Art and Obsolescence

This week we’re visiting the the one and only Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design and Director of Research and Development at the Museum of Modern Art. Paola is quite frankly is a legend  – not only because she made MoMA’s first ever homepage on the World Wide Web in 1995 – but for decades she has been pushing the envelope and really reshaping what it means for museums to collect. For instance, what does it mean for a museum to collect something that is in in the public domain, and something that is rather intangible, such as the @ symbol? So far on the show we’ve visited with many curators of contemporary art, but the picture would be incomplete without design – after all it is all around us – the device you’re reading this on, the app you use to download this podcast every week, the ATM at your bank, the building where you go to work, the chair you sit in every day, and the video games you play – it’s all design. Curators like Paola help guide us to see and understand these things more closely and learn about the who, what, where, when, and why of the designed world around us. Tune in to hear Paola’s story!Links from the conversation with Paola> https://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/1995/mutantmaterials> https://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2013/designandviolence> http://momarnd.moma.org/salons/> https://www.instagram.com/design.emergency/Get access to exlusive content - join us on Patreon!> https://patreon.com/artobsolescenceJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

This week’s guest, Paul Messier, is an excellent example of the potential for creativity that lies within the unique brand of entrepreneurship that is running an independent conservation practice. Although working as an independent art conservator comes with many unique challenges (Paul’s journey being no exception) it also has great potential for extending beyond what most people imagine art conservators do; far beyond just restoring or documenting artworks. Over the years, Paul has been fueled by a sort of relentless curiosity, and creative restlessness that has yielded some really interesting results, and taken him to places he likely never imagined: including finding himself at the center of the most controversial authentication scandals in photographic history, building one of the most comprehensive photographic paper research collections in the world, co-founding the Electronic Media Group of the American Institute for Conservation, and much much more. Tune in to hear Paul’s story!Links from the conversation with Paul> https://www.paulmessier.com> https://lml.yale.eduGet access to exlusive content - join us on Patreon!> https://patreon.com/artobsolescenceJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

This week on the show we’re visiting with Signal Culture director and co-founder Debora Bernagozzi. In our chat we delve deeply into the niche and history-rich dimension of video art practice where the video signal itself is deconstructed and the flow of electricity becomes a medium that is synthesized, manipulated, and performed by the artist in real-time. We’ll hear all about the incredible work that Signal Culture is doing to collect, preserve, build, and restore incredibly rare and sometimes one-of-a-kind electronic instruments and tools made by and for artists, and the three-pronged residency program that they provide for researchers, tool builders, and artists. Tune in to hear Debora’s story, and to hear some very exciting news about the future for Signal Culture!Links from the conversation with Debora> https://signalculture.betterworld.org/campaigns/signal-culture-colorado-launch> https://signalculture.org> https://vimeo.com/signalculture> https://www.instagram.com/signalculture/> https://twitter.com/SignalCultureGet access to exlusive content - join us on Patreon!> https://patreon.com/artobsolescenceJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

This week on the show we’re in the artist’s studio visiting the one and only Arthur Jafa. From his extensive work in cinema, to his video art, sculpture, and other mixed media work shown in a contemporary art context – AJ’s work is often an embodiment of Black identity in America, and he is often cited with being a leader among a generation of artists creating defining a distinctly Black cinematic language. This extends as well into current projects on the more infrastructural / business side of the film industry in the form of his project Sun Haus. Visiting with AJ and hearing his story was a real treat, and it is one with many twists and turns – in our chat we trace his story all the way from growing up in Tupelo Mississippi in the 60s and 70s to today. and he takes us deeply inside the full kaleidoscope of influences, vibrations, and inspirations that he picked up along the way, and has integrated into his work as an artist and film maker: From gospel music – to James White and the Contortions, and from Oscar Micheaux to 2001 a Space Odyssey. Tune in to hear AJ’s story!This episode is brought to you thanks the generous support of the Kramlich Art FoundationLinks from the conversation with Arthur Jafa> SunHaus: https://sunhaus.us/> Gladstone Gallery: https://www.gladstonegallery.com/artist/arthur-jafa/worksGet access to exlusive content - join us on Patreon!> https://patreon.com/artobsolescenceJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

On this week’s show we continue expanding our perspective on the conservation field with contemporary art conservator Flaminia Fortunato. For the past two years Flaminia has served as the Stedelijk Museum’s first-ever time-based media art conservator, and prior to this held fellowships at MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum, and more. In our chat we hear all about Flaminia’s origins growing up in the south of Italy, and her conservation education that began with very traditional roots in Venice, and expanded to the (at the time) only recently established field of contemporary art conservation, as well as scientific and analytical materials research.Tune in to hear Flaminia’s story!Links from the conversation with Flaminia> A Race Against Time: Preserving iOS App-Based Artworks https://resources.culturalheritage.org/emg-review/volume-6-2019-2020/heinen/Get access to exlusive content - join us on Patreon!> https://patreon.com/artobsolescenceJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

