ADAM

ADAM, the Archive of Digital Art and Media

ADAM Web App Frontend GitHub Repository API GitHub Repository

ADAM, the Archive of Digital Art and Media is an art archive with an Angular frontend and an API served through Express/NodeJS. I developed it as part of my master's thesis for my MA in Media Art History in July and August of 2020. This is an exercise in the use of web technologies and a prototype for an archive of new media art. You can find the finished product at demoarchive.art

A Quick Tour of ADAM

ADAM's Features

Users can search for digital demo artwork, on the detail pages, they will find a description of the respective demo artifacts, as well as photos, screenshots, and links to videos. Also, if available, they will find ZIP files or disk images with the artifacts' original files. There is also room for information about the artists, at which events their works were exhibited, and at which demo parties their works were created. The objective here was to program a custom digital archive solution using modern technologies, a noSQL database, strict separation between user interface, API (application programming interface), and the database. It is hosted on Herkou, a managed and secure cloud platform.

ADAM is a practical implementation, but it also lays the conceptual groundwork for the user interface of a demo archive. It was inspired by the Archive of Digital Art (ADA) at Danube University Krems. ADAM only contains placeholder content at the time of this writing, showcasing its user interface, the powerful search and filter features, and its user management.

Details about ADAM

The full project documentation in German, including the source code (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript using NodeJS and Angular) under a Creative Commons license, can be found here: mbalabanov.github.io/adam

ADAM consists of three parts:

  1. The API server on adam-interface.herokuapp.com with interfaces to call up the data.
  2. The website (web app) with a public area on demoarchive.art where visitors can find information about the demo art
  3. An editorial area, also on demoarchive.art, in which editors can enter and edit new content and administrators can manage rights.

This three-tiered structure might look fragmented with too many component parts, but it in fact has many advantages. By separating the different functions, ADAM can offer not only the web-frontend for users visiting with a web browser, but at a later time, also offer a mobile app. This is made possible by the separate application programming interface (API). The API also allows for ADAM to connect with other art archives and provides its data for a federated search.

And the final advantage is that when a new and better technology becomes available, any part of ADAM can be replaced individually without interfering with the operations of the others.

ADAM Repositories

ADAM consists of the following repositories:

  1. ADAM Web Frontend github.com/mbalabanov/adam (runs on Heroku at adam- interface.herokuapp.com)
  2. ADAM API Server github.com/mbalabanov/adam-api (runs on Heroku on adam-frontend.herokuapp.com with CNAME entry on app.demoarchive.art)
The Archive of Demo Art and Media

ADAM's Editor's Backend

ADAM's Editor's Backend