AIC Blog Archives: Conservators Converse
Former Blog of the American Institute for Conservation
Sanchita Balachandran recently posted to the Conservation DistList about her new blog, Critical Issues In Art Conservation. The blog is part of an undergraduate course she’s teaching at Johns Hopkins. Check out what her students are posting/saying. And we agree with Sanchita – it would be great if the seasoned professionals that the students are learning about interact with them. Check it out>>
IMLS is announcing some interesting new conservation projects funded by a partnership with Bank of America. I’ll post the quote the press release for your enjoyment:
Washington, DC-A school attendance record taken by Robert Frost when he served as a substitute teacher, a gown worn to the second inaugural ball of Abraham Lincoln, and a painted trunk made in 1702 in Uppsala, Sweden, will be preserved for future generations with grants from the American Heritage Preservation Program awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. Click here to view the list of recipients http://www.imls.gov/news/2010/031110_list.shtm.
“Based on the number of applications that IMLS received and the impact that awardees from 2009 have begun to share, we believe that this program meets a critical need in the museum and library communities,” said Anne-Imelda M. Radice, IMLS Director. “Organizations are improving the stewardship of these significant artifacts and documents and involving their community in the process.”
“At Bank of America, we have made support of the arts a high priority and a key part of serving our customers, associates, and communities. That includes honoring our cultural heritage as well as helping to sustain the arts for the future,” said Rena DeSisto, Global Arts and Heritage Executive for Bank of America. “This partnership with IMLS enables the preservation of cherished artifacts that instill pride in our communities and attest to the values this country was built upon.”
This grant program is an important part of IMLS’s Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action, a multiyear, multipronged initiative to protect our national treasures. Nearly 190 million objects in U.S. collections are in immediate danger of deterioration and need restoration or conservation, according to the Heritage Health Index report.
Through this public-private partnership, 36 museums and 18 libraries and archives will receive individual grants of up to $3,000 to preserve treasures that convey the essential character and experience of the United States. The 54 grants totaling $156,346 are being awarded to museums, libraries, and archives to treat, re-house, and improve the storage environments of important collections.
Funded projects include:
? The library of the Methuen Historical Commission in Methuen, Massachusetts will use funds to clean, stabilize, and rebind the “Frost Register,” a record of school attendance during the time at which Robert Frost was a substitute teacher in his mother’s classroom. The document will also be scanned and made available online. The original will be available by appointment and will be highlighted in a future exhibit.
? Historic Spanish Point, a historic site preserving the houses and collections of early Sarasota, Florida, will conserve the violin, bow, and violin case once owned by Frank Guptill and his wife Lizzie Guptill, early pioneers of the town. Once treated, the violin and case will be exhibited in the parlor of the Guptill House, built in 1901, which interprets life in Victorian Sarasota.
? The Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle, Washington will stabilize and treat the painted surface of a Swedish trunk that was made circa 1702 in Uppsala, Sweden.
Traveling as a family heirloom with Swedish immigrants to the United States during the 19th century, it is a rare example of 18th century Swedish craft. Upon completion of the work, the trunk will be highlighted in the newly reinstalled Folk Art Gallery.
? The Postal History Foundation’s Slusser Library in Tucson, Arizona will conserve three rare books in the collection on postal history and philately. After restoration, the volumes will be rebound and rehoused so that they are available for researchers on site, and will be part of a larger project to make all of the library’s holdings available online in late 2010. The library will also install a hygrothermograph and UV filters to improve the environment of the entire collection.
? The Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka, Kansas will use funds to conserve a rare gown worn to the second inaugural ball of Abraham Lincoln by the wife of the Secretary of Interior. After treatment of the delicate silk, the gown will be installed as part of a temporary exhibit at the museum and be available for loan to other museums. Previously only the evening bodice was stable enough for exhibit and travel; conservation will allow the dress to be seen in its entirety as an extraordinary example of mid-19th century finery.
The next application deadline is Sept. 15, 2010. For questions about museum projects, please contact Christine Henry, Senior Program Officer, at chenry@imls.gov, 202-653-4674. For questions about library or archival projects, please contact Kevin Cherry, Senior Program Officer, at kcherry@imls.gov, 202-653-4662.
