VRA 2012, Archival Collections Case Studies, 35mm Assessment & Digitization

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Special Exhibition Galleries Views 1970-2004:

an assessment and preservation initiative

Claire DienesDigital Media Department

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

VRA Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 2012

Digital Media

View with people waiting in line to enter the special exhibition "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" (May 4-August 7, 2011). Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

View of the special exhibition: "Liberty or Death" (opened October 15, 1976). Photographed in 1976-1977. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

View of the special exhibition: "Plant Forms in Ornament" (March 15-April 20, 1919). Photographed on March 21, 1919. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Project Scope and Goals

• To digitize a collection of original color 35mm photography documenting Met special exhibition gallery views 1970-2004

• To fully catalogue the resulting digital collection

• To make digital collection available for educational purposes through the ARTstor Digital Library and other on-line platforms, including the Museum’s website

• To preserve, via proper housing and storage, the original film collection

Project Responsibilities

MET•Selection of slides

• establish specific selection criteria and selection of physical slides

•Physical preservation of slides in preparation for scanning• clean, re-house and re-label film

•Inventorying and packaging of slides for scanning• prepare slides and accompanying spreadsheet for scanner to include

assignment of digital image file name to each slide

•Cataloguing• apply descriptive, source and rights metadata to all digital assets and identify

metadata to deliver to ARTstor

•Archiving of analog collection• ensure proper storage of slides in archival binders

Project Responsibilities

Third-party, off-site

•Digitization • Digitize slides in both jpeg and tiff formats and deliver on hard drive• Minimum resolution specifications for tiffs: 4,000 pixels, 48-bit RGB generating

approximately 50-60 MB files

•Quality control• Crop and tonally adjust each image as necessary

Project Parameters

• Limited year span (representing a fraction of available material)

• Limited to 5,000 views (representing a fraction of available material)

• Representation across all 17 curatorial departments in the Museum

• Equal representation across 3+ decades of 1970-2004

• Exclude all gallery views that already existed in digital format

Selection Criteria

SOURCE OF PHOTOGRAPHY

•Confirmed Met photography or photography where Museum can claim copyright

Selection CriteriaEXHIBITION TITLES

•Exhibitions whose titles include the name of a living or recently deceased artist, or artists whose estates are particularly active, or in which the name of an artist still under copyright, were excluded

•Exhibitions whose titles include the names of private collections or collectors (unless collection would later become part of the Met's collection or the collector was long deceased) were excluded.

•Exhibitions that are “known” to have copyright issues (Pictures Generation) were excluded

Selection CriteriaINDIVIDUAL VIEWS

•Definition of gallery view• Must show the space in which the objects are installed• No close-ups/case-shots• Must contain two or more objects

View of the special exhibition: "European Helmets, 1450-1650: Treasures from the Reserve Collection" (January 25, 2000-December 30, 2001). Photographed in 2001. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

View of the special exhibition: "Samuel Colt Presents: Three Pistols for Czar Nicholas" (opened September 11, 1979). Photographed in 1979. Image © The Metropolitan Museum

of Art

Selection CriteriaINDIVIDUAL VIEWS

•Definition of gallery view• Must show the space in which the objects are installed• Must contain two or more objects• No close-ups/case-shots

•Duplicate/near duplicate views were excluded

•Shots with recognizable people were excluded

Metadata

Project TimelineSep 10 Oct 10 Nov 10 Dec 10 Jan 11 Feb 11 Mar 11 Apr 11

Batch 1

cleaned/ inventoried slides due to scanner

pre-catalog-ing begins

jpegs returned to Met

slides/tifs returnedto Met

catalog’ing due (internal deadline)

slides refiled(internal deadline)

Batch 2



jpegs returned to Met


catalog’ing due(internal deadline)


Batch 3



jpegs returnedto Met


Batch 4



etc. →

Project TimelineDec 11 Jan 12 Feb 12 Mar 12 Apr 12 May 12 Jun 12 Jul 12

Batch 7




ALL METADATA DUE

Batch 8




catalog’ing due(internal deadline)


Batch 9







Batch 10





catalog’ing due (internal deadline

View of the special exhibition: "Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries" (October 10, 1990-January 13, 1991) as installed in the Great Hall. Photographed in 1990. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

View of the special exhibition: "Théâtre de la Mode" (December 8, 1990-April 14, 1991. Photographed in 1991. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

View of the special exhibition: "The Vatican Collections: The Papacy and Art" (February 26-June 12, 1983). Photographed in 1983. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

View of the special exhibition: "In Quest of Comfort: the Easy Chair in America" (November 24, 1971-January 30, 1972). Photographed in 1971. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Special Exhibition Galleries Views 1970-2004:

an assessment and preservation initiative

Claire DienesDigital Media Department

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

VRA Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 2012

Digital Media

VRA 2012, Archival Collections Case Studies, 35mm Assessment & Digitization

Entertainment & Humor

Transcript of VRA 2012, Archival Collections Case Studies, 35mm Assessment & Digitization