Author: Vuk Vuković
Wen-Ying Tsai in his studio at the MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies, 1968–1971. Photo: Center for Advanced Visual Studies.
As a graduate student whose research focuses on the acquisition, exhibition, and preservation of time-based media art, I hoped to work with the University Art Gallery (UAG) on a time-based media project during my time at the University of Pittsburgh. This opportunity came to me last academic year when Professor Alex J. Taylor invited me to be his co-presenter for Object Lesson, an ongoing UAG program meant to take a closer look at its collection. I was thrilled about this opportunity as I got to conduct a hands-on examination of a 1970 cybernetic sculpture made by Wen-Ying Tsai, an innovative Chinese American artist well-known for his cybernetic and light sculptures. This initial study of the work developed into year-long research of Tsai’s sculpture at the UAG. In collaboration with the UAG team and the Tsai Art and Science Foundation in New York, I produced an extensive condition report on the work that would lead to the eventual revitalization of the sculpture. By examining Tsai’s work, I learned about the conservation practices of time-based media art across different disciplines, which even led me to develop an area for my comprehensive examinations. In this way, I got to create a unique case study on conserving a time-based media work, while building a repertoire of critical academic and practical writing on preserving time-based media works in art institutions.
In my initial assessment of the work, it became evident that Tsai’s cybernetic sculpture had not been on display since its acquisition in 1971, as the majority of its electronic elements were out of date and worn out. Before taking the work outside of storage and removing the paper wrap protecting it, I contacted the Tsai Art and Science Foundation to seek guidance on how to approach the work. In consultation with the Foundation, I conducted a thorough inventory to capture the state of the work. This process involved multiple visits to the UAG where I got to take several photos of the work from all angles, assess its physical condition, check all light switches, plugs, and other technical aspects of the work before taking further action. The close looking of the materiality of Tsai’s work led me to write an extensive condition report that I later shared with the public that attended Object Lesson, with the end mission of presenting the complex process of restoring time in Tsai’s work. The examination of the work made it clear to me that the conservation of time-based media art is a complicated, cross-disciplinary, collaborative, and multifaceted process that demands an in-depth understanding of both physical and digital conservation methods. While I had experience working on time-based media initiatives in international art institutions, this was the first time I got to conduct a comprehensive examination of a time-based media work, which was an incredible experience, as I got to share knowledge and to network with a small group of conservators and scholars in the United States and abroad. Because Tsai’s cybernetic work has not been active for almost half a century, it was of the essence to approach it cautiously to avoid any potential damage that could ruin the work. By working with others who also had commitments to the Materiality Constellation, I leaned on individuals who have experience working with delicate objects across space and time. In approaching this process through a multidisciplinary lens, I learned how to conduct an in-depth analysis of time-based media work and restore time in Tsai’s cybernetic sculpture.
After months of studying the work and corresponding with the Tsai Art and Science Foundation, I received a green light to plug in and test it. The in-depth analysis of the condition of Tsai’s work revealed that the work is in good shape, as evident from our tests. While the electronic component of the sculpture was operational, I could not keep it running longer than a few minutes due to the danger of overheating the obsolete technology and damaging the work. However, the experience of returning time in Tsai’s cybernetic sculpture was critical to my development as a scholar who not only writes about the acquisition, exhibition, and conservation practices of time-based media art but also knows how to conduct hands-on study and conservation. The skills I developed throughout this project provided me with a rich understanding of the conservation practices of time-based media art, its patrons, scholars, and conservators who devote their time and work to building an extensive system of social and institutional networks dedicated to conserving time-based media art objects in art institutions.