Development of the relational database prototype for the digital single-artist archive based on the best practices of contemporary art digitization with a focus on the preservation and accessibility of digital content.

Abstract

The thesis is dedicated to the creation of the database prototype for the artist Morgan O’Hara’s work collection based on the identification of best practices for the preservation and accessibility of digital content, and evaluation of extant digital single-artist archives in terms of their compliance with the best practices. The first chapter of the work contains a theoretical description of the development of archival concept and practice in visual arts as a response to technological transformation and globalization. It focuses on how technology has been enhancing the fundamental purposes of the archive – preservation and accessibility – through the tools like photography, the World Wide Web, database technology, content management software, and others. It also mentions how cultural institutions have been employing the technology, and highlights the increasing tendency of independent digital single-artist archives emergence with examples of such. The second chapter outlines the best practices of contemporary art digitization with a focus on metadata, long-term preservation of digital content and its accessibility. It then describes and evaluates the technology used by extant digital single-artist archives based on the previously described best practices. The third chapter will describe the case study – the artist Morgan O’Hara, her work, the intention, and reasons for her digital archive development. It will then proceed with a description of the database prototype creation process.