art
Enable an AI agent to recognise a work of art, assess its identity and condition, and determine appropriate handling, interpretation, display and intervention.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 31 questions
Artistic identity Establish what is recognised as the artwork and how its manifestations relate.
Designation and boundaries
Identify the basis of art status and the extent of the work.
Basis and extent of the work
Record supported art designations and distinguish constitutive parts from surrounding objects.
- Who identifies this item or assemblage as art, and what evidence supports that designation? definition
- Which objects, surfaces, arrangements or instructions constitute the work, and which belong only to its presentation? boundary
Manifestations and editions
Distinguish the work from particular objects, copies and realisations.
Manifestation status
Record how this manifestation participates in the identity of the work.
- Is this a unique work, edition member, proof, authorised realisation, reproduction or fragment? definition
- What edition records, certificates, instructions or other evidence establish that status? provenance
- Under what documented conditions would a replacement or new realisation count as the same work? boundary
Making and provenance Track evidence about authorship, production and the history of the work.
Authorship and production
Separate creative attribution from fabrication and subsequent intervention.
Attributed making
Record maker claims, production roles and their evidential limits.
- Who is credited with conception, execution and fabrication, and which credits are disputed or unknown? provenance
- What supports the proposed date, place, materials and techniques of production? provenance
Object history and authenticity
Connect the present manifestation to historical records without treating gaps as proof.
Continuity and competing claims
Record custody history, identifying evidence and unresolved authenticity claims separately.
- Which ownership, custody, exhibition or treatment records can be linked to this particular manifestation, and where are the gaps? provenance
- Which inscriptions, images, material examinations or expert assessments support or challenge its claimed identity? provenance
Material condition and continuity Assess physical change in relation to the features that sustain artistic identity.
Material and condition evidence
Locate and document the materials and changes relevant to the work's integrity.
Significant material state
Connect component-level condition observations to artistic significance.
- Which materials, finishes, marks and components are identity-bearing, and what evidence establishes their significance? definition
- What losses, distortions, surface changes or instabilities are observable, where are they, and against which dated baseline are they assessed? measurement
Change and treatment
Establish acceptable change and limits on conservation intervention.
Permitted material change
Record intended transformation, replacement rules and intervention constraints.
- Which changes are documented as intended or acceptable, and which remain unclassified? boundary
- May a proposed cleaning, repair, renewal or component replacement proceed, and what artistic evidence and authorisation are required? action
- Which earlier treatments altered original material or appearance and must inform the proposed intervention? provenance
Presentation and meaning Record how the work should be encountered and how interpretive claims are supported.
Installation and activation
Capture requirements for a valid presentation or realisation.
Presentation parameters
Distinguish artistically required settings from curatorial choices and undocumented assumptions.
- Which orientation, spacing, lighting, framing, sequence, sound or audience-interaction requirements are documented as part of the work? boundary
- What must be measured or checked to confirm that a proposed installation satisfies those requirements? measurement
- What instructions and dependencies are needed to install, activate and deactivate this work? action
Interpretive evidence
Separate observable content from attributed intention and later interpretation.
Supported description and interpretation
Record titles, depicted subjects and interpretive claims with their sources and uncertainty.
- Which titles and descriptions originate with the maker, and which were supplied by later owners, cataloguers or communities? provenance
- Which claims about subject, symbolism or purpose are directly supported, inferred or contested? definition
Artwork use and authority Connect proposed actions to artwork-specific permissions and preservation constraints.
Permissions and integrity
Identify evidence needed to authorise uses that reproduce or change the work.
Authority for proposed use
Record relevant parties, permission evidence and restrictions for each contemplated action.
- Which documented permissions or unresolved claims apply to displaying, photographing, reproducing, modifying or re-realising this work? action
- Who has the relevant authority for the proposed use, and what evidence distinguishes that authority from ownership or custody? provenance
Handling, loan and storage
Translate the artwork's construction and significance into practical movement and storage constraints.
Safe custodial actions
Record work-specific limits on contact, separation, packing and environmental exposure.
- Which surfaces may be touched, which components may be detached, and what supports or packing protect fragile or identity-bearing features? action
- What documented exposure limits and current condition observations determine whether the work can be stored, moved or lent? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of art this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of art this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of art this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of art this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of art this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of art this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of art this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of art this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- noun.artifact
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.OBJ
- Tags
- artifact
- Facets: substance
- material
- Facets: origin
- manufactured
- Facets: agency
- inert
- Facets: mobility
- portable
- Facets: scale
- handheld
- Facets: affordances
- graspable
- Other names and narrower kinds
- abstraction, abstractionism, abstract art, alto relievo, alto rilievo, high relief, anaglyph, aquatint, fine art, artificial flower, bas relief, low relief
What it is Filled
Art, in the collective sense of works of art, is the class of human-made or human-designated artefacts, images, and related objects whose recognised function is aesthetic, expressive, ritual, or conceptual, and which are identified, documented, and circulated as works of art rather than solely as tools, commodities, or records.
