Electronic and time-based media art has also made great headway in the outdoor public realm and will certainly continue .
The Art Conservator
Art conservators are trained in a multitude of disciplines , including art history , chemistry , technical writing , materials science , arts administration , and hands-on craftsmanship . Unlike the older term “ restorer ”, the “ conservator ” seeks to save what is already there . By pre-fabrication collaboration on materials choice , preventative practice , and maintenance , the conservator can advise the artist and landscape architect on the best possible materials and techniques for the project , thereby avoiding expensive and lengthy repairs or restorations in the future . The modern practice of art conservation ( and the related academic graduate programs ) is only about 35 years old .
Many new works of public art are commissioned to be temporary . A recent well-received temporary public art project in Boston is the monumental aerial fiber art over Boston ’ s Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy . Another example of temporary art is curator Boston Cyberarts Inc .’ s Art on the Marquee , a partnership with the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority , which provides temporary outdoor sites for time-based media artists on an 80-foot-tall multi-screen LED marquee outside the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in South Boston . The difference between public art and arts programming can often blur . The conservator can act as materials consultant and provide documentation , even for short term and installation / performance art . The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works has also added a specialty group for conservators taking care of electronic media within the past decade to focus on the thriving field of time-based art . ( See www . conservation-us . org and search for Electronic Media Specialty Group .)
Boston Society of Landscape Architects Fieldbook
93