The Electronic Media Group (EMG) of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) is calling for papers about the preservation and conservation of electronic media for the AIC annual meeting, May 28-31st 2014 in San Francisco, California.
The theme of the meeting is Conscious Conservation: Sustainable Choices in Conservation Care. Topics could include sustainability of analogue media formats, migration and emulation strategies, approaches to digital asset management and preservation, care of electronic media collections, and case studies of particularly challenging artworks.
With a great location like San Francisco, we would like to engage with the local electronic media community and encourage first-time submissions from professionals involved in the preservation of electronic materials.
If your paper is accepted, you are expected to secure funding for your registration and travel expenses to attend the conference. See the AIC webpage for more information about grants and scholarships.
Please join the conversation – Submit an abstract by Friday, September 13.
How to Submit an Abstract
Please send an abstract of no more than 500 words, along with a bio of no more than 300 words by Friday, September 13, 2013.
Email it to Ruth Seyler, Membership and Meetings Director, at rseyler@conservation-us.org
Month: July 2013
US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee to Cut NEH Funding by 49%
Please read the message below from the National Humanities Alliance:
The House of Representatives Appropriations Committee released its FY 2014 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill this morning with a 49 percent ($71 million) cut for the National Endowment for the Humanities. If enacted, this funding level would devastate an agency that has already been reduced by 19 percent since 2010.
This drastic cut would end programs that provide critical support for humanities teaching, preservation, public programming, and research, and result in positive impacts on every community in the country. Programs supported by the NEH teach essential skills and habits including reading, writing, critical thinking, and effective communication that are crucial for ensuring that each individual has the opportunity to learn and become a productive member of society. Further, NEH’s programs strengthen communities by promoting understanding of our common ideals, enduring civic values, and shared cultural heritage.
Click here to send a message today to urge your Representative to vote against these devastating cuts.
Please share this message with your friends.
The NEH desperately needs your help.
ICOMOS Statement on Crac des Chevaliers and the continuing destruction of the cultural heritage of Syria
PRESS RELEASE: ICOMOS Statement on Crac des Chevaliers and the continuing destruction of the cultural heritage of Syria
ICOMOS, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, expresses its deep concern for the on-going destruction of cultural heritage in Syria, and stands with Syrian cultural heritage professionals for the protection of heritage places in the country.
The continuing conflict situation in Syria, which began in 2011, has led to an extensive humanitarian crisis and the destruction of many invaluable cultural heritage places, including World Heritage properties.
New media reports and video footage of the bombardment and damages to Crac des Chevaliers, one of Syria’s World Heritage properties, are of particular concern to ICOMOS.
Once again, by recalling the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, to which the Syrian Arab Republic is a State Party, ICOMOS urges all parties to this armed conflict to respect and protect the cultural heritage. ICOMOS calls upon all parties to refrain from any use of cultural properties and their immediate surroundings for purposes, which are likely to expose cultural heritage sites to destruction or damage. The parties to this conflict should refrain from any act of hostility, directed against such places. ICOMOS insists on the demilitarization of all cultural heritage of Syria, including monuments and sites with outstanding universal value. ICOMOS further supports the decision of the World Heritage Committee suggesting that the Syrian Arab Republic consider ratifying the Second Protocol (1999) of 1954 Hague Convention.
Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din represent the most significant examples illustrating the exchange of influences and documenting the evolution of fortified architecture in the Near East during the time of the Crusades (11th – 13th centuries). Crac des Chevaliers, with further construction by the Mamluks in the 13th century, is among the best-preserved examples of the Crusader castles.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time during the current civil strife that the Syrian people and the international community are witnesses to the damages inflicted on the World Heritage properties of Syria. Many historic parts of the Ancient City of Aleppo, including its ancient markets (suks) and the Great Mosque, have suffered extensive damages, already since 2012.
The reports of illegal excavations in different archaeological sites, and reports of apparently planned and intentional destructions of symbolic monuments have also caused serious concerns.
Because of the continuing threats, all six Syrian World Heritage properties were inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, at the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Cambodia last June:
Ancient City of Aleppo
Ancient City of Bosra
Ancient City of Damascus
Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
Site of Palmyra
The state of conservation of Syria’s cultural heritage during the on-going armed conflict is among the most urgent concerns for ICOMOS. It continues its efforts to support Syrian professionals and experts by delivering knowledge, providing technical consultancy, raising awareness, and building capacity.
