(notes for October 2011's presentation)

Problem

Throughout the years I collected about 75 gigabytes of experimental films, video art, electroacoustic music, scanned copies of computer-aided paintings, graphics, and prints from 'the east', and numerous publications which currently sit on my harddrive. I included everything that I thought may be relevant for history of 'media arts' in this region. I want to share.

Questions

Question - How to make the collection a 'living' public archive and encourage people to contribute more works, especially from their personal archives?

• a. Create a public web archive (this would be vulnerable to copyright claimers, but in a longer run unavoidable).
• b. Create an invitation-only educational web resource (platform for art history depts and art academies).
• c. Publish a torrent (would you download almost 100 gigs of mostly unknown stuff?)
• d. Propose a section at www.ubu.com (however ubu.com is 15 years old idea).

Question - How to organise it?

• a. Into formal categories roughly ordered in time (constructivism, op art, computer art, video, new media art, etc).
• b. Let people tag.

Question - How is art history produced? What kind of role do art collections play in that process? Does anyone still care (artists for instance)?

• a. Develop an 'open source history' methodology: provide source documents and data/tools for their remaking and interpretation.

Question - How not to piss off everyone?

• a. Artists and their survivors own copyrights, art collectors own other rights, professional archivists follow professional methodologies, museums and galleries run on scarcity, audience hates low quality footage, etc.

Question - Would anyone care?

• a. There is abundance of stuff online anyway. Who is the audience?

Discussion

User:Inge_Hoonte/Notes_Dusan

Next--Project proposal

User:Dusan Barok/Monoskop library