Appraisal of media and art

A time-based media installation can be viewed as a dynamic system. The system transforms a media element into sounds and images, which are rendered to the viewer over time, within the context of a prescribed environment. [Laurenson (2005)] contains a question catalogue to determine the significance of a display equipment for a time-based media installation. Issues relevant to appraisal include identity and authenticity, and in particular what properties are essential for a particular installation to be a faithful instance of that work. In contrast to traditional art objects, where the aim is to minimise change to a unique physical object, elements of time media installations can often be changed (e.g. by the substitution of mass produced display equipment). [Innocenti (2012)] discusses issues of authenticity in digital art, which is in a continuous state of evolution. This is relevant to appraisal since artworks will need to be continuously re-appraised as technology evolves. It describes the relevance of significant properties as capturing essential features of artworks that should be maintained. Gathering information from the artist is an important step in guiding the preservation and appraisal of complex digital artworks. [Huys F. (2011)] discusses requirements gathering from artists for specific artworks. The Rhizome ArtBase provides examples of policies and procedures that can be adapted into the traditional acquisition standards to specifically document the acquisition of software-based works. The Rhizome Collection Management Policy, defines the organisation’s mission, scope, acquisition, submission, acceptance, rejection, execution of ArtBase agreement and artist questionnaire, commission, removal of objects, removal procedures, distribution and copyrights, records, inventory and access to the collection. The Media Art Notation System  (MANS) [Rinehart, R. (2013)] is a formal notation for describing media artworks. It is a specific flavour of MPEG-21 DIDL. It can be implemented at different levels from very high level to more granular. This is relevant to the technical appraisal of complex media objects such as software-based art as it describes the main elements and their relationships, including both digital and physical components. Synchronised Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL), a language that allows Web site creators to be able to define and synchronise multimedia elements, can also be applied to describe the behaviour of media artworks. In the media case study, a gallery such as Tate has a limited capacity to acquire and manage digital content, so decisions need to be made based on the collection policies of the museum as well as available financial and staff resources or performing cataloguing.

Appraisal of science data

Long-term appraisal of science data is an area that regularly attracts interest, particularly in the context of the establishment and maintenance of subject-specific data repositories such as the climate science repository run by the IPCC. Similar examples include the ICPSR social science data repository and the various subject-area-specific NASA data repositories, such as SEDAC (socioeconomic data), JPL (ocean circulation) and NSSDC (space science data centre).

The approach to appraisal taken, is reasonably specific and consistent within the subject-repository implementation pattern: in particular, guidelines often focus on the relevance, uniqueness, potential usability and use, level of documentation, level of accessibility, legal aspects and ease of replication of a dataset. In some cases, geographic constraints are also identified as policies for acquisition purposes: for example, a national repository for social science data limits the provenance and coverage of data to data of relevance to that region. In others, funding source may be taken into account when appraising potential acquisitions. Theme 8 Data Appraisal and Purge Prevention of the NASA [LTDP Earth Observation Guidelines (2012)] covers relevant standards and procedures for long-term data preservation of Earth observation space data. Only the CEOS data purge policy, SGS/EROS data appraisal process, ISO 14000 Environmental Management are deemed relevant for appraisal of such data.