Agreements & Contracts

Most media art installations are sold as unique or editioned works. Installation works are typically acquired from commercial galleries or directly from the artist. Galleries provide an agreement or sale contract that outlines the conditions and rights of ownership, and often issue a "certificate of authenticity." The agreement should outline exactly what the collector is buying, including whether he or she is receiving everything necessary to present the work or merely instructions for doing so. For example, some installations include the sub-masters for the video components, but require the collector to create exhibition copies as well purchase the necessary playback and display equipment. There may be restrictions on the collector's rights to make duplicate copies of the video sub-masters or computer files or to exhibit or recreate the work without the artist's involvement or consent.

This section provides examples of agreements and contracts used in purchasing media art installations.

Additional documents will be available in the coming months.

Deed of Gift [Guggenheim Museum]

The following deed is used by the Guggenheim Museum in connection with variable media works. Various passages are selected based on type of media, nature of rights needed, and technology migration preferences of the artist. The document addresses issues specific to computer-based arts including certificates of authenticity, archival masters, preservation copies, installation plans and variable media guidelines.