An installation manual should enable a competent person to assemble the work without reconstructing the artist’s decisions from memory. It does not replace the technical sheet: the sheet describes; the manual sets out actions and tests.
Start from the work’s technical sheet. If the work is going out on loan, also see How to lend a digital or technology-based artwork for an exhibition.
Identify version and scope
Include the work, identifier, version, edition, manual date, covered configuration, authorised persons and associated documents. Do not use an outdated manual for a different version without recording the differences.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art publishes, for time-based work, acquisition procedures and artist questionnaires by medium, including software-based work, as well as identity and iteration reports.
Before opening the packages
List space, power, network, tools, personnel, timings, risks, protective equipment and permits. Check the inventory, the packaging and the condition report.
Visual inventory
Assign an identifier to each component, cable, adapter, mount and spare part. Add photographs, measurements, serial numbers and who supplies each element.
Floor plan and sequence
Include floor plan, elevation, distances, heights, projection, speakers, sensors, circulation and technical access. Number the steps in the real order: construction, mounts, cabling, equipment, software, calibration and validation.
Connections
Use a diagram with source, destination, type, length and label. Distinguish power supply, data, video, audio, sensors and network. State what must be connected with the power supply disconnected.
Software and configuration
Specify system, version, account, installer, paths, dependencies, environment variables, permissions, resolution, channels, automatic start-up, sleep, updates and firewall. Do not include active secrets in a shared PDF.
The Guggenheim acquisition checklist for computer-based work with an artist-provided computer asks for a written guide to installing and starting up the work, a list of hardware and software requirements and dependencies, and a list of external services and APIs. It states that each work is assessed case by case.
Calibration
Define values and tolerances: colour, brightness, focus, sound, synchronisation, latency, sensor, scale, and active area. Accompany each adjustment with the expected result.
Acceptance test
Prepare an observable checklist. The installation is not approved simply because the program starts. Check experience, duration, interaction, restart, sound, image, error log and stability. Also keep video or audio documentation of the work running correctly, as the Guggenheim acquisition checklist for computer-based work requests.
Daily operation
Indicate power-on, checks, opening, monitoring, closing, cleaning, ventilation, permitted reboots, and contact details. Separate gallery tasks from administrative tasks.
Failures and recovery
Include symptoms, safe actions, prohibited actions, logs, backup, restoration and alert escalation. Do not authorise updates, replacements or reinstallations without limits.
Safety
The risk assessment is the responsibility of the venue and competent professionals. Royal Decree 614/2001 sets minimum provisions for the protection of workers against electrical risk and applies to the electrical installations of workplaces. The INSST publishes a technical guide on electrical risk, in its fourth edition (2020), which explains that royal decree. Its full text has not been read, and no specific standard or certification for technology-based artworks installed in a venue has been located.
Document loads, anchors, heat, ventilation, trip hazards, liquids, lasers, motors, batteries, and public access where applicable.
Deinstallation
Reverse the sequence: safe shutdown, copy of the logs, revocation of credentials, agreed erasure, final report, inventory, packing and return. Coordinate with How to ship or transport a work.
Testing the manual
Have another person install the work using only the delivered package. Record doubts, tacit steps, timings and errors; correct the manual and re-date it.
Checklist
- Manual linked to a specific version.
- Space, tools, personnel and risks planned for.
- Components visually identified.
- Floor plan, sequence and cabling complete.
- Software and configuration reproducible.
- Calibration and acceptance have observable criteria.
- Operation and recovery are kept separate.
- Deinstallation, erasure and return are described.
- Another person has tested the manual.
Further reading
- How to prepare a technical sheet for a digital or interactive artwork.
- How to lend a digital or technology-based artwork for an exhibition.
- How to ship or transport a work.
- How to read a condition report for a work of art.
Sources
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, time-based media documentation templates. Acquisition procedures, artist questionnaires, and identity and iteration reports; page dated 8 February 2019.
- Guggenheim, acquisition checklist for computer-based work with an artist-provided computer. The document shows no date or version and does not name the institution in its text; attribution is based on the domain where it is hosted.
- BOE, Royal Decree 614/2001, of 8 June, on protection against electrical risk. Consolidated text; last update published 21 June 2001.
- INSST, technical guide for the assessment and prevention of risks related to protection against electrical risk. Catalogue entry, 2020 edition; the full text has not been read.
Status: Verified. Review: 11 October 2026. General information on documentation practices; it is not safety advice or a mandatory standard. If you find an error, write to me.