Jonathan Farbowitz and Sandra Gibson, two graduates of NYU's Moving Image Archiving and Preservation (MIAP) Program, have made notable contributions in the world of media art.
As a Fellow in the Conservation of Computer-Based Art at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Jonathan Farbowitz (MIAP '16) helped restore Shu Lea Cheang’s Brandon (1998–99), the first web artwork that the Guggenheim acquired. As the web evolved over the years, components of the original piece began to fail. The work's functional and aesthetic features have now been restored by a collaborative team of NYU computer scientists and Guggenheim conservation staff, which included Farbowitz. The team wrote a blog post discussing the restoration process, and the restored version of Brandon is now publicly accessible at brandon.guggenheim.org.
The research team behind "Brandon"’s restoration, from left to right: Professor Deena Engel (Department of Computer Science, NYU); the Guggenheim’s CCBA Fellow Jonathan Farbowitz; artist Shu Lea Cheang (on screen); NYU computer science student Emma Dickson (class of 2017); and the Guggenheim’s CCBA initiator and Senior Conservator of Time-Based Media, Joanna Phillips. Photo: Kristopher McKay. © SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM FOUNDATION.
Another work of media art was showcased this week in Vienna. On May 17, Sandra Gibson (MIAP '10) participated in an artist talk following a screening of a time-based artwork she and partner Luis Recoder produced in 2008. Untitled, a 16mm film projection transferred to digital video, and with sound by Olivia Block, was screened as part of the Blickle Archive Series in the Blickle Kino at Austria's 21er Haus Vienna - Museum of Contemporary Art.
The Blickle Kino, together with its partner, the Ursula Blickle Foundation, "pursues the goal of placing contemporary films and videos in the context of both the history of film and of art." Its programming aims "to promote public discussion between film and cinema, art, and science. It enters into the debates about the history and future of motion pictures in the context of image and media culture in the twenty-first century," in part by inviting contemporary filmmakers and artists to screen and and discuss their works.
Congratulations to Jonathan and Sandra on their achievements!