For the first time, the DATABASE OF VIRTUAL ART has been developed to specifically document digital installation art. This type of art has rapidly evolved over the last decades and is emerging into our most contemporary art.
In close cooperation with established media artists, researchers and associated institutions, a complex overview of the immersive, interactive, telematic and genetic arts is being developed. This new documentation instrument, appropriate to the needs of processual art, is built in Open Source Technology. It is supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Science (BMBF).
The Database of Virtual Art is both an evolving research instrument and a work in progress, changing according to the ongoing development of the field. Its documentation system will also serve as a predesessor for the systematic preservation of this art. Due to the fact that virtual art is totally dependent upon storage media, it is no exaggeration to say that an entire decade of art threatens to be lost for all time.
The Database:
http://virtualart.hu-berlin.de/
Considering the fundamental differences of virtual art, the documentation system reaches beyond traditional data by especially focusing on information about technical requirements, installation settings, blueprints, software-hardware configurations, interface and displays. Video documentation has strategically been given a core role, due to its ability to show the processual nature of these works with more than 100 videos created by the artists. Institutions displaying media art and media theory researchers also hold a prominent place in the database. For further information on the concept of database: http://www2.hu-berlin.de/grau/ click on datenbank/database
The web interface allows the artists, researchers and institutions to post the information themselves, so that gradually an elaborate information network and communication platform grows. Since the database is in the first phase of being available to the public, you are encouraged to check the site frequently over the coming months and watch the growth of this new web-based research instrument.
Website: http://virtualart.hu-berlin.de/
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