BROMEC, the Bulletin of Research on Metal Conservation, requests research abstracts (max. 400 words) and professional meeting announcements (max. 75 words) for BROMEC 35, to be published online.
BROMEC continues to keep you up to date with metals conservation research activities between the triennial ICOM-CC Metal Working Group meetings.
Submissions can be made in English, French or Spanish – the BROMEC Editorial Team will translate and publish submissions in the three language versions of BROMEC. Refer to BROMEC 28 at www.warwick.ac.uk/bromec, where you can freely access all the previous issues of BROMEC. And for subscription to BROMEC: www.warwick.ac.uk/bromec-subscription.
We trust these simultaneous multilingual issues will increase communication across a greater cross-section of the world’s metal heritage conservation research community.
The final submission date is Wednesday, December 11, 2013, and contributions should be emailed to bromeceditor [at] gmail [dot] com.
–Submitted by James Crawford, PhD student, University of Warwick
Month: November 2013
The difficult philosophical questions never go away
In his essay, “Damage Control” (Harper’s Magazine, December 2013), Ben Lerner raises the touchy subject of the relationship between art and money. Focusing on acts of vandalism to works of art carried out by people who say they are artists, Lerner confronts us with the fact that vandalism that increases the dollar value of a work of art is not considered vandalism. Thus, when the Chapman Brothers purchased a suite of Goya’s “Los Caprichos” etchings, “reworked and improved” them, and sold them for $26,000 a print, they were creating art, while if my neighbor were to allow her fifteen year old son who enjoys making art to draw on the same set of prints, their value would be decreased and his act would be considered vandalism. If a conservator were to be given both sets of prints and not told anything about them, would that conservator feel that both sets required intervention?
Conference on "Conservation and Its Contexts" to be streamed live
As part of the Mellon Research Initiative of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, Jim Coddingto, Chief Conservator of The Museum of Modern Art has organized a conference on “Conservation and Its Contexts” which will take place on Saturday December 7, 2013 between 10am and 5pm. The conference will examine the emerging interactions between conservation and associated disciplines including art history, archaeology, and ethnography. The speakers will be Noemie Etienne, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Fine Arts; Michael Gallagher, Sherman Fairchild Conservator in Charge of Paintings Conservation, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Fernando Dominquez Rubio, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, UC-San Diego; and GlennWharton, Clinical Associate Professor of Museum Studies, NYU.
For those who cannot attend in person, the conference will be streamed live at http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/fineart/events/livestream.htm
Postgraduate Conservation Associate in Painting Conservation (Yale Center for British Art)
The Yale Center for British Art invites applications for a 12 month postgraduate conservation associate in painting conservation beginning in early 2014. The successful candidate will be asked to study and treat a selection of works belonging to a collection of paintings bequeathed to Yale by the Libra Foundation, from the family of Nicholas and Susan Pritzker. The majority of paintings are late mid-twentieth century works by British artists working in a domestic setting. Among those represented in the collection are Gwen John, Vanessa Bell, Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, Henry Islander, John Minton, Keith Vaughan, Carol Wight, and Pamela Clough. Treatment problems range from superficial cleanings, minor consolidations to a few more complex cleanings and structural repairs. The opportunity for research is presented by the variety of surface finishes and varnishes on this twentieth century collection.
The work will be carried out in the painting conservation studio of the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT. Candidates must have advanced degree in Conservation, or have equivalent experience, and be legally entitled to work in the United States. Preference will be given to applicants applying within three years of the award of their degree.
Stipend for the position is $ 36,000 per annum, plus benefits.
Please submit the following no later than December 20, 2013:
- Cover letter describing career goals and why this position is of particular interest to you.
- CV
- Three (3) letters of recommendation
Interview with portfolio will be required
Applications should be sent electronically to: mark.aronson@yale.edu
Mark Aronson
Chief Conservator
Yale Center for British Art
P.0. Box 208280
New Haven CT 06520
All candidates applying for positions at the Yale Center for British Art will be subject to pre-employment screening. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of a background and credit check.
