Rosina Gomez-Baeza Tinturé: Conserving and Archiving Media Art

In May 2010, LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial held the 1st International Symposium on Media libraries and Archives for the 21st Century. This paper will discuss some of the conclusions of the symposium. The purpose of a digital art archive is to preserve artistic digital culture and facilitate public access to it. Surrounded by a constellation of data, the challenge for institutions is to introduce order and explain context. Therefore, protocols and ethical codes must be set out that define what will be archived, keeping in mind that »every decision in the archiving process involves taking a position, which is often a reflection of the principles of the institution.« This involves a »conscious historicisation« of archived content. This not only safeguards digital art for future generations but helps establish and disseminate digital art practices in the present. This goal can be achieved through a combination of conservation and documentation strategies. An archive needs a »correct balance between bricks and electrons.« A digital archive provides universal access, but a physical archive allows one to see works in their original state and provides a place to meet face to face. The problem facing digital art archives is the »global obsolescence« of media. Founding Director of LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial in Gijón, Asturias, Rosina Gómez-Baeza Tinturé was also the Founding Director of Biennial of Art, Architecture and Landscape of the Canary Islands (2006), President of Institute of Contemporary Art (2005-2008) and Director of ARCO between 1986 and 2006. After graduating with a degree in English Literature and Philology from Cambridge University, Gómez-Baeza went on to study Pedagogy in London and History of Art and French Civilisation in Paris. She worked as a teacher and a translator before joining Siasa Congresos as its Programmes Coordinator. She was later appointed Executive Director of Research and Development at Ifema, the Madrid-based exhibition organiser. Throughout her professional career, Gómez- Baeza has promoted various cultural initiatives associated with artistic production and diffusion. Among these are Arco Foundation and Contemporary Art Collection, the Experimental Film Festival of Madrid, and the Madrid Abierto public art programme. She has been responsible for driving research into Spanish artists, and edited an Encyclopaedia of 20th Century Spanish Art, published in 1992 by Mondadori.