ICOMOS, an Advisory Body of the World Heritage Committee and a founder organization of the Blue Shield, expresses its solidarity with Syrian cultural heritage organizations and professionals, and supports their appeal for the protection and recovery of cultural properties during and after the end of the current turmoil.
It places itself at the disposal of UNESCO for all actions undertaken to ensure the preservation of Syria’s six World Heritage properties currently listed as in danger.
Download the full statement (PDF – English/French)
Links:
Protection of Syria’s Cultural Heritage in Times of Armed Conflict: ICOMOS – ICCROM e-learning course for Syrian cultural heritage professionals
ICOMOS Statement on Aleppo, 27 July 2012
Blue Shield Statement on Syria
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
ICOMOS, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, is a unique, non-governmental, democratic, not for profit international organisation, committed to furthering the conservation, protection, use and enhancement of the world’s cultural heritage.
As an official advisory body to the World Heritage Committee for the implementation of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, ICOMOS evaluates nominations and advises on the state of conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List.
ICOMOS is one of the founding members of the Blue Shield network, working to protect the world’s cultural heritage threatened by armed conflict, natural and man-made disasters.
For more information see www.icomos.org
Those museum scientists can do amazing things
Two articles which appeared in major newspapers on Friday July 19, 2013—one about Diana Widmaier-Picasso’s attempt to compile a catalogue raisonne of her grandfather’s sculptures (“A Picasso Heir’s Epic Hunt”, by Kelly Crow, Wall Street Journal) and the other about the likely destruction by burning of seven paintings that were stolen from the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam (“Romanian’s Tale Has Art World Fearing Worst”, by Liz Alderman, The New York Times)—provide a glimpse into the work that museum scientists do. Those investigators can analyze the composition of a group of sculptures “to see if they contain enough of the same elements to confirm they indeed were made from the same metallurgical recipe and therefore cast by the same foundry at around the same time—and not years later” and they can determine that the ash found in a wood burning stove contains “material that classical French, Dutch, Spanish and other European artists typically used to prepare canvases for oil painting as well as the remains of colors like red, yellow, green, blue, gray.” If you were reading these articles and didn’t already know what else they can do, wouldn’t you want to find out?
AIC's 41st Annual Meeting, Committee on Sustainable Conservation Practice, Sustainability Luncheon: Linking the Environment and Heritage Conservation 2013: Presentation, Tips and Discussion
The Sustainability luncheon consisted of two parts: a progress report about a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) project that quantitatively evaluated the environmental impacts of three aspects of loans and exhibitions, and a breakout session where the participants brainstormed ideas that lessen the environmental effects disclosed by the LCAs.
LCA is a tool that quantitatively defines the environmental and economic impact of the activities being examined. These LCAs explored three aspects of loans and exhibitions including: energy use due to museum standards for relative humidity and temperature, materials and energy use related to loans and exhibitions, and the life cycle of halogens compared to LEDs.
The session introduction emphasized the connection between sustaining our environment and preserving our cultural heritage for future generations, focusing on the link between environmental and heritage conservation. The introduction outlined the collaboration between AIC, conservators, and other museum staff at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and Dr. Mathew Eckelman and his Northeastern University environmental engineering students. The students’ findings were useful and provided a basis for future LCAs.
Breakout Session Challenge Questions and Discussion:
1. What means would you use to distribute/publicize LCA findings?
The importance of bringing the LCA results to all levels of the museum, especially the director, building manager, and board, was discussed. Cost-figures and a list of changes would show how these results can be implemented. The presentation of data is important. Dissemination through peer-to-peer avenues such as staff meetings, retreats, or breakout sessions such as this one may result in people wanting to be more sustainable, rather than feeling forced to do so. Information should be presented in an empowering way that supports personal responsibility.
A professor of conservation encouraged the inclusion of sustainability in the conservation curriculum, similar to the inclusion of conservation ethics. If it is practiced in the classroom, it may become second nature. This approach would preemptively address changing habits, since these students will begin their conservation careers with sustainability in mind and not have to be convinced about its value later.
A two-pronged approach was discussed that involved providing information to staff and outreach to visitors. Ideas about outreach included: distribution via social media sites, distlists, publications, webinars, allied professional groups such as American Association of Museums, and senior museum staff. The application for funding to implement sustainable changes could be advertised to the public and local media as a form of outreach.
2. How would you implement some of the LCA findings?
The implementation of HVAC findings needs to involve non-conservation staff in the pre-planning stages. Potential impacts to the collections should be thoroughly investigated and estimated ahead of time, before periodic shutdown or “coasting” of the system takes place. Regarding the adoption of LEDs, it might be better to wait until the technology improves and becomes more reliable and affordable since they will likely become the norm.