ECPN September 2013 Meeting Minutes
ECPN MEETING
Tuesday, September 10, 2013 | 12-1pm ET
Network Members in Attendance:
Eliza Spaulding (Chair)
Michelle Sullivan (co-Professional Education and Training)
Anisha Gupta (Webinars)
Saira Haqqi (co-Outreach)
Carrie McNeal (co-Outreach)
Fran Ritchie (co-Communications)
Ryan Winfield (AIC Staff Liaison)
Ruth Seyler (AIC Staff Liaison)
Stephanie Lussier (AIC Board Liaison)
Members Unable to Attend:
Megan Salazar-Walsh (Vice-Chair)
Ayesha Fuentes (co-Professional Education and Training)
Kendall Trotter (co-Communications)
Non-Members in Attendance: Daisy Demarche
Agenda:
Meeting minutes from July 1, 2013 were approved.
Discussion of AIC conference:
Eliza -For the 2014, we should think about what activities we could offer our emerging community to incorporate as many people as possible (pre-program, grad students, post grad). Perhaps we could alternate portfolio session every other year so we can add new activities to the conference. Thoughts on the potential ideas listed?
Carrie- Likes the ideas of speed networking, career coaching, and the idea to alternate portfolio sessions, but expresses concern over compensation for those helping with the networking and coaching, etc.
Eliza- Although not specifically discussed yet, these ideas are from the AAM conference that she and Molly attended, where they were all volunteer roles and carefully curated selections. We’d want to do it similarly.
Saira- Agree on idea of having portfolio session every other year— more geared towards pre-program, whereas other programs geared more towards graduate and post graduate, so hitting two different groups.
Eliza- Good points, when thinking about the annual conference, we must meet as much of our demographic as possible. Poster to address digital portfolios could be the portfolio side to it, helping pre-program (and others).
Michelle- There was original discussion over the digital portfolio poster being more effective if paired with a session, but since it’s digital (not traditional portfolio), it takes it beyond pre-program.
Stephanie- Expectations for ECPN at the annual meeting…ECPN has had happy hour and informational meeting, and session (portfolio the last couple years). Unlikely that we could have two programs (one portfolio and one on networking/resume/coaching), so think about crafting a program that meets the needs of all, or alternate years for reaching pre- and post- graduates. With the speed networking and coaching, it’s possible to engage the entire demographic. Emerging post grads can meet with pre program, and then senior conservators can meet with emerging post grads. This can be a customized experience, the big thing would be finding the right people to participate. Seems like there are many willing.
Saira- sounds like Stephanie addressed concerns about reaching out to all demographics. The conference (and our session) is an opportunity for pre-programs to meet other people. Important to reach that demographic as well.
Eliza- Yes. And in terms of the poster on digital portfolio, it seems like the poster can be on its own (not with a session). I would encourage you to continue working on abstract.
Carrie- Reiterate that the digital portfolio poster is something that AIC was interested in having for a talk, so there is interest within the broader community.
Eliza- Also agree that it would be great to have continuity of programs from last AIC’s (so happy hr, info meeting, poster) and then other dedicated program would be coaching/speed networking. Personally leaning towards speed networking because it was a fun and great way to meet other colleagues and practice introductory skills
Ruth- New idea- occurs to me that one idea is that it might be possible to combine networking and coaching into one session. This year there won’t be very many specialty groups doing lunches, so possible to put specialty groups on one day and have this as a lunch session in an atrium space that they can close off very well, but fun open space with lots of windows (huge, but can’t present in it). Perhaps speed network from 12-1, then coaching/resume review after that. Provide to volunteers who do this a boxed lunch on ECPN’s dime. A two hour time block that people are in the space. It will just take time to line everything up. If want to, take those events and put under one umbrella because they are similar and similar in set up. Maybe combine the info. meeting and portfolio? (If possible to do portfolio without a/v equipment.)
Eliza- Great idea to fit in both; the way you outlined it would be perfect.
Ruth- Be in good shape to get volunteers since less formal lunches for specialty groups this year.
Eliza- It would be hard to eat and network, though; we’d have to think about participants.
Anisha- if we played with idea and did, depending on timing, eating during an intro to ECPN, and then go into the other programs. Think about a way to work around it/work in eating.
Ruth- Could do boxed lunches at start, or if divided into two sessions with a break in the middle. And it depends on how many set ups we have…probably in an area where can have lunches/round tables during a 30 min break. For example, one session 12-12:40, then lunch, and then a second session from 1:15-2.
Eliza- That could be a good way to make it work.
Carrie- Good idea to switch up conference programs and people might want to see something new.
