Tekst van de poster van A.Räim en B.Li voor de presentatie op 1 februari 2013 van de workshop conservering en restauratie van nieuwe mediakunst

Text of the poster by A.Räim en B.Li on the occasion of the presentation of the workshop preservation and restoration of new media art on 1 Feb 2013

Annika Räim & Bin Li

The Preservation and Presentation of Palinuro (1989) by Nol de Koning

THE ARTIST
Nol de Koning was born in 1944 in Amsterdam where he currently lives and works.
After his graduation from the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (1972 to 1980), he worked mainly as a printmaker. Along with painting Nol de Koning employs music, sound and contemporary television material in his work. The form and content of his installations as a whole are inspired by classical literature or mythology and frequently refer to landscapes and elements of nature. Nol de Koning believes that video as a medium enables him to visualise his themes both literally and allegorically in the best way possible.

THE ARTWORK
The artwork is based on the poem Aeneis by Virgil, it implies that an accident happened to a character helmsman Palinurus when he was on the point of reaching the end of his journey. Palinuro examines the interpretations of various authors, including the English critic and essayist Cyril Connolly, who are of the opinion that Palinurus deliberately fell overboard.
The installation version (1989) of Palinuro consists of three video screens and a photographic work and is set up in a darkened room. The revolving beam of a lighthouse at night constitutes the main motif on the middle of the three video screens. On the wall opposite the monitors hangs a highly enlarged photograph of the sea, which is briefly illuminated when the beam of light from the lighthouse swings round the front (and the middle monitor itself become the source of light). In this way, Palinuro is based on two forms of projection: a physical one of central monitor on photographic work, and - in the opposite direction - a psychological one of Palinurus' mental images on three monitors.
The main motif - lighthouse and sea - consists of images recorded on location. Palinurus' mental images, which are interwoven with the main motif in multiple layers of images, are drawn from a collection of TV images which were constructed specially for this installation during the first half of 1989. To bridge the time that the installation is not running there is a fourth tape depicting only a lighthouse beam, playing on the middle monitor. The physical projection is then at its strongest. This tape is turned off as soon as the installation is started up by the viewer.
In 1989 the first configuration tape was created as a documentation and distribution copy of the work, which was a method initiated by René Coelho. Based on the configuration, the artist made a remix version in 2002. It is designed for one video projection on three panels and projection screen or wall without the fourth tape i.e. the lighthouse images in the original version. HD Configuration (2010) is a rework of the remix with minor changes of the images.
Palinuro is related to another work by the artist that was made a year later Miseno (1990) based on the same poem. The artist suggests that ideally these two Works should be presented together.

RESEARCH
In our research, we focused on the history of the work, where and how it has been exhibited and its different versions and how these versions relate to each other. Our aim is also to distinguish different installation instructions for different versions.
The installation version of Palinuro was acquired by Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) as part of the Imago exhibition. The four video tapes were given to be stored at LIMA. In order to locate the different parts of the installation we researched the RCE catalogue and LIMA collection. From the Imago archive, we found the archival material that showed the technical and spatial demands for the installation. In addition, the artist himself provided us important details about exhibiting the installation version of Palinuro during the interview we conducted at LIMA. The installation version of Palinuro has been exhibited on three different
exhibitions and every time there have been modifications according to the conditions available. The artist has elaborately documented the process of creating the video material for the artwork. Some of these documentations are to be found at LIMA archive as documents and video recordings. Furthermore, the artist website provided us important information. From Stedelijk library we found couple of articles about Nol de Koning's previous exhibitions.

ISSUES
The main issue concerning the artwork is to distinguish its different versions and to determine their status. After the original three-channel video installation, the artist made a Remix version also as a single projection installation. It uses panels instead of monitors; however, it highly relies on the environment and exhibition place to achieve the result that the artist hopes for. The presentation of the Remix version of Palinuro has not been satisfactory during earlier exhibitions. As a concession, the artist also made an easy-for-exhibition version HD Configuration. The artist prefers the artwork to be presented as an installation following the conditions described in the instructions. In case where the conditions cannot be achieved, a single channel projection can be considered as an alternative.
There are materials and documents related to the artwork still in the possession of the artist. It would be benefit for both the artwork and the institution that including those materials into the collection/archive.
According to the artist interview, Nol de Koning sees the content of the work Palinuro as the most important part. The playback equipment and audio-video formats have been updated during previous exhibitions since the creation of the work; therefore, they are the objects to be changed during the time.

PRESERVATION AND PRESENTATION
The video of the original 1989 version has several copies in LIMA’s collection, though they are all on tapes and not available as digital files. The principle has been to preserve the original master tapes despite the fact that there are three preservation masters in different formats and all the tapes are all in good condition. Most likely the digital files of the videos will be used for future presentations.
The Remix version has digital files and tape format in the catalogue; however, there is no indication as to which one is the master file. The HD configuration version is all in digital file format as well as DVD. Therefore, the videos and the documentation of the 1989 version are well preserved in LIMA.
As mentioned above there are additional materials could be included for the preservation of the artwork.
The photo panel used in the original installation could be reproduced from the original negative in case it gets damaged. However, the original ratio between the size of the photo and video images and the presentation space should be taken into account.
Due to the fact that Remix and Configuration versions of the Palinuro are less demanding to present, there may be a risk that the original installation version will lose its relevancy over time. Since the parts of the original installation are located in different locations, a clear connection needs to be drawn.
The HD Configuration version (2010) has been chosen for presentation of the workshop because the limitations of the exhibition space.

SOURCES
Palinuro. Verslag van het Project door Nol de Koning. Amsterdam - 1989-1990
Li, B., Räim, A., Jansen, E. Nol de Koning interview, Amsterdam. 17.01.2013
Li, B., Räim, A. Nol de Koning interview, Amsterdam. 25.01.2013
www.noldekoning.nl
catalogue.nimk.nl

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Our special thanks go to Ellen Jansen, Gaby Wijers, Nol de Koning, Matt Kemp, Ivo van Stiphout, Wiel Seuskens, Ron Kievits, LIMA, University of Amsterdam and RCE.

ar / bl jan 2013

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> http://www.li-ma.nl/2013/01/workshop-conservering-en-restauratie-van-nieuwe-mediakunst/

see also > about the editing methods of the Palinuro installation, configuration and remix versions (ndk)