3. The loans and exhibitions identified couriers and plastic vitrines as the least sustainable aspects. Could you identify ways to reduce your institution’s carbon footprint from both? Would your institution accept this challenge?
While conservation as a profession has been a strong advocate for couriers, the role of couriers may need to be re-examined. Colleagues at the borrowing institution or from lending institutions contributing to the same exhibition could be identified to oversee the installation and de-installation of other institutions’ artifacts. There could be a crossover of conservators from different specialties (e.g., paper and textile conservators) to transport, install, and de-install objects similar to but outside their specialty. If items are being transported in sealed packages, it is possible that a courier is not needed. Staff from the borrowing institution or a locally-contracted stand-in could install/de-install the objects.
The possibility of cutting out the courier’s role altogether was raised. While this could work for some scenarios, it might be impossible in other instances for insurance purposes and for the occasional special needs of an artifact. The hiring of a local stand-in at the destination institution to courier the item from the shipper was discussed. Many participants were concerned about safety and security issues. Various questions arose regarding the role of the courier, stewardship responsibilities, and costs. What role does a courier actually play in the safety of an item as it is being shipped? Also, could the availability of equivalent services at the destination institution ascertained? What if there are no local conservators or other appropriate professionals who can perform the role?
Ideas about vitrines were first to re-use them when possible, and recycle when not possible.
For libraries and archives, mats and frames are often of standard sizes, making packing for a loan easier than for three-dimensional objects. Re-using a crate is easier if the materials packed into it will usually be the same shape and size.
4. What about your institution enables sustainability or holds it back?
New ideas, methodologies, and technologies must be thoroughly researched and followed-up upon. There are no “plug-in” fixes and administrators need to know this upfront to avoid unrealistic expectations. Quantitative presentations tend to be more effective. Engaging the expertise of a neutral third-party expert can sometimes be more persuasive than an internal presentation. New projects must be matched to administrative values. Intentions and presentations should be oriented to these as well.
It still is better in person
One of the benefits of living in a large city which has many museums and a sizeable community of conservators is that there are opportunities to attend lectures, programs and other events that would be unimaginable in smaller communities. One recent event that New York metropolitan area conservators had the privilege of attending was the conversation between Tom Learner, Senior Scientist and Head of the Modern and Contemporary Art Research Initiative at the Getty Conservation Institute and artist De Wain Valentine about the creation of Valentine’s “Gray Column” (1975–76) and other poured resin sculptures that was organized by INCCA-NA at the Guggenheim Museum on July 11th. Pod casts, webinars, and videos posted on the Internet may provide excellent content, but the exchange of ideas that takes place before and after programs in casual chats with colleagues cannot be duplicated on-line.
41st Annual Meeting – Discussion Session, June 1 "What is Value? A Socratic Dialogue" moderated by Bill Wei
“What is the value of conservation (of what I do)”, or, “What is the value for us, the funding agency, to (continue to) fund conservation (you)?”
One of the most important contemporary issues facing conservators today is the effect of the economic crisis and cost cutting on the preservation and conservation of cultural heritage. Conservators and other conservation professionals must continually defend their work and answer questions posed by funding agencies and sponsors, local, state, and national governments, the general public, and even many museums themselves. These include critical questions such as
– what is the value of cultural heritage in this day and age,
– how does one determine what is worth conserving, and
– why should cultural heritage be conserved, that is, why is conservation and why are conservators valuable?
In order to help answer these questions of “value”, the AIC organized the first of what hopefully will become a series of so-called Socratic dialogues at the most recent annual meeting in Indianapolis. At this first dialogue, forty participants and a number of observers investigated their own answers to the question, “What is the value of conservation (of what I do)”, or, asked from a different point of view, “What is the value for us, the funding agency, to (continue to) fund conservation (you)?”
A Socratic dialogue does not answer the question posed, but helps the participants dig deeper into the issue. The Socratic dialogue brought up a number of issues and concerns, not only referring to the question of what the value of conservation is, but also of what value itself means, what motivates conservators, and what it is that they are conserving. Here is a sample of what the participants found to be the essence of the dialogue:
- What is “value”?
- Are values shared across cultures? Across time?
- How has the value of the conservator changed over time?
- Can we combine our values with those of our stakeholders in our treatments?
- How do we preserve intangible aspects of cultural that do not have objects associated with them, i.e. … sense of humor?