Michelle- Sounds like a great idea, rich program with a lot to offer the demographics of our membership.
Eliza- Let’s plan on that; we can start to develop the programs. Anything else for AIC conference, Ruth?
Ruth- Might want to think about it you want a happy hour in the hotel, or outside the hotel, since we’ll be close to so many things. This hotel doesn’t have a fun bar like the one in Indy did. But the advantage to having it in the hotel is that people arriving can see the event based on where bar is. But might be possible to get some space/bar with a water view. We can think about how to put it on the registration form (like a box to check) so we can make people aware of it really early on.
Eliza- I can share with Ruth how AAM ran it and see what she thinks.
Status of liaison program
Carrie- For the regional liaisons… Been in touch with those listed on Writeboard and updated for people who have confirmed that they’d like to stay on and where they’re located. (And where we need to find new ones.) Current concern is that don’t have very many; have large areas covered but need to ramp it up a little bit. May be good to reach out to Facebook community and see if we could get some interest from people in different areas to get them on the list. In the meantime, working on creating a toolkit for them, and after it gets fleshed out, we’ll share. It’s a package of resources, like suggestions for workshops/happy hr/activities, info on ECPN in general, report form for liaison if they do have an event so we can know how it’s going. Once complete, we’ll send toolkit to liaisons and then schedule a conference call with liaisons (Saira and Carrie) to talk about ideas and programs in general; what expecting to get out of it.
Eliza- Sounds good, not just regional, but also specialty groups and graduate program liaisons. Making a list of those we need? Yes.
Saira- For the grad school liaisons… Those from Columbia and UCLA graduated or gone, so asked them for suggestions for new liaisons. Have a list of students from each program. Want to find a way to connect pre-program people with liaisons. What about a pre program “Dear Abby” on the blog so we can send questions to all grad school liaisons and pass around to get answers.
Anisha- Excellent idea. Thinking when I was pre program and don’t want to contact specific person, so just want to know what everyone’s experiences are at different places. Maybe a dedicated gmail account for grad liaisons where people can send e-mails and liaisons check and answer? But column idea sounds better. More fun to get conservation opinions and a range of responses.
Eliza- And having that live on the blog?
Carrie- yes, a sort of Dear Abby post every other month.
Eliza- Curious to see how open people feel on a platform like AIC blog. Could be fun to try and see what response we get.
Carrie- We would definitely be careful about which questions to answer on blog- mostly general questions on how the programs are structured and keep as positive as possible.
Anisha- There has been an interesting discussion on the Facebook page that got several comments. Moving this discussion to the blog would be more formal, but could get the questions from Facebook answered on the blog.
Eliza- Thinking about that, too, that this dialogue already happens on Facebook. What is the advantage of doing it on blog vs. Facebook?
Saira- Well, it seems like the same conversations on Facebook were started by pre program people and a lot of people were responding by saying message me to talk about it. In a private message, the woman said she only knew about the Buffalo program because that’s the only program where she knew people. So if she hadn’t reached out, she wouldn’t know more about other programs. There’s no other way to get that info., plus the blog is searchable, (meaning we don’t have to answer same question multiple times) and read by more people. We will have limitations because there will be questions we can’t answer on the blog. We need both- to put people in touch with private messages and answer basic questions with a general blog.
Eliza- Was thinking the same thing. Good idea, just continue to think about it. We’re also trying to build up written resources that we have, to make a bank of resources that we can link people since we’re often fielding same questions.
Carrie- Agree with idea of blog being searchable and a big advantage. Also, Facebook can be overwhelming and easy to miss things when more activity on the page. Putting it all in blog with searchable fields that people can go look it up would be good. (Facebook isn’t searchable.)
Eliza- And true, blog read by more of the conservation community than Facebook page. At this point, good idea. Can you write up something to envision how it would work? Share with group and then we’ll evaluate once more. And good to involve graduate liaisons more. Do you feel like we have a sense of liaisons we need to find?
Carrie- We have liaisons in places where didn’t know we needed them, so we were thinking it might be effective (or a mess?) to reach out to Facebook to see if people are interested in working with the liaison program. Any more suggestions with how to go about that?
Anisha-Based on experiences from last year, you’d be surprised that if you don’t specify a city, you don’t get as many responses. Maybe try a specific city or ask if someone knows of someone. Announce on Facebook, never know, could be a good way.
