Conservators, collectors, museums, galleries, artists,
many ask the question of conserving video art of the early years.

Yet how long the technics will play along? An example of a long term storage!

How are artworks of video art to be conserved? Sourcing? Storing? And then what?

After many weeks of searching we sourced two identical Philips TVs for a replica - CRT TVs from the early 70s.

Stored in 1984 as a spare TV... One of the two was repaired in a service workshop in 1984 and then stored as replacement. The device stood dry and clean in an attic of a private household. We purchased this TV in a very pristine condition. Our seller obviously went for a full functionality of the Philips, since it was repaired before storage. Attempting to start it after 36 years the TV showed no image and only made a loud grumble. Despite the proper storage a lot has happend inside in all these years. Acid that started to leak from dryed out capacitors damaged the electronic board. After this long time of not running, a critical flashover in the picture tube could have striked other components.

The service card was still attached on the TV

A restart of devices that was stored for years only should happen under secure measures and at best in a professional
workshop. This not only counts for CRTs, but for modern screens too.

One of the major keys of video art workshops should be a fitting collection of used devices. This inventory should be
selected thoughtfully. It makes sense to only gather TVs of a certain brand or model, that can be used for owned artworks.
Next to the technical compability the aesthetic quality of selected TVs should play a role.