Art preservation is an extremely important topic to me. Art is something that should be passed on from generation to generation to enjoy. Viewing old pieces of art, such as silent films from the 1920s or old paintings, can act as a window into the past and lets us see how far we've come since. They also act as sort of time capsules for their eras and help convey the ideas and culture of their time to us in the modern day.
Through art preservation, we keep the memories of long-lost civilizations, such as the Mayans and Ancient Greece, alive and gives the art a special historical significance. Art is an extension of our culture. It is an expression of who we are as a people and what we value and believe. Which is why it disheartens me that greater strides have not been taken to guarantee the preservation of certain art forms.
If you want a prime example, just look at film. While film preservation is viewed importantly today, it wasn't back when film was in its infancy in the 1910s and 20s. Back then, film was seen as frivolous and not a form of art created by creative people. To many, films weren't worth preserving because they were viewed as disposable distractions that held no real merit in the art world.
While these attitudes did change and strides were made better toward film preservation, for many it was already too late. According to the National Film Preservation Foundation, only 20% of films from the silent era (the 1910s and 20s) are preserved and the other 80% have been lost to time. About half of all films made before the 1950s have also been lost to time.
Entire works have been lost to time and the people who put the hard work and dedication into making those films have had their names forgotten. The same thing happened to comic books. The reason older comic books are rare and expensive items is that people viewed comics as "low art" and silly disposable kids stories so there was no real effort to preserve them. Entire characters and their creators have been wiped away never to be seen in history books or museums.
I even see people making the same mistake today with video game preservation. Sure, a lot of the "classics" have been preserved due to their popularity, however, several "hidden gems" and other games have fallen to complete obscurity or have been outright lost to time. The hard work of programmers and game testers may never see the light of day again. If I were these creators, it would leave me with a level of sadness I couldn't begin to comprehend.
Many believe that these lost films, comics and games were lost because they were forgettable or bad and therefore don't deserve preservation. To that, I say all art has some value to it regardless of overall quality and doesn't deserve to be erased. They are important facets of history and can teach us about making art today, whether by conveying good examples through quality films or teaching us what to avoid and change from bad ones.
All art, regardless of genre or quality, deserves to be preserved. Luckily, the digital age has not only allowed better means of archival, but better means of distribution to a wider audience. People can now view public domain films on YouTube and special archival sites. Digital downloads for video games and comics have made preserving them far easier and keeps them from having to depend on the durability of physical disks, cartridges and paper (all those should be preserved as well so backups can be made in case of an emergency, however). Art carries the ideas and voices of people throughout history and the only way to preserve the ideas of these people is by preserving their art.