Carrie- So reach out to specific cities (for example, Austin), saying if anyone in Austin is interested would be better than a general call for liaisons?
Anisha- Recommend trying anything because nothing was super successful.
Eliza- Anisha, thanks for sharing your experience from last year. Maybe double up efforts to see if people who stepped down have someone in mind?
Carrie- Did get some recommendations that way, but I think that resource may be exhausted at this point. Will try various options to see where get a response.
Eliza- Good to have dedicated liaison call, but we try to include them in every other call, so November call can be a liaison call. We’ll tentatively aim for that and see how it goes. Thanks for all good thoughts on that.
Status of mentoring program:
Eliza brought up the mentoring program from Megan, who could not call in. This will be a big conversation, though, and will be saved for later discussion.
Webinar Update:
Eliza- Anisha, was just talking to Stephanie about the technology for the next webinar. As things stand, seems like it would only work if Tom initiates google hangout and then go to webinar, putting all tech burden on Tom, not us. Thoughts on switching gears and just doing go to webinar with a straightforward PowerPoint?
Anisha- It would be nice if we had control, and since working with Eric, feels like would be nice to have central location to control it, especially with four speakers. (Thus adding more stress.)
Eliza- So we could email people letting them know this is our plan moving forward (to just use Go To Webinar)? We could ask each speaker for a few photos of their studios/ working with people, etc.
Anisha- Yes, some kind of visual as they respond to the questions. We could put our group questions as text (and to keep us on track)… but it would be nice to have string of photos to go with any topic.
Eliza- We’ll see how many pictures people will share with us; nothing elaborate. Simple slides with some information and visual stimulation. Let’s plan on that. And when are we able to schedule next practice call… next week?
Anisha- Just sent a poll for the next practice call… trying to set it up.
AIC Lead Article
Eliza- AIC lead article. I encourage everyone to read it, as this week is last week to work on it and it’s our first lead article. Thoughts to share on it? Especially the implications and recommendations section, but it will be richer with a diversity of opinion. Eliza will work with Michelle this week to edit.
Michelle- Wouldn’t want to do without other people’s input.
Eliza- Sent article last night to several people for input and asked if they could get back by Friday. The 2 people who have already responded didn’t have substantial comments. This weekend will be big on editing.
Review of roles
Eliza- Anyone have any questions or comments on their roles as we’ve settled in?
Michelle- It has been difficult to catch up with Ayesha, but we’re going to focus on different projects and that should make it easier.
Eliza- Email any questions. Keep in mind that we’re in these roles until next meeting, so next year would be great to have continuity. Think about this as settle into role- would you be interested in continue to work on next year? Just think about it and we’ll discuss mid-year.
Confirm next call: Tuesday, November 12th, from 12-1.
Respectfully submitted by Fran Ritchie
Oppose Devastating Cuts to NEH!
Now that the government shutdown is over and Congress is beginning new budget negotiations, the proposed 49 percent cut to the National Endowment for the Humanities is back on the table. Just two weeks ago, one of the budget negotiators invoked the cut as he questioned the appropriateness of NEH grants. You can make sure that his are not the last words that our elected officials hear on the value of NEH by sending a message today.
We need you, your friends, and your colleagues to send messages in support of renewed investments in the humanities. Thousands of messages from advocates helped to put the proposed cuts on hold this summer, and by sending this new message, you can oppose the cuts and help restore NEH’s critical support for the humanities.
Lend your name to the effort by sending a message to your elected representatives.
Click on the link below to send a message:
http://cqrcengage.com/nhalliance/app/write-a-letter?0&engagementId=28058
Help us reach more advocates by sharing this message with your friends.
Background
In its FY 2014 budget resolution, the House of Representatives Budget Committee called for the complete elimination of funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities, writing that the programs funded by NEH “…go beyond the core mission of the federal government, and they are generally enjoyed by people of higher-income levels, making them a wealth transfer from poorer to wealthier citizens.” The House subcommittee that oversees the NEH’s appropriation has followed through on the spirit of this resolution by approving a 49 percent cut to the agency’s budget.
Funding for NEH is already at just 29 percent of its peak and 62 percent of its average.
After years of deep cuts, the Obama Administration has proposed restoring some of NEH’s capacity with a 12 percent increase in funding.
