In 2021, an installation called The Preserving Machine by Croatian-born,New York-based artist Dora Budor (b. 1984) was added to the SaastamoinenFoundation Art Collection.1 The acquisition of a large, multi-material, andtechnically challenging installation initiated a whole network of coexistingmuseum processes. Quite typically for contemporary art, the work fallsinto several categories in terms of both the medium of the work and thedifferent museum processes involved. The work is a site-specific andsoftware-based installation. As for the museum processes, it was firstcategorized as a new acquisition, but soon after also as media art and partof an upcoming exhibition. Outside of the most established processes, thework is also largely reproducible and therefore not overly dependent onthe original materials. The installation was to be exhibited soon after itsacquisition, thereby setting a timetable for all of the required measures. Interms of collection processes, sustainability issues presented themselvesat every stage.
REPLACEABILITY OF PVC AND BIRDS Considering future installations and long-term accessibility of the work, it is beneficial that the PVC parts could be replaced. In practice, replacing the panels is a time-consuming task and requires new materials to be produced and shipped. With regard to sustainability, the longer the original material can be used, the better. Besides active conservation, the lifespan of PVC may also be extended by appropriate storage and packing methods, such as non-absorbent materials for packing and storing the material in dark 6
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As for replacing elements, another part of the installation demands most attentionthe robotic bird. The bird has a complex technical structure, and some components physically wear out. One bird is expected to last an average of 20 flight hours, after which the risk of breakage increases. Inside the installation, the bird is attached to a thin wire called Tether, which charges the bird and keeps it in the air. The wire is replaceable, but each Tether with customized connectors is handmade from scratch, and making new ones is quite demanding. When a bird breaks in the middle of its flight, it may get tangled with its wire and cause additional damage.
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The bird itself is a commercial product. In consumer use, the bird is flown like a drone and controlled by an app on a mobile phone. The biggest difference to a drone is that it mimics the flight of a real bird by flapping its wings. New birds can be purchased online, but it is uncertain how far into the future they will be available. Since the work is in the collection, it might be good practice to acquire some spare birds as possible replacements, but without the guarantee that they will function in years to come. At the time of acquisition, several birds were bought to be prepared for the upcoming exhibition. The artists studio has calculated that for every three-and-a-half-month-long exhibition, ten birds plus one backup is needed. The acquisition of the work included eleven birds, and, in addition, sixteen more were bought for the exhibition period.
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Figure 8. Documentation of the door panel During the first weeks of the exhibition, it was discovered that the birds are not as durable as supposed. Ideally, each bird would be used as long as possible, and the replacement would be scheduled according to the expected 20 hours. In practice, the timing of the replacement was rarely predictable. Some birds managed to fly the expected 20 hours but many stopped long before, in the worst case after less than one hour. The birds were replaced one after another. To keep up with the replacements, the flight hours of each bird were written down, and the used birds were marked with a number (Table 1). The precise documentation paid off when some of the used birds were sent back to the manufacturer and were duly replaced with new ones. Nonetheless, halfway through the exhibition, the museum still had to order more birds than expected. Table 1. Replacements of the first ten birds Bird # Start of use End of use Flight hours
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