How does the digitalization of art contribute to the preservation of lost art, and what are its limitations?

It’s a known fact that artworks are prone to deteriorate over time. When a piece of art finally decays, there is no guarantee that that artwork has any records of it existing. It becomes lost. It wasn’t until the creation of the camera that people discovered digitalization. Digitalization entails the photography of a work, which eventually led to the digitalization of art. It is through this development of art digitalization that has provided much help in art conservation and preserving lost art that is on the brink of extinction.

Art conservation is the discipline that preserves cultural heritage, artworks, and objects from history. It’s an incredibly crucial role in remembering humanity’s ancestry, since it guarantees the safety and durability of these cultural arts, all while being able to uphold the piece’s original details down to the tiniest brush stroke. The process undergoes examination, documentation, and treatment to be properly preserved, but can be tedious and time-consuming. However, modern technology has made the future and work in preserving art more efficient and certain, ensuring the originality of the piece.

As modern society and culture swiftly progresses, so does technology. With the rise of new technology comes a wave of new digital opportunities. During the late 20th century, museums and art galleries started to digitally preserve their art by transferring them into digital copies. This decision resulted in important art institutes, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET) and the National Gallery, having their own e-portals for the public to view artworks and artifacts through the web. Digitizing art to preserve them was a big step in the world of art conservation, given that previously most artworks couldn’t be preserved for longer. Digitizing means the photography of a work. If an artwork is digitalized, it makes a high-quality digital copy of the artwork in its original form, forever preserving it online. High-resolution digital images are an essential aspect for professional conservators and restorers for tracking the conservation status of artworks both before and after their restoration, along with assisting in the creation of future conservation plans.

In addition, digitizing art aids in preventing any threats to an artwork’s appearance. Artworks can deteriorate in a number of ways, including fading, discoloration, or physical damage. Other factors like environmental conditions, incorrect handling, and prior restoration also pose as challenges. Art restoration is a delicate yet intricate procedure that involves precision and expertise that has to be done constantly. When not done correctly, a piece of history may be lost forever. What might be the most famous failed art restoration is the restoration of Elías García Martínez’s Ecce Homo, in which an 81 year old restorer attempted to save the damaged painting but instead turned it into something completely different. The use of digitizing has greatly helped in averting the risk of physical deterioration of an artwork. Digitized artworks can also be preserved on the internet for future generations to witness. With this, the risk of a piece of history being lost forever reduces and restorers won’t have to worry about whether an artwork could survive in the late future.

Though, digitizing art in the modern age does have its limits. In an interview with Vint Cerf, known as one of the “fathers of the internet”, he shared that while digital formats can help in the preservation of art, especially lost ones, they must also be required to be on constant maintenance to remain available over time. As previously mentioned, technology evolves at a fast pace in this modern world. It’s unknown if any of the digital media accessible today can withstand and survive the next few centuries. Cerf stated, “Partly because either the media disintegrates or we can’t find a reader that can read the bits.” He explained that for a digital artwork to be preserved for an inordinate length of time, the software or website in charge of it must be able to function. Furthering the interview, preservation director Dragan Espenschied added that it’s a grueling task for artists and preservation specialists to continuously recreate art-preserving websites and softwares.

Despite this problem, digitizing art is still a vital part of the preservation process, as it can retain the artwork for a much longer time than usual. The act of digitalization itself aims to provide artworks with a safe place to be kept in. Thus, museums, art galleries, and industry professionals can now easily analyze, store, and share high-quality digital copies of endangered artworks. The act of digitizing art is able to provide a platform for lost art to be preserved in and prolong its lifetime without the risk of physical degradation.