The Electronic Media Group (EMG) and Objects Specialty Group (OSG) of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) are joining with Voices in Contemporary Art (VoCA) to present a special joint session on the topic of collaboration with artists at the upcoming AIC Annual Meeting in Miami, FL, May 13-16, 2015.
Recognizing that artists have a stake in the legacy of their work has shifted conservation practice in recent decades. Moreover, it is possible to maintain a critical art historical discourse while also integrating the voices and opinions of the artists within preservation strategies for their artworks. The mission of organizations like VoCA has been guided by the possibilities of this shift. Increasingly, these practices are flourishing at major museums across the country.
Many conservators are actively seizing opportunities to interview and otherwise interact with artists. This session provides a venue for novice and experienced practitioners alike, from conservation and allied preservation-related fields, to share their outlook on and practice of collaboration with artists and their associates.
The sessions will be take place on Thursday, May 14, from 2pm-5:30pm, and Friday, May 15, from 8:30am-12:30pm. A ½ hour discussion will be held at the end of each day’s talks, led by Jill Sterrett on Thursday and Glenn Wharton on Friday.
The full schedule for the joint sessions is available here.
Author: Suzy Morgan
Call for Papers: Collaboration with Artists in the Preservation of Artistic Heritage: Theory and Practice
The Electronic Media Group (EMG) and Objects Specialty Group (OSG) of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) join with the International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art –North America (INCCA-NA) to call for papers for a special joint session on the topic of collaboration with artists at the upcoming AIC Annual Meeting in Miami, FL, May 13-16, 2015.
Recognizing that artists have a stake in the legacy of their work has shifted conservation practice in recent decades. Moreover, it is possible to maintain a critical art historical discourse while also integrating the voices and opinions of the artists within preservation strategies for their artworks. The mission of organizations like INCCA-NA has been guided by the possibilities of this shift. Increasingly, these practices are flourishing at major museums across the country.
Many conservators are actively seizing opportunities to interview and otherwise interact with artists. This session seeks to provide a venue for novice and experienced practitioners alike, from conservation and allied preservation-related fields, to share their outlook on and practice of collaboration with artists and their associates.
Topics to address may include but are not limited to:
- The AIC Annual Meeting theme of “Practical Philosophy or Making Conservation Work” What are the practical considerations in collaborating with artists? How does theory translate into practice and how does practice inform theory?
- What is the value in collaborating with artists? How has practice supported this?
- Interview tips and techniques.
- Collaboration with artists beyond the interview.
- Case studies.
- Collaboration with artists in the preservation of ephemeral materials, obsolete media, and installation art.
- Finding time and resources for an artist interview program.
How to Submit an Abstract
Email your abstract in Microsoft Word (NOT as a pdf) to Ruth Seyler, AIC Membership and Meetings Director, at rseyler@conservation-us.org.
Please send an abstract of 500 words maximum, along with a bio of 300 words maximum per author to Ruth by Wednesday, September 10, 2014. In the case of multiple authors, please list all authors and include an email address for each author. If you have questions or would like to discuss an idea for a session, please contact Ruth Seyler.
You may also submit your abstract for consideration for other sessions at the AIC Annual Meeting, as detailed below.
Please indicate your first choice session for your submission as “EMG/OSG/INCCA-NA Joint Session”.
Session Types
Abstracts will be considered for the following session types.
General Sessions – General Session papers must specifically address the meeting theme. Recent efforts to provide a variety of session formats will continue and authors accepted for general session presentations may receive requests to participate in lightning rounds or concurrent general sessions.
Specialty Sessions – Specialty Session papers are encouraged to address the meeting theme but may also explore other topics relevant to that specialty. Specialty sessions will include: Architecture, Book and Paper, Collection Care, Electronic Media, Health & Safety, Objects, Photographic Materials, Paintings, Research and Technical Studies, Sustainability, Textiles, and Wooden Artifacts.
Poster Session – Posters may address the meeting theme, but presenters can also address their current research interests. Posters are presented in the Exhibit Hall.
Submission Guidelines
- You may submit an abstract for a combination of the three session types: General Sessions, Specialty Sessions, or Poster Session. You may submit your presentation to only one or two sessions if you so choose.
- If you are submitting a Discussion/Interactive Session, please submit only for that, since the format is not compatible with the other General Session choices
- Please indicate on the abstract the session/sessions for which you want the paper to be considered.
- Please limit your choices to three sessions and rank them in order of preference. For example, your preferences could be one of the following:
- 1st Choice: General Sessions, 2nd Choice: Objects Session, and 3rd Choice: Wooden Artifacts Session
- 1st Choice: General Sessions, 2nd Choice: Poster Session, and 3rd Choice: Book and Paper Session
- 1st Choice: Photographic Materials Session, 2nd Choice: Electronic Media Session, and 3rd Choice: Research and Technical Studies Session
- 1st Choice: Book and Paper Session, 2nd Choice: Book and Paper Session, 3rd Choice: Book and Paper Session
- 1st Choice: General Sessions – Concurrent Interactive/Discussion Session
- When listing your three session choices, please remember that if you are interested in a joint session you only need to list that as a single option. For example: if you want your second choice to be the Book and Paper and Photographic Materials Joint Session, don’t list it as either Book and Paper Session or Photographic Materials Session but list it as the Book and Paper and Photographic Materials Joint Session.
Electronic Materials Group: Call for Papers for 2015 AIC Annual Meeting
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 13-16 2015 in Miami, FL.
