A Condition Assessment and Documentation Framework for Multi-variant Works of Net Art

This paper presents a methodology for evaluating the condition of multi-variant net artworks using Rhizome’s Emulation as a Service (EaaS) infrastructure. The proposed three-stage cyclical workflow involves: 1. The collection of evidence of the artwork’s intended performance from existing variants, literature, artist interviews, and data analysis, 2. Building reference variants in EaaS based on the evidence, and 3. The comparison of existing and reference variants’ performances and the documentation of observations in a relational database. The condition reporting methodology developed from this research revealed a practical documentation framework for managing information regarding complex multi-variant networked digital artworks, using a relational database. This dynamic, open-ended, and cyclical workflow is consistent with the in-process nature of net art and its intrinsic focus on access and performance indicates its potential for an all-encompassing preservation approach. A version of the database was implemented at Rhizome and is now being applied to their artwork ingestion and documentation process.