One week ago I had the chance to attend the Association of North American Graduate Programs in the Conservation of Cultural Property (ANAGPIC) annual conference. This year’s conference was held in the auditorium of the newly constructed Burchfield Penney Art Center located just across the street from the Buffalo State College Art Conservation department and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
I was given the opportunity to speak to the attendees about what ECPN is and what projects we’ve been working on. I stayed the rest of the day to hear all 14 student talks and as usual they were just phenomenal. We emerging conservators are really doing some great research and ANAGPIC is always such a great showcase of what students are capable of. I think the student conference is a great preview of new techniques and analytical tools being tested in conservation. DNA sequencing, testing for gunpowder residue, multi spectral imaging, online databases for sharing object information, and dry ice dusting were just some of the techniques students used in their projects.
In no particular order (and in each case these were TOTALLY not the main point of these talks) here are some of my favorite highlights:
-Ariel O’Connor’s splicing of multiple x-radiographs to create a 360 degree rotating video of a Qing Dynasty sculpture.
-Marie Stewart’s use of a cotton swab wrapped in teflon tape in order to reduce abrasion when cleaning a sensitve Javanese shadow puppet. (I can’t wait to try that out!)
-Sharra Grow’s discovery that wax detected with analysis was not from the artwork being tested but from a wax coating on a wooden swab stick.
-From Lauren Cox’s presentation on the Master of the Fogg Pieta Research Project I heard
what is possibly the coolest name ever: Arcadius Lyon. Not only did he have a cool name but he was doing hatched stroke inpainting before tratteggio became all the rage.
-The running CSI theme in more than one presentation… Well if CSI could make science seem cool then so can we!
I wasn’t able to stay for the banquet that night or for the talks on Saturday, but while I was there I had some great conversations with students and faculty and got so much positive feedback on ECPN. I hope you all had as much fun as I did.
So for those of you who attended ANAGPIC: What did you enjoy hearing about? Did you make it down Elmwood Avenue to discover India Gate, Pano’s, Saigon Cafe, Cole’s or one of Buffalo’s other great restaurants? What did I miss at the banquet Friday night and at the talks on
Saturday morning? And even though I never presented a paper, can you find me on the ANAGPIC webpage?
The dancing neon sign at Bidwell Parkway and Elmwood Ave.
Yes, thank you to Buffalo for hosting a great conference. Especially memorable was Danielle Fraser’s presentation. She should be commended for her efforts and on her future role as the first conservator in her country. The use of investigative technologies by Lauren Horelick and Amy Tjiong not traditionally used in conservation was noteworthy and really thinking outside the box. Presentations on expanding resources for information sharing (Fogg Pieta research project) were informative and will surely add value to field. And we can’t forget Anchor Bar’s buffalo wings!