AMIA 2024

This research project focuses on the preservation of Digital Live Performance Art (DLPA). Technological advancements have significantly transformed the performance landscape, enabling artists to engage with digital technology in real time during live shows. The origins of tech-centered audiovisual performances can be traced back to dance, theatre, expanded cinema, audio and video synthesis, and live programming. With the advent of new equipment, software, platforms, projection techniques, various coding environments, and visual programming languages, DLPA has developed into a unique form of artistic expression, no longer merely a supplementary component of musical or theatrical performances. DLPA blends performance art with digital (and analog) technology and human-computer interaction. This research explores two categories: live-coding and mixed-media performances through the lens of museum conservation. By identifying conservation challenges such as documentation, technology obsolescence, and performance delegation, the research aims to develop a documentation resource to aid individual artists and institutions in preserving DLPA.