AIC 53rd Annual Meeting

This presentation explores the power of collaboration in preserving and understanding three seminal electronic artworks by Alan Rath in the Denver Art Museum's collection: "Looker II" (1990), "Family" (1994), and "Sky Watcher" (1990-91). These complex pieces, incorporating Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitors, custom circuitry, and Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM) chips, embody not just technological innovation but also the artist's unique vision. Our conservation approach demonstrates how engaging a range of voices and expertise can enrich our understanding of an artwork's history, meaning, and preservation needs.

At the heart of these artworks lie the EPROM chips, a now-obsolete technology that poses unique conservation challenges. These chips store custom software and image data essential to the artworks' functionality. However, their UV-sensitive nature renders the data vulnerable to erasure if exposed to light, making them a fragile link to the artist's original programming and intent.

Our preservation efforts centered on two key collaborations. Joshua Eveland of Nolara Conservation Services LLC, who worked closely with Rath in his later years, provided crucial insights into the artist's philosophy and technical practices. Eveland shared valuable information about the artworks' construction and potential emulation strategies, offering guidance on CRT preservation and circuit board documentation.

Equally vital to our efforts has been the expertise of the artist Jim Campbell, a contemporary and friend of Rath. Campbell's deep understanding of EPROM technology and its use in electronic artworks has been crucial in addressing the technical challenges we face. He shared his extensive experience with EPROM technology, discussing the types of chips used in Rath's work and explaining the risks associated with data loss.

This collaboration will culminate in a planned visit by Campbell to the museum in October 2024, where he will use an EPROM reader to access and migrate the fragile data to the museum's cloud storage, ensuring long-term preservation of Rath's original programming and image files. Campbell's expertise has also been crucial in navigating the potential pitfalls of data recovery, including the possibility of "uncopyable" chips made by the artist.

In recognition of Eveland’s and Campbell's significant contributions to this project, we plan to invite them to be co-authors of this presentation and any subsequent publications. This co-authorship acknowledges the vital role that artists and technicians can play in the conservation of their peers' work, bringing unique insights and technical expertise that complement traditional conservation approaches, as well as the indispensable nature of interdisciplinary collaboration in the field of electronic art conservation.

By engaging with those who knew Rath and his work intimately, we gained insights into his creative process and the intended viewer experience that inform our preservation strategies. Collaborating with another artist  not only enhanced our technical understanding but also deepened our appreciation of the artworks' cultural and historical significance in seeing it through Campbell’s eyes. Our presentation will highlight how these collaborations shaped our conservation methodology, from documentation and maintenance planning to the ethical considerations of component replacement and potential future emulation. In addition to the successes, we will  discuss the practical challenges of this collaborative model and how we navigated them.