A digital technical sheet is not a comprehensive manual, yet it must enable the identification of the artwork, the assessment of its installation requirements, and the location of necessary documentation. Phrases such as "Video, variable dimensions" or "interactive installation" do not adequately explain files, dependencies, spatial requirements, behaviour, or replacement limits.
This guide expands upon Technical data sheet, certificate and invoice: what each document does and is based on a master record maintained by the artist or the collection.
Identification
Include the artist, title, date, persistent identifier, version, edition, copy, duration, language, and credit. Distinguish between the date of creation, technical version, and the date of this record.
A cataloguing guide for time-based media art published on mattersinmediaart.org includes fields for the artist, title, format, duration, and display equipment.
Brief description and behaviour
Explain what the audience sees, hears, or does, how the work commences, its duration, whether it repeats, and what occurs in the absence of interaction. Describe the artwork as a system, rather than merely a list of objects.
Files and media
Record the name, function, format, codec, resolution, channels, size, version, and checksum. Distinguish between source file, preservation master, exhibition copy, backup copy, and documentation. The guide Preserving a digital artwork elaborates on this structure.
Software and dependencies
Note the operating system, program, version, libraries, drivers, fonts, databases, services, accounts, and licences. Specify which components may be redistributed and which must be obtained separately.
The Guggenheim acquisition checklist for computer-based artwork provided by the artist requests the files necessary for execution, the source code or project files, copies of libraries and plug-ins, a written list of hardware and software requirements, an installation guide, a list of external services and APIs, and video or audio documentation of the artwork in operation. It indicates that each artwork is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Equipment
For each computer, screen, projector, loudspeaker, sensor, or controller, indicate the function, minimum specification, reference model, accessories, connection, and whether it is a constitutive component or a replaceable component. A commercial model is insufficient if the critical factors are brightness, latency, size, or response.
Space and environment
Document the floor plan, dimensions, height, circulation, viewing distance, sound, light, darkness, ventilation, temperature, construction, barriers, and accessibility.
Interaction
Describe inputs, outputs, sensors, range, number of participants, timing, idle states, reset, failures, and expected response. Include a flow chart if the interaction cannot be contained within a single paragraph.
Network and data
Indicate whether the artwork requires internet access, bandwidth, ports, domains, APIs, services, data location, and degraded mode. If personal data is processed, refer to the corresponding legal analysis.
Significant properties
Declare what must be preserved: proportion, colour, scale, speed, synchrony, latency, sound, type of interaction, historical equipment, or spatial relationship. Separate these properties from replaceable components.
Installation and maintenance
The technical sheet should link to a manual rather than contain it in its entirety. Summarise personnel, time, tools, sequence, acceptance tests, start-up, shutdown, maintenance, and contact information. If the artwork is going out on loan, consult How to lend a digital or technology-based artwork for an exhibition.
Presentation history
Record the venue, date, configuration, replacements, incidents, photographs, and approval. The Metropolitan Museum of Art publishes identity reports, which describe the essential identity of the artwork, and iteration reports, which document the equipment, characteristics, and decisions of a specific exhibition. This distinction separates the artwork from a particular presentation.
Minimal template
Structure the technical sheet with these sections:
- identification;
- version and edition;
- description and behaviour;
- files;
- software and dependencies;
- equipment;
- space and environment;
- interaction;
- network and data;
- significant properties;
- associated documents;
- technical contact;
- review date.
Checklist
- Identifier, version, and edition are unambiguous.
- Files and checksums are recorded.
- Software, hardware, and dependencies are listed.
- The intended experience is described.
- Space, network, power, and environment are defined.
- Interaction and failure states are comprehensible.
- Constitutive and replaceable components are distinguished.
- A manual and presentation history are provided.
Further reading
- Technical data sheet, certificate and invoice: what each document does.
- Master artwork record: annotated template.
- Preserving a digital artwork.
- How to lend a digital or technology-based artwork for an exhibition.
Sources
- mattersinmediaart.org, page on the assessment of time-based media art. Cataloguing fields, formats, and equipment; the page does not display a date or name the editing organisation.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, documentation templates for time-based media. Identity and iteration reports; page dated 8 February 2019.
- Guggenheim, acquisition checklist for computer-based artwork provided by the artist. The document does not display a date or version and does not name the institution within its text.
Status: Verified. Review: 11 October 2026. General information regarding documentation practices, not a mandatory standard. Should you encounter an error, please contact me.