Poor images and NFTs. On the preservation of digital heritage through blockchain technology

Keywords: contemporary art, new media art, digital heritage, art market, blockchain, digital art, art preservation

Abstract

The problems of digital art preservation have been recurrent in the last decades. These have led to justify the under representation of art associated with new technologies in contemporary art museums. The absence of clear protocols in the conservation of digital art and the significant economic and technical effort that it would entail have led to a situation of extreme precariousness of the digital image. The irruption of NFTs and blockchain technology seems to offer an opportunity to remedy the weaknesses associated with the characteristics of new media. The temporality, obsolescence, dynamism and instability of this type of works have called into question their possibility of enduring over time. The aim is to clarify whether the structure of data and metadata associated with transactions in the blockchain solve the challenge of protecting digital images from disappearance. Like this we could be in front of a potential new way of preservation of digital heritage.

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Author Biography

Luis David Rivero Moreno, Universidad de León

Doctor en Estudios Avanzados de Historia del Arte (Universidad de Granada). Licenciado en Historia del Arte (Universidad de Extremadura). Ha realizado estancias en la Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal), la Martin Luther Universität de Halle (Alemania) y la Comisión Europea, Bruselas (Bélgica), entre otras. Ha trabajado en el Museo Vostell de Malpartida de Cáceres y el Servicio de Archivos, Museos y Artes Plásticas de la Junta de Extremadura coordinando exposiciones y catálogos. A todo ello se debe añadir su actividad como docente e investigador en la Universidad de Granada, como profesor-tutor en la sede de la UNED en Sevilla y profesor colaborador en la UOC de Cataluña.
Como investigador ha participado en el proyecto europeo H2020 ROCK, centrado en la regeneración urbana en el contexto de las ciudades históricas europeas. Ha realizado un buen número de conferencias, ponencias y publicado artículos a nivel nacional e internacional. Su línea de investigación se centra principalmente en temas sobre la interacción del arte contemporáneo y las nuevas tecnologías, cultura digital, museos

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Published
2024-11-05
How to Cite
Rivero Moreno, L. D. (2024). Poor images and NFTs. On the preservation of digital heritage through blockchain technology. Ge-Conservacion, 26(1), 127-135. https://doi.org/10.37558/gec.v26i1.1224