When it and four other works by Wassily Kandinsky in the Guggenheim Museum’s collection were sent to the Harvard Art Museums’ laboratory for examination in preparation for an exhibit, “Sketch I For Painting With White Border” (1913) revealed a secret. Underneath Kandinsky’s composition was another composition which had been painted by his lover Gabriele Munter. This discovery may turn out to be but one of many as the Guggenheim is in the process of examining its entire collection– something that will be much more easily facilitated when the Museum’s new conservation laboratory opens in 2012. (from The New York Times, October 23, 2011)
Month: November 2011
European Union To Provide Funding for Pompeii’s Preservation
According to The New York Times (October 28, 2011), following heavy October rains which led to the collapse of a supporting wall at Pompeii, the European Union pledged 105 million Euros (ca. $148,000) for a four year project to preserve and monitor the site. As the Italian government has long been criticized for not doing enough to maintain the site, this is an encouraging development.
Call for Sustainable Tips at AIC’s 40th Annual Meeting
AIC’s Committee for Sustainable Conservation Practices is putting out a call for tips to present at our lunch session Wednesday, May 9 at 4AIC’s 40th Annual Meeting. The 2-hour lunch session, Linking the Environment and Heritage Conservation: Presentations, Tips, and Discussions, will include 2 presentations from environmentalists, followed by a 1-hour tips session and a 20-minute panel discussion.
Conservators will have 10-minutes each to present tips on how they are incorporating more sustainable practices. Topics could include: treatment materials no longer in use due to their environmental impact and their replacements; reduction and reuse of materials; new approaches to loans; and cost savings realized from sustainable practices. Other topics are also welcome for this tips session and it is hoped the session will have a diverse range of tips and practical advice.
To present a 10-minute tip, please submit a proposal to CSCP by December 20, 2011 to sustainability[at]conservation-us.org
Sustainability Survey
The American Institute for Conservation Committee for Sustainable Conservation Practices (CSCP) has created a short survey to find out what sustainable practices are currently being undertaken. We hope to get a sense of what is occurring as well as to try to identify possible speakers and case studies. The survey will be only be open during the month of November, 2011.
In 2008 the Green Task Force sent out a survey to the AIC community concerning “Green Conservation Practices” The CSCP realizes that internationally changes are quickly happening, with new practices and energy savings being adapted daily. The results of this 2011 survey will be shared during a lunch session at the 2012 AIC meeting in Alburquerque and in a future article in the AIC Newsletter. We hope to sharing how conservators in institutions and in private practices are making sustainable choices will inspire each other to keep moving ahead with sustainability in our field.
Please take the time (less than ten minutes) to complete this survey.
www.conservation-us.org/sustainabilitysurvey
Thank you,
The Committee for Sustainable Conservation Practices
Sarah Nunberg, Rose Cull, Betsy Haude, Robin O’Hern, Denise Stockman, Melanie Brussat, Mary Coughlin, Melissa Tedone, Patricia Silence, and Catherine Hawks
If you have any technical difficulties with the survey please contact Ryan Winfield at AIC.
NARA technician positions
The National Archives and Records Administration Conservation Branch wishes to hire two Conservation Technicians to work on a grant-funded, two-year project to preserve and make available a collection of flood-damaged, largely 19th-20th c Hebraic and Arabic books and documents.
As a member of the project team, the successful candidates will assist with conservation treatments to stabilize and prepare selected books and archival materials for digitization and exhibition, collection housing, packing materials for shipment and other project activities.
This position is a term federal appointment. Knowledge of Hebrew and/or Arabic is desirable but not mandatory. The work location is at the modern and well-equipped Archives II building in College Park, MD, a close-in suburb of Washington, DC.
Job and application information is at http://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/301817300 under job announcement number JD555155DGA Conservation Technician. The vacancy announcements closing date: Friday, November 18.
If you are interested in this position, or seek additional information, contact Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, Director, Conservation Branch or Doris Hamburg, Director, Preservation Programs