With Vito Acconci, René Bauermeister, Silvie und Chérif Defraoui, Terry Fox, Jochen Gerz, Jean Otth, Peter Roehr, Roman Signer, Alex Silber, Hannes Vogel, Rolf Winnewisser

Works of art need care. A crumbling layer of paint or yellowing paper can be safeguarded by conservational measures. But how do art museums handle their collections of media art?

The Kunstmuseum Luzern owns countless video works dating from the 1960s and 70s. Video was a completely new medium at that time. The lightning speed of technical developments since then, however, means that film formats and players have become totally outdated. Art involving records, music cassettes, VHS and Betacam videos — i.e., art using these new media was often thematically experimental and in many ways is still regarded as avant-garde to this very day.

Thanks to a digitization project extending over several years, the museum’s video art collection could be secured for future generations. The exhibition conveys insight into the presentation forms, when the rattling of projectors and the flickering of cathode ray tubes disappeares. It also raises questions about not only the digitization of art, but also of our everyday lives.