Click on the link below to send a message:
http://cqrcengage.com/nhalliance/app/write-a-letter?0&engagementId=28058
If you're going to be in Chicago in mid-February…
There will be sessions of particular interest for conservators at the 2014 annual meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the College Art Association (CAA), both of which are to take place in Chicago in February—the CAA from February 12-15 and the AAAS from February 13- 17.
At the AAAS meeting on February 14th from 10:00- 11:30am there will be a session on “Preserving Our Cultural Heritage: Science in the Service of Art”, organized by Nicholas Bigelow and Leonor Sierra of the University of Rochester and from 1:00- 2:30pm there will be a session on “Reconstructing and Deconstructing Paintings: Innovations At and below the Surface”, organized by Francesca Casadio of The Art Institute of Chicago and Katherine Faber of Northwestern University.
At the CAA Meeting on February 12th from 12:30- 2:00pm there will be a “Learning to Look Workshop” on the technical aspects of Claude Monet’s Paintings to be held in the galleries of the Art Institute of Chicago (which I have organized) and from 2:30- 5:00pm there will be a session on “Secrets of the Old Masters: Materials, Manuals, and Myths” organized by Kristin Renee deGhetaldi and Brian Baade of the University of Delaware. On February 15th at 9:00am, there will be a Public Art Dialogue on “Vandalism, Removal, Relocation, Destruction: The Dilemma of Public Art’s Permanence”, organized by Erika Doss of the University of Notre Dame.
Read the November issue of AIC News now!
What contains…
- An article discussing the many online resources for conservation research?
- A description of a Socratic Dialogue session conducted at the 2013 AIC Annual Meeting?
- Important updates about the MSDS and chemical safety?
- Links to many new conservation webinars?
- A list of eight publications of interest to conservators?
- Notification of the latest student research?
- And three new position and fellowship announcements?
The November 2013 issue of AIC News! It’s one of the many great benefits of AIC membership.
This issue is now available online and as a pdf. Members should check their email for the information, or visit www.conservation-us.org/aicnews to get access to the latest issue (members must log in first). Note that the conferences, call for papers, and workshop listings are updated as they come in, and may contain more in-depth information than is included in the PDF version.
Submissions for the January issue should be sent by December 1st to me or Lisa Goldberg. Happy reading!
–Bonnie
www.conservation-us.org/contact
A Living Legacy of Preserving Art
e d i t o r’s n o t e from 
The holiday season now fast approaching is that time of year when Hollywood’s better films are released. One that I particularly hope to catch is The Monuments Men, which features an all-star cast headed by George Clooney and Matt Damon. Clooney has not only directed and co-produced the film, but co-adapted its screenplay from the bestselling book published in 2009 by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter, The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History.
The film and book tell the remarkable true story of a team of American and British art conservators, historians, and curators who worked fast, and effectively, to protect European artworks and monuments during and just after World War II. Clooney bears an uncanny physical resemblance to the man he plays, George Stout (1897-1978), who, before the war, had headed the
groundbreaking conservation department at Harvard University’s Fogg Art Museum.
Read the rest of Peter Trippi’s Editor’s Note column from the November/December issue of Fine Art Connoisseur here.
About Editor Peter Trippi
Peter Trippi has edited Fine Art Connoisseur since 2006. Previously, he directed New York’s Dahesh Museum of Art, which specialized in 19th-century European academic painting and sculpture; before that, he held senior posts at the Brooklyn Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art. In 2002, Phaidon Press published Trippi’s monograph J W Waterhouse, which reassesses the Victorian painter best known for his Lady of Shalott at Tate Britain. Trippi went on to co-curate the Waterhouse retrospective that appeared 2008-2010 in the Netherlands, England, and Canada. He is currently president of Historians of British Art, former chair of the Courtauld Institute of Art’s U.S. Alumni Group, and a board member of the Association of Historians of Nineteenth-Century Art, American Friends of Attingham, and Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation.
The allure of the damaged
In the recently published novel, “Asunder” by Chloe Aridjis (Mariner Books), Marie, the main character, is a guard in the National Gallery in London where her great-grandfather had been a guard. As the novel progresses, Marie becomes increasingly fascinated by the craquelure in the paintings’ surfaces. Are people in general more attracted to the damaged work of art than to the perfect and whole?