Playful Machines and Heritage: How to Prepare Future Cultural Histories?

How are we to tackle digital heritage? The fact that its code can be copied, combined with a strong reliance on user interaction, is a distinguishing characteristic of digital art, one which also complicates framing it with the traditional categories of art history. Therefore, in my search for the n...

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Main Author: Mirosław Filiciak
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
Series:Arts
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/9/3/82
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author Mirosław Filiciak
author_facet Mirosław Filiciak
author_sort Mirosław Filiciak
collection DOAJ
description How are we to tackle digital heritage? The fact that its code can be copied, combined with a strong reliance on user interaction, is a distinguishing characteristic of digital art, one which also complicates framing it with the traditional categories of art history. Therefore, in my search for the new ways to preserve heritage, appropriate for digital objects, I will use a case study where technical and social elements play an important role and where we can already speak of a partly institutionalized network aimed at preservation, even if its identification within the field of art, or heritage, is not exactly obvious. I propose an analysis based on the research of the Polish community of pinball machine collectors. My case study will also address the question of the category of locality with regard to projects featuring seemingly universal digital elements. Reflecting on the strategies that the pinball community uses to preserve its artifacts and to animate social activity centered upon those artifacts, can help facilitate modeling at least some practices needed to preserve digital art, practices more inclusive than the traditional approaches, and uniting, even if imperfectly, rather than dividing various social groups.
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spelling doaj.art-ea313e8e6060431c81f2add40147e7f62023-11-20T07:19:52ZengMDPI AGArts2076-07522020-07-01938210.3390/arts9030082Playful Machines and Heritage: How to Prepare Future Cultural Histories?Mirosław Filiciak0Department of Cultural Studies, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, PolandHow are we to tackle digital heritage? The fact that its code can be copied, combined with a strong reliance on user interaction, is a distinguishing characteristic of digital art, one which also complicates framing it with the traditional categories of art history. Therefore, in my search for the new ways to preserve heritage, appropriate for digital objects, I will use a case study where technical and social elements play an important role and where we can already speak of a partly institutionalized network aimed at preservation, even if its identification within the field of art, or heritage, is not exactly obvious. I propose an analysis based on the research of the Polish community of pinball machine collectors. My case study will also address the question of the category of locality with regard to projects featuring seemingly universal digital elements. Reflecting on the strategies that the pinball community uses to preserve its artifacts and to animate social activity centered upon those artifacts, can help facilitate modeling at least some practices needed to preserve digital art, practices more inclusive than the traditional approaches, and uniting, even if imperfectly, rather than dividing various social groups.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/9/3/82digital artgame studiesmedia archaeologypinball machinesmuseology
spellingShingle Mirosław Filiciak
Playful Machines and Heritage: How to Prepare Future Cultural Histories?
Arts
digital art
game studies
media archaeology
pinball machines
museology
title Playful Machines and Heritage: How to Prepare Future Cultural Histories?
title_full Playful Machines and Heritage: How to Prepare Future Cultural Histories?
title_fullStr Playful Machines and Heritage: How to Prepare Future Cultural Histories?
title_full_unstemmed Playful Machines and Heritage: How to Prepare Future Cultural Histories?
title_short Playful Machines and Heritage: How to Prepare Future Cultural Histories?
title_sort playful machines and heritage how to prepare future cultural histories
topic digital art
game studies
media archaeology
pinball machines
museology
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/9/3/82
work_keys_str_mv AT mirosławfiliciak playfulmachinesandheritagehowtopreparefutureculturalhistories