- Positioning material culture with the richness of human engagement.
- If the value of conservation is that it preserves cultural heritage, how do we justify the value of cultural heritage?
- How do we share our passion?
- How do we balance our role as interpreters with our ideal of neutrality?
- Conservators contribute something essential to the significance of material objects and how these object can help us gain a better understanding of what it means to be human.
- Conservation is a tool that helps facilitate better understanding and appreciation of material culture through preservation and documentation.
- Value is intangible and conservators help to preserve often physical objects that give people the chance to connect, now or eventually, to those very personal values.
- ΔG = ΔH – TΔS
- I leave better able to articulate the societal importance of what we do and secure in the knowledge that others grapple with the same issues.
The response to the Socratic dialogue was overwhelmingly positive. The participants found this form of dialogue an excellent way to delve deeper into the question. It gave them the possibility to think and express their own opinions without being challenged, and then have a “safe”, non-aggressive environment to consider the deeper issues at hand. A full report has been submitted to AIC News for publication in September.
The AIC plans to conduct a Socratic dialogue at next year’s annual meeting in San Francisco. While a number of the essences are ideal topics in themselves, if you have suggestions for a topic, especially related to the sustainability theme of the meeting, please send them to the moderator/organizer, Bill Wei at b.wei@cultureelerfgoed.nl . For those participants who did not leave their e-mail addresses, he would also like to hear your comments and suggestions.
41st Annual Meeting — Textile Session, May 30, “Finding the Ease: Approaches to Mounting and Installation at the Art Institute of Chicago,” by Isaac Facio and Lauren Chang
Isaac Facio, Conservation Assistant, and Lauren Chang,Conservator of Textiles, jointly presented the techniques and mounts they have developed, in concert with other Art Institute of Chicago staff, to “find the ease” in mounting and installing textiles at that museum. They showed three mounting systems, which could be helpful to many other institutions. All were the result of that old saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” They needed to devise simpler and more efficient techiniques for getting textiles onto display because they had fewer people and less time to install more textiles…..a situation familiar to many of us.
To mount medium- to large-sized textiles that would be displayed vertically, they devised a three-part mount, consisting of a fabric-covered board, into which the textile can be pin-mounted (their method of choice for temporary mounts for strong-enough pieces), a C-shaped, metal “kick out” or metal angle bracket to support the bottom of the mount and create a 10 degree angle, and wall cleats for the top.
To mount long textiles that were stored rolled and that needed to have part of the textile rolled for display, they developed a rolling system that fits into brackets that are secured to the walls. The system permits the textiles to go from rolled storage to display without the need for re-rolling. This saves time and aviodes excess handling. The bracket system is one that I would love to see made available commercially.
Finally, they described what they had done to make it possible to mount the large tapestry exhibit, The Divine Art: Four Centuries of European Tapestries. For this exhibit, they needed to mount at least seven tapestries per day, so they needed a system that would be both more efficient and less stressful for staff than how they had previously installed tapestries. The system they developed has two significant innovations. Rather than using a flat “beam” to hold the hook side of Velcro, as is often done, they developed a metal “double-I-beam” style beam, with a square profile. To support this beam, they used a shelf of MDO. The square beam prevented the tapestry from canting forward when hanging. The shelf allowed the tapestry, on the beam, to be lowered into place, with minimal handling.
This is how Lauren and Isaac described the installation process:
• The MDO shelf was secured to the wall with drywall screws at a predetermined height.
• The soft, or fuzzy, side of the Velcro, which was sewn to the tapestry during treatment, was secured to the “double-I-beam” while both were still on the floor.
• A three-foot long two-by-four was placed into the space within the “double-I-beams” at each end, to serve as handles for the installation.
• They positioned a pair of hydraulic lifts with platforms at either side of the tapestry. The lifts were outfitted with arms extending in front of them.
• They placed the two-by-four “handles” on the lifts’ “arms.”
• With one person running each lift and Lauren standing back to guide the positioning, the tapestry – on its “double-I-beam” was lifted into place.
• The “double-I-beam” was then secured to the wall, and the “handles” removed from the beams.
Although I have tried to capture what Isaac and Lauren showed and told, I know I have missed many details. This is a paper for which I will eagerly await the Postprints. I’m hoping that they can include the video clip of the tapestry installation that they showed during the talk.
Thank you ECPN "Mentors"!