In scope
- Identification of artworks, including titles, attribution, constituent parts and boundaries
- Relationships between an artwork, its physical manifestations, editions, copies and authorised realisations
- Materials, artistic techniques and features whose alteration could change the work
- Provenance, authenticity claims and competing interpretations with their supporting evidence
- Condition, conservation needs and artist-authorised change
- Artwork-specific requirements for display, activation, handling and reproduction
Out of scope
- Artists' biographies and careers beyond evidence relevant to a work
- Museums, galleries and collections as organisations or managed holdings
- Art sales, insurance contracts and financial transactions
- Copyright law and licensing systems beyond permissions attached to the work
- Creative production projects and performances as activities, except their relationship to an artwork
- Software and digital infrastructure internals beyond dependencies needed to realise or preserve a work
Why it exists Filled
Enable an AI agent to recognise a work of art, assess its identity and condition, and determine appropriate handling, interpretation, display and intervention.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Record the evidence for treating the item as art, such as maker intention, commissioning context or documented reception; appearance and aesthetic appeal alone do not settle the classification.
- For a functional or decorative object, establish whether its artistic identity requires recording features beyond its practical function; allow both classifications when supported.
- For a found object, identify the selection, designation or arrangement that constitutes the artwork and distinguish it from an otherwise equivalent undesignated object.
- For an image, cast or reproduction, establish whether it is an independent artwork, an authorised edition member, a substitute display object or documentation of another work.
- For an installation or multipart work, determine which components and spatial relationships constitute the work and which are equipment, packaging or exhibition context.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Attribute works wrongly or help pass forgeries.
- Reproduce copyrighted works without licence.
- Assist trade in looted art.
- Disrespect sacred works or culturally restricted objects.
Only with a human decision
- Deciding restitution or deaccession of works.
May
- Describe works of art and their history, citing sources.
- Show images of works in line with licences and the holder's terms.
Moral aspects Filled
- Art carries cultural identity, and looting robs communities.
- Artists deserve credit and rights.
Who is affected
- Artists
- Source communities
- Audiences
Owners Filled
Steward
The holder of each work; artists and estates hold rights.
Master systems
- Museum catalogues
- Stolen art registers
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- oewn-03133774-n - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.art
- Open English WordNet: oewn-02746552-n
Direct properties required Filled
- Art designation: Maker-designated, institutionally documented, contextually attributed, disputed or undetermined; record evidence and claimant
- Artistic form and medium: Recorded terms such as painting, sculpture, print, textile, assemblage or installation; allow multiple and uncertain terms
- Attribution: Work to named maker, workshop, collaboration or unknown maker, qualified by claim, evidence and uncertainty
- Manifestation role: Unique object, edition member, artist's proof, authorised realisation, reproduction, fragment or unresolved
- Physical extent: Dimensions in mm or m, mass in kg and component count, with configuration and measurement date
- Identity-bearing features: Work to significant surfaces, materials, components, arrangements or behaviours, with evidence of significance
- Observed condition: Dated observations by component or region, including alteration, loss, instability and uncertainty
- Permitted variability: Fixed, variable within documented limits, intended to change, renewable, or undocumented
- Action authority: Proposed action to authorising party, permission evidence, conditions and unresolved restrictions
Recognition required Filled
- Paintings, sculptures, prints and objects displayed in galleries and collections.
- Labels with artist, date and medium.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Identify and compare artworks while distinguishing works, manifestations, editions and reproductions.
- Assess whether an observed change is deterioration, prior intervention or documented artistic variability.
- Prepare handling and conservation proposals that protect identity-bearing features.
- Specify an exhibition or activation consistent with documented artistic requirements.
- Generate evidence-qualified descriptions that preserve disputed attribution and interpretation.
- Determine whether a proposed loan, reproduction, substitution or treatment has sufficient evidence and authority to proceed.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Theft and looting.
- Damage from handling and environment.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, UNESCO, 1970.
Context of use required Filled
- Works of art are encountered in museums, galleries, homes, public spaces and ritual settings as objects of aesthetic, expressive or conceptual attention.
- They are collected, interpreted, exhibited and conserved, with their documented identity and cultural context informing these activities.
Sources Filled
- art (Q735) - Canonical item for art as creative work/products of creativity; neighbour item Q838948 (work of art).
- Categories for the Description of Works of Art (CDWA) - Museum/cataloguing categories that treat a work of art as a describable object (object/work, materials, measurements, creation, provenance).
- Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970) - International legal frame treating many artworks as cultural property subject to export control and restitution.
- Object ID - Minimum documentation standard (Getty, ICOM and partners) used to identify movable art and cultural objects after theft.
- ISO 21127: Information and documentation - A reference ontology for the interchange of cultural heritage information (CIDOC CRM) - Reference ontology in which artworks are modelled as human-made objects and conceptual objects with production, condition, and information-object relations.
- ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums - Professional rules for acquisition, display, conservation, and deaccession of artworks in museum custody.
- Cataloging Cultural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Works and Their Images - VRA/ALA cataloguing practice that distinguishes a cultural work (including art) from its images and records core work-level data.
- Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-02746552-n - sense and gloss of the concept
- Wiktionary: art - word senses and usage
Open questions
- How should this PHY.OBJ entry relate to conceptual, performance-based and digital artworks whose identity is not exhausted by a physical manifestation?
- Does 'works of art collectively' require a first-class aggregate within this model, and how should that differ from a collection managed as a holding?
- What evidence and review process should resolve conflicting artist, estate, community and institutional claims about designation, attribution or permitted change?
- Which medium-specific condition vocabularies and conservation references are needed before the model can support reliable intervention decisions?
- How should the model distinguish an authorised replacement, a restored work and a newly created work when original material or technical dependencies are substantially replaced?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-art/spec.json