Dear Colleagues,
I am currently teaching an undergraduate class called “Critical Issues in art conservation” to undergraduate students at the Johns Hopkins University. The course looks at issues in the history, ethics and contemporary practice of conservation and tries to grapple with how conservation changes art and artifacts, as well as our interpretations of them. As part of our course, the students contribute to a blog: www.criticalissuesinartconservation.blogspot.com. One student posts a new reflection on the reading for that week and his/her colleagues respond by posting comments to the blogpost. I think that it would be tremendously interesting and exciting to this group of dedicated and serious students if some of the authors of the articles they are reading (and you can find a reading list as a link at the blog) would comment on their blog entries and perhaps suggest weblinks of interest. Part of what I was hoping for in this blog was that it would be an interactive forum for the students, conservators and the general public. I’d be most grateful if you would look at the blog and the reading list, and if the authors we are reading especially (but all are welcome to comment) would write something in response to the blogposts. There is also a little poll that is posted on the blog to get a sense of who is looking at it. If you would kindly take the poll, that would be helpful to understand our audience as well. New student posts appear every Monday, so please do check back!
Also, any suggestions for me on other readings that might be appropriate for undergraduates would be most welcome.
with thanks in advance,
Sanchita Balachandran
Meg Loew Craft, President of AIC and senior objects conservator at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, will have a casual lunch discussion at the Winterthur Museum Research Building on March 11, 2010. It will be during lunch, around noon to 1PM.
The WUDPAC graduate students have been invited and anyone in the area is encouraged to attend. The purpose of the lunch discussion is to talk to Meg Craft about her work in AIC and to allow a forum for students to ask questions about AIC, and voice their concerns as emerging conservators.
Written-in questions are encouraged, and if you would like you can ask questions in the comments section of this post, or e-mail questions to me at rose.daly[at]gmail.com. It would be helpful to give a list of questions to Meg Craft before the meeting so she can be better prepared to answer them. A summary of the discussion will be posted on this ECPN blog.
Interns in the conservation department receive practical hands-on training in book and paper conservation at an intermediate level. This internship is for individuals who have at least a bachelor’s degree and who have 1-2 years of practical experience working in book and paper conservation, or for students currently enrolled in a formal conservation training program. Interns will undertake and complete a project based on their interests and skills and the needs and capabilities of the Conservation Department. At the end of the internship period, the intern will be required to produce a written report and possibly deliver a presentation of their work. An interview with the Senior Conservator is required (preferably on-site) and candidates should present a portfolio of completed treatments at that time.
To apply for an internship, please submit the following:
A cover letter that indicates the specific department(s) with which you would like to be placed;
A resume;
Two recommendations (at least one from a professor);
Some applicants may be required to provide a portfolio or other information, but they will be notified of this when they are called for an interview.
All applications must be submitted electronically only. Please email completed application package to internships@nyhistory.org with your name in the subject line. The cover letter, resume, and writing sample should be submitted together in one email. Recommendations must be emailed directly from the reference to internships@nyhistory.org and should have “Recommendation for Applicant’s Name” as the subject.
If you have any questions about this program, please contact Betsy Gibbons by email at internships@nyhistory.org or by phone at 212-485-9281.
The Education and Training Committee is looking for a current student to serve as a student liaison on our committee. The student liaison term would serve a 1 or 2 year term, depending upon their anticipated graduation, and begin after the 2010 Annual Meeting. Contact the ETC Chair, Jennifer Hain Teper (jhain@illinois.edu) if you are interested.
Conservation Department
Cincinnati Art Museum
The Cincinnati Art Museum is seeking an advanced paintings conservation intern for the June 1, 2010-August 19, 2010 time period. The Conservation Laboratory has been awarded a conservation grant from the Kinney Foundation for the extensive collection of Frank Duveneck paintings that are part of the museum’s permanent collection.
Candidates who demonstrate a career interest in the conservation of American Painting will be especially welcome to apply. Candidates must be fluent in both spoken and written English.
The internship is intended for students currently enrolled or recent graduates of one of the North American conservation graduate programs. The internship will include surveying and prioritizing the conservation needs of 119 paintings, technical examination and treatment of selected paintings and frames. The tasks will be coordinated and supervised by the Chief Conservator and by the Curator of American Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings.