This week’s guest Jochen Saueracker had some incredible stories to tell – the early decades of his career were spent as a sort of engineer and/or video art roadie for Nam June Paik, traveling all over the world installing complex towers of CRT monitors. Today, in addition to working closely with Shigeko Kubota’s estate to steward her legacy and archive, Jochen works as part of an incredible workshop called Colorvac. Not only is Colorvac one of really just a handful of workshops still capable of maintaining old Cathode Ray Tube televisions, but Colorvac has refined some incredible unique methods and tools for “refreshing” CRT monitors – actually cracking open the tube, giving it a little tidy-up inside, replacing the electron gun, and resealing the vacuum tube. Mind blowing stuff. On top of all of this, Jochen is an artist in and of his own right. Tune in to hear Jochen’s story, as well as some breaking news about the future of Colorvac!Links from the conversation with Jochen> See Colorvac in action: https://youtu.be/jQrbzapU0dU> Colorvac website: http://colorvac.de/> Jochen’s art: http://jochensaueracker.de/Get access to exlusive content - join us on Patreon!> https://patreon.com/artobsolescenceJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

This week on the show we are visiting the one and only Stuart Comer, chief curator of Media and Performance at the Museum of Modern Art. Stuart is not only prolifically active as a curator at MoMA doing all of the things curators do: building exhibitions, building collections, building relationships with artists, the public, and patrons, etc – but as a department head at a museum the scale of MoMA, Stuart is also very much a leader. The department of media and performance art at MoMA comprises a whole team of professionals, and the work that Stuart and his colleagues have been doing over the years to build upon the legacy left by their predecessors, and the ways in which they’ve expanded and branched out into new arenas has been nothing short of incredible. In our chat with Stuart this week, we hear all about his department’s leading work in shaping what it looks like for art museums to exhibit, collect, and conserve performance art and dance, as well as Stuart’s origins as a curator, including serving as the Tate Modern’s first-ever curator of film. Tune in to hear Stuart’s story!Links from the conversation with Stuart> https://www.moma.org/about/senior-staff/stuart-comer> Barbara Kruger's Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You. https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5394> Studio Residency: Okwui Okpokwasili https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5226> Simone Forti: https://www.moma.org/calendar/performance/866Get access to exlusive content - join us on Patreon!> https://patreon.com/artobsolescenceJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

This week on the show we're visiting with another emerging professional in the time-based media conservation field. Tzu-Chuan Lin is currently finishing up a masters degree focused in conservation of new media and digital information at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart, and in his studies there, he’s been conducting some very needed research on the documentation and conservation of artworks that use a tool called Max/MSP – which a sort of visual programming language that has been around for decades and has a high likelihood of being found in any collection of time-based media art that includes interactive installations. Before starting his conservation studies in Stuttgart, Tzu-Chuan worked as a project coordinator in the collections management department at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, and together with his collaborator Yuhsien Chen, who we’ll be having on the show in the very near future, has put a lot of work into building local time-based media conservation expertise in Taiwan. We covered so much ground in this chat – tune in to hear Tzu-Chuan's story!Links from the conversation with Tzu-Chuan> An analysis of software-based artworks using Max/MSP through different conservation strategies: https://flame.firebird.systems/AIC/AIC2022/MyProgrammes#Submission.ItemPage.79478.0.SubmissionType.b85b5825-b1ac-40ee-be77-aea3b40bb5e6> Save Media Art project: https://savemediaart.wixsite.com/sma-twGet access to exlusive content - join us on Patreon!> https://patreon.com/artobsolescenceJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

We're off this week, re-running our second-ever episode from back in 2021, featuring curator, writer, and director of The Kitchen, Legacy Russell. We're back to our regularly scheduled program with incredible new episodes next week!Get access to exlusive content - join us on Patreon!> https://patreon.com/artobsolescenceJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate

We're off this week, re-running our second-ever episode from back in 2021, featuring artist Lynn Hershman Leeson. We're back to our regularly scheduled program with incredible new episodes on August 2nd. Get access to exlusive content - join us on Patreon!> https://patreon.com/artobsolescenceJoin the conversation:https://twitter.com/ArtObsolescencehttps://www.instagram.com/artobsolescence/Support artistsArt and Obsolescence is a non-profit podcast, sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts, and we are committed to equitably supporting artists that come on the show. Help support our work by making a tax deductible gift through NYFA here: https://www.artandobsolescence.com/donate