Pre-Acquisition Phase

• What information do I need to make a decision about a possible acquisition?
• How do I anticipate the cost of owning this work?
• What master material and equipment should come with the acquisition?

The focus of the pre-acquisition phase for time-based media works is deciding whether to acquire the work of art. Information gathered during this phase is used to justify the acquisition and to forecast costs, installation logistics, and conservation concerns for future ownership. This information falls into two main categories, conceptual and technical.

An understanding of the conceptual and technical elements that comprise the work of art is essential for acquisition consideration, but also to the continued viability and authentic presentation of the work. In reality, there is often little time prior to an acquisition to gather all the information in detail. However, you are aiming to gain a general understanding of the areas outlined below.

The information collected during the pre-acquisition phase provides a baseline of knowledge for deeper levels of documentation after the work is acquired.

Prior to acquisition of a time-based media work, the following steps may be taken by a curator or collector.

What is it? – Get to know the artwork

• Understand what you are proposing to acquire: what is it?
• Gather general information: artist, title, date, medium, duration, edition details, provenance, artist's dates, credit line, display dimensions
• Understand key qualities of the work and prepare a description of the elements necessary to maintain the integrity of the artwork. This includes:
  • Artist statement about the work (from artist, gallery or seller)
  • Curatorial/collector statement for importance in collection
  • Non-technical description of what the viewer experiences
  • Basic installation specifications

Explore deeper

• Based on the artist's statement and installation instructions, determine the following:
  • What are the essential vs. desirable exhibition conditions, including space requirements?
  • What can and cannot be changed in the display?
  • Can you physically display the work in your exhibition space?

• Original master: Where is it? What is the format? Where does it reside? Who owns it?
• Who owns the copyright to the work?
• Acquire reference images that will facilitate the acquisition process (stills or screen grabs, installation photo, exhibition copy, etc.)

Assemble expertise

• In order to proceed, the curator/collector will need to gather more detailed information relying on the expertise of a larger group of people.
• Large institutions may assemble a team comprising some or all of the following expertise: curatorial, conservation, registration exhibitions, technical/media/audio-visual, IT, legal/intellectual property.
• Collectors and small institutions may find knowledgeable technical support: contact a museum conservation department, art gallery, art consultant, and/or artist/studio to recommend sources.

Get the details – Identify areas for further inquiry and pursue detailed information

• Once team/resources are established, curator/collector presents the proposed acquisition. The following information may be gathered both internally and externally. Identify one person to be the co-ordinator for this process. In some circumstances, cataloguing the work may begin prior to acquisition (see details in post-acqusition phase).
• Before proceeding with the acquisition, consider the key questions at the head of each section below. These are indicated by solid bullets.

  Equipment

  • What equipment is provided and what must be purchased (and what are the costs)?
  • How specific is the equipment to the work – is this going to present challenges in the future?
  • What is the minimum level of technical expertise necessary?
  • Determine which equipment is 'dedicated' and which is 'non-dedicated'. It is important to understand the relationship of the display equipment to the installation. Many artists have strong views about the equipment to be used in the display of their work and see it as integral because of the impact it has on how the work is experienced. Each case must be considered individually to determine what is appropriate to change and what must remain constant in the display of a work. It is necessary to involve the curator and wherever possible the artist or their representative in these decisions. There are degrees of change: changing a particular item of equipment for one of the same make and model; changing the make and model but keeping the technology the same; changing the technology.

    Dedicated equipment

    • A particular item of equipment may be dedicated because it has been functionally or visibly modified or made by the artist (or for the artist) and is therefore irreplaceable.
    • Specific makes and models of equipment may be designated by the artist as essential to the realisation and experience of their work. In such cases it is important to maintain this equipment even when it becomes obsolete.
    • There may be instances when equipment is replaceable but remains assigned to the work of art as a legal stipulation in the acquisition agreement and is therefore not useable in any other installation.
    • Equipment dedicated to a group of works: a group of works may depend on a particular make and model of equipment or technology that is becoming increasingly rare. In such cases you may wish to reserve the use of this equipment for this group of works.

    Non-dedicated equipment

    • Although the artist may have specific requirements for display equipment, the equipment may be generic and widely available. In such cases the actual piece of equipment is not assigned to the artwork but used for the display of a range of works.

  Installation specifications

  • How large a space is required?
  • Does the installation require construction of a specific space?
  • What specialist skills are required to install and keep the work running?
  • What are the costs of installation and operation of the work?
  • Review the installation specifications and determine if there is enough detailed information to properly install the work.
  • An installation specifications template can be used as a starting point for the type of information you gather.
  • If necessary, prepare additional questions for the artist/studio or gallery to get the information that you need.
  Installation specifications RTF, 59KB

  Pre-acquisition assessment

  • Is this work currently 'exhibitable' and can this be sustained?
    • During this pre-acquisition phase, there is often limited time to gather important information necessary for making a presentation to a board, committee, or self.
    • The goal at this point is to begin the process of assessment that will eventually lead to completion of structure and condition reports during the post-acquisition phase.
    • At this stage, here are some core things to think about:
      • Determine the 'exhibitability' of the media: assess the playback quality, if the offered format is provided at this stage. From an exhibition history of the provided materials, determine duration of previous display. Make recommendations for preferred media format if different from what is being offered.
      • Assess the condition of display equipment offered with the work: how old is the equipment? How many times has it been used/ displayed? Has it ever been serviced?
      • Assess the condition of the sculptural elements in the installation.
    Structure
    and condition
    reports

Cost assessment

• In addition to the costs itemised below, there will be long- and short-term costs associated with the care of time-based media. A cost-assessment worksheet will help to estimate the financial commitment necessary for acquiring the work.
Cost
assessment Excel, 24KB

Acquisition costs

• Will the available format need to be migrated before acquisition? Will the cost of this be covered by the buyer or seller?
• Are there crating and transit costs? Will they be covered by the buyer or seller?

Exhibition costs

• Use essential conditions for display established above to determine costs, including extraordinary requirements such as:
  • Artist/studio involvement
  • Extended installation time
  • Rented installation equipment
  • Construction costs
  • Outside contractors

Continuing collection care costs

• Estimate lifetime and replaceability of physical components: are there consumable elements that must be continually replaced?
• Understand equipment or consumables that are designated by the artist to be essential to the realisation of their work: consider purchasing back-ups for future preservation.

Proceed with Acquisition? – Summarise findings and make recommendations for proceeding

• Using the information gathered from the assembled team and consultants, the curator/collector determines if the art work is an appropriate acquisition for the Collection. If yes, then the curator/collector identifies recommendations to incorporate into the purchase agreement.
• Identify issues for negotiation.
• Specify the preferred preservation and exhibition material required, e.g. master, sub-master, exhibition copy.
• Provide a final equipment list necessary for acquisition and display: what is provided by the seller? What must be additionally purchased?