This section assembles scholarly articles and essays that address the preservation of single-channel video. The following key texts have been made available with the permission of their authors and publishers.

Hans Dieter Huber, PPP: From Point to Point to Point...

Huber explores the relationship among production, presentation and preservation of media art installations. Distinguishing between organization and structure, he discusses, respectively, the replaceable and un-replaceable parts of media installation artworks, with attention to the effect on the meaning of the work as parts are replaced. Using the analogy of a musical score and performance, he analyzes the abstract notation and specific installation of media artworks. He concludes by asking, apropos of presentation of media installations, whether, paradoxically, the more the parts of a media installation may be substituted, the more it may be presented, thus better preserving it. View essay

Howard Besser, Longevity of Electronic Art

Besser investigates the challenges of maintaining electronic works of art. Describing the differences between electronic works and those in traditional media, he points out that regarding the former, it is not always even clear what should be preserved, and that due to obsolescence of storage formats, they are not always viewable even if their physical casing is intact. Refreshing-moving the work onto new storage media-is one solution, but doesn't account for changing file formats. Migration and emulation are discussed as solutions to this problem. He discusses boundary issues as regards conservation: what really is the work? Besser proposes an approach involving: determining the essential characteristics of the work; trying to preserve those over time; and saving ancillary materials. View essay

Gaby Wijers, Control and Preservation of Videotapes. An Introduction to the Handling, Storage and Conservation of Analog and Digital Videotapes

Wijers details some of the problems with care of videotapes, for example the fragility and complexity of their physical casing and the quick obsolescence of their required playback equipment. She then makes specific recommendations for their handling and storage, regarding temperature, humidity, and working environment for tapes. View essay

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