The internship is set up to further the career of a conservator in training. The preferred candidate would posses strong organizational skills, solid understanding of the field of conservation including practical conservation techniques and current approaches both ethical and philosophical.
Please send a letter of interest along with Curriculum Vitae. In addition, enclose 2 letters of recommendation from conservation professionals familiar with the applicant’s work sealed in envelopes with the referee’s signature across the flap.
The application deadline is February 26th, 2010. Candidates chosen for a phone interview will have to submit additional information, such as treatment examples and scholastic research.
The internship is paid bi-weekly with a total stipend of approximately $4,500 that is subject to all applicable taxes.
The applicant will be notified no later than April 1st, 2010 by phone.
The Cincinnati Art Museum is an equal opportunity employer and is strongly committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment where a variety of backgrounds, cultures, orientations, ideas, and talents can flourish.
All applications should be sent to:
Jennifer Hart | Director of Human Resources
Cincinnati Art Museum
953 Eden Park Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Research and Writing provides editorial and business management services to artists, artisans, academics, professional practitioners and small non-profits. We are pleased to offer members of the Emerging Conservation Professional Network a discount on my services. Of special interest may be:
“500 Words or Less”: Writing an Abstract or Short Proposal
Next scheduled session: 20 April 2010.
Regular price: $50. ECPN price: $45, with complimentary editorial review of one abstract if submitted by 15 June 2010
Your Life as an Independent [Whatever]
A three-week online workshop for unemployed, underemployed and independently employed artists, artisans and academics–or anyone interested in learning more about integrating who you are and what you do. Develop the tools for your independent life. More information at http://www.scribd.com/doc/19645357/Your-Life-as-an-Independent-Whatever
Next scheduled session: 8-28 February. Regular price: $275 ECPN price: $245
Proposal Writing Workshop
A three-week online workshop about the writing process, focused on writing a proposal or bid. Bring your own project—a book or thesis proposal, a job application, project bid or other application-based writing project—or ask for an ‘assignment.” More information at http://www.scribd.com/doc/19645371/Proposal-Writing-Workshop
Next scheduled session: 24 January-13 February Regular price: $275 ECPN price: $245
Contact me for the deeper discount for groups of 5-8 and 8 or more.
I’m also pleased to offer ECPN members an across-the-board 10% discount on editorial or business consulting services.
You’ll find more information about Research and Writing and all the online courses, meetings, and hot topics meeting series we offer at http: bit.ly/RaWblog and at http://www.scribd.com/doc/23541119/Research-Writing-2010A
For editorial and consulting fee schedules, to register for these or other online courses with discount, questions, etc email me at researchandwriting.nyc@gmail.com
-Sarah Lowengard
The AIC Green Task Force would love to hear about treatment methods or materials that you have found are more environmentally sustainable than traditional ones. Even very small ideas can make a difference.
Please write to green@conservation-us.org with your suggestions. We are presenting a paper at the AIC 2010 Annual Meeting concerning sustainability in conservation. If you have photos illustrating sustainable practices and treatments that we can use in our a PowerPoint presentation, we will be sure to credit you. We are also looking for photos of waste that is produced in conservation treatment such as a large trash can full of paper towels, gloves, solvent use or styrofoam. Those photos can be anonymous if you wish.
Check out AIC’s Green Resources page for more information
We need your help. FAIC seeks to improve CoOL and the DistList, and increase their value to the conservation field and beyond. In an effort to do so, we have put together a short, voluntary survey of DistList subscribers and other users of the CoOL website and its various resources. Please help us develop these invaluable resources by taking a few minutes to complete the survey.
The DistList and Conservation Online (CoOL) were hosted by Stanford University Libraries for over twenty years. In the summer of 2009, Stanford announced that it could no longer support them, but agreed to transfer responsibility to the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC) effective June 19, 2009. CoOL and the DistList have been moved and reconfigured on a private server supported by FAIC.
Note that the survey will not display properly with the Safari browser. Please use Mozilla Firefox, Netscape, or Internet Explorer for this survey.