When you think of the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN), you likely think of the officers and the majority of members who are pre-program students, graduate students, and recent graduates. The many seasoned professionals who are involved in ECPN are probably less likely to come to mind. ECPN would like to take a moment to share how our “mentors” are engaged in ECPN and thank them for their thoughtfulness, generosity, and time, which have greatly contributed to our success.
Two AIC Staff Liaisons and an AIC Board Liaison serve on the ECPN committee and are actively involved in its daily activities. Ruth Seyler, Ryan Winfield, and Stephanie Lussier respectively currently hold these positions. From providing guidance on daily activities to helping us plan our events at the AIC annual meeting, ECPN literally could not function without them!
AIC-ECPN’s Mentoring Program matches seasoned conservators (AIC Fellows or Professionals Associates) with emerging conservators (AIC Students, Interim Year Members or Associates) to engage in mentorships that focus on topics such as, providing pre-program experience guidance to post-graduate career guidance. In 2012-2013, twenty-four mentors volunteered countless hours of their time to strengthening the emerging conservator community.
ECPN is always taking on new projects. For many of those projects, we ask seasoned conservators to share their expertise and experience with us. From 2012-2013, the following seasoned conservators assisted us with a variety of initiatives: Rachel Perkins Arenstein – AIC 2013 poster, “The Art Con<server>: How conservation professionals make use of online resources”; Julia Brennan, Rosa Lowinger, and Paul Messier – November 2012 webinar, “Considering your future career path: working in private practice”; Suzanne Davis and Kathleen Kiefer – AIC 2013 Portfolio Session; Debbie Hess Norris – July 2012 webinar, “Self-advocacy and Fundraising for Independent Research,” and fundraising support; Nancie Ravenel – AIC 2013 poster and AIC Lexicon Project; Rebecca Rushfield – student research resource; Liz Schulte – public relations toolkit; Sarah Stauderman – ECPN resources; Emily Williams and the Education and Training Committee – mentoring program. And, we are thrilled that many of these seasoned conservators will be continuing to work with us!
As we enter our sixth year as a network and reflect upon the many projects and programs we have been able to develop, we are aware of just how many have helped us. Thank you ECPN “Mentors.” We are profoundly grateful!
– Eliza Spaulding, ECPN Chair
41st Annual Meeting – Architecture Session, May 30, “Fifteen Shades of Grey…? Paint Color Analysis on the Eames House,” by Emily MacDonald-Korth, Alan Phenix, Tom Learner, and Kyle Normandin
The Eames house was designed in 1949 by Charles and Ray Eames as the eighth house in the case study house program of the Arts & Architecture magazine. The Eames lived in the home until their deaths; after 1988 the house remained untouched. In 2011, the contents of the living room were reassembled at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) for an exhibition. It was at this time that the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) provided investigation and scientific analysis to determine the conservation issues and plans for the house. The 2011-2012 initiative of the Eames House conservation program was to determine the paint stratigraphy of the interior and exterior of the home. This presentation discussed the approach, technology used, sample extraction, and findings for the Eames House investigation.
The study included 15 samples and 6 in-situ investigations from the interior and exterior of the house. In on-site storage, the team located painted plates and several date labeled paint cans that were used for comparison. The team deployed the use of optical microscopy, EDS cross-sectional photo, micrographs, and stratigraphic examination in order to identify the layers of paint present. It was noted that the limited number of samples may not represent all of the paint layers present, for this reason cross-sectional and in-situ excavation were used in conjunction of each other to cross reference findings.
To begin the study, the team identified the known timeline of painting campaigns, for this they relied on historical documentation. The following was known about the house:
- 1949-House built
- 1978-Charles’ death
- 1978-repair campaign
- 1988-Ray’s death
- 1989-painting campaign
- 1994-painting repair
- 2003-painting campaign
- The house & studio show similar paint layers, but the interiors differ
Initial comparison of exterior cross-section and excavation indicate that the two areas have similar stratigraphy. When in comparison, they were able to loosely date the layers to the appropriate painting campaigns. Paint extractions were then separated by paint layers and material composition. The team was able to determine that the earlier paint layers were mixed through subtractive color mixing; this type of mixing technology indicates that great care went into the color mixing and selection process.
Primer layers show that a warm grey was the first layer, with no evidence of dirt between the layers. At this time it was hypothesized that the exterior color was changed to black from 1978-1988. The paint analysis showed a series of gray paints with compositional overlap and two zinc based primer layers. Most samples have two layers below the zinc primer that are the same in composition to the exterior first two layers. Based on these results, it was determined that the first generation warm gray layer exists on the interior and exterior of the house.