For information about EMG, please see- http://www.conservation-us.org/specialty-groups/electronic-media#.U8x2h6g2ndQ
The theme of the meeting is “Practical Philosophy or Making Conservation Work.” (For details, please see: http://www.conservation-us.org/annual-meeting/submit-an-abstract#.U8x2oag2ndQ ) Submissions are particularly encouraged that address practical considerations in the preservation of electronic media and considerations of how theory translates into practice and how practice informs theory. However, all topics of interest to the Electronic Media Group will be considered.
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. – http://www.conservation-us.org/grants-scholarships#.U8x3cag2ndQ
Please join the conversation – Submit an abstract by Wednesday, September 10, 2014.
How to Submit an Abstract
Email your abstract in Microsoft Word (NOT as a pdf) to Ruth Seyler, AIC Membership and Meetings Director, at rseyler@conservation-us.org.
Please send an abstract of 500 words maximum, along with a bio of 300 words maximum per author to Ruth by Wednesday, September 10, 2014. In the case of multiple authors, please list all authors and include an email address for each author. If you have questions or would like to discuss an idea for a session, please contact Ruth Seyler.
You may also submit your abstract for consideration for other sessions at the AIC Annual Meeting, as detailed below.
If the EMG Session is your first choice as a venue for your paper, please be sure to indicate this within your submission.
Session Types
Abstracts will be considered for the following session types.
General Sessions – General Session papers must specifically address the meeting theme. Recent efforts to provide a variety of session formats will continue and authors accepted for general session presentations may receive requests to participate in lightning rounds or concurrent general sessions.
Specialty Sessions – Specialty Session papers are encouraged to address the meeting theme but may also explore other topics relevant to that specialty. Specialty sessions will include: Architecture, Book and Paper, Collection Care, Electronic Media, Health & Safety, Objects, Photographic Materials, Paintings, Research and Technical Studies, Sustainability, Textiles, and Wooden Artifacts.
Poster Session – Posters may address the meeting theme, but presenters can also address their current research interests. Posters are presented in the Exhibit Hall.
Submission Guidelines
- You may submit an abstract for a combination of the three session types: General Sessions, Specialty Sessions, or Poster Session. You may submit your presentation to only one or two sessions if you so choose.
- If you are submitting a Discussion/Interactive Session, please submit only for that, since the format is not compatible with the other General Session choices
- Please indicate on the abstract the session/sessions for which you want the paper to be considered.
- Please limit your choices to three sessions and rank them in order of preference. For example, your preferences could be one of the following:
- 1st Choice: General Sessions, 2nd Choice: Objects Session, and 3rd Choice: Wooden Artifacts Session
- 1st Choice: General Sessions, 2nd Choice: Poster Session, and 3rd Choice: Book and Paper Session
- 1st Choice: Photographic Materials Session, 2nd Choice: Electronic Media Session, and 3rd Choice: Research and Technical Studies Session
- 1st Choice: Book and Paper Session, 2nd Choice: Book and Paper Session, 3rd Choice: Book and Paper Session
- 1st Choice: General Sessions – Concurrent Interactive/Discussion Session
- When listing your three session choices, please remember that if you are interested in a joint session you only need to list that as a single option. For example: if you want your second choice to be the Book and Paper and Photographic Materials Joint Session, don’t list it as either Book and Paper Session or Photographic Materials Session but list it as the Book and Paper and Photographic Materials Joint Session.
42nd Annual Meeting – Book and Paper, May 31, Library Collections Conservation Discussion Group
The theme of this year’s Library Collections Conservation Discussion Group was “Options for Sustainable Practice in Conservation”, which tasked speakers to examine how conservators could lessen the carbon footprint of conservation work. Speakers included Brian Baird, from Bridgeport National Bindery, Danielle Creech of ECS Conservation, Julie Newton from Emory University, and Marieka Kaye of the University of Michigan Libraries. The speaker line-up was notably diverse, in that it included speakers from commercial binderies as well as those from labs within academic libraries.
Brian Baird had some good points about why conservators and labs should focus more on reducing waste, rather than just relying on recycling, to lessen their carbon footprint. For instance, recycling some items, such as ink cartridges, doesn’t do much good – the cartridges are shipped to China, where they remove the last few drops of ink, and the plastic cartridges still end up in the landfills. His ultimate take-away lesson was that no recycling program can be as efficient or cost-effective as simply reducing consumption of materials.
Danielle Creech spoke about the various iterations of ECS Conservation’s recycling program. Over the years, they’ve recycled everything from linotype and monotype waste, old equipment, old book covers, shrink-wrap packaging, and paper dust. They built a relationship with their County Solid Waste Management District, who helped partner them with a business-to-business recycling business called Quincy Recycling. With each iteration of their recycling program, ECS had to come up with creative solutions to reduce consumption as well as find ways to recycle various types of materials. Danielle made a very important point that recycling is NOT free, as it requires time and labor to train employees in the proper recycling procedures. She also mentioned that they have noticed some “recycling fatigue”, as employees constantly have to remember which of the 17 recycling barrels should be used for different kinds of waste.
Marieka Kaye outlined how both the library and her lab play a large part in promoting sustainability in the overall University of Michigan community, via the Library Green Team program. This program encompasses more than just recycling bins, by providing avenues for both staff and students to creatively reduce consumption as well as reuse materials within the library. For instance, their library staff intranet has a Craigslist-style office furniture swap listing, and the library sells reusable water bottles which can be used with the recently-installed water-bottle refill stations. In the conservation lab, they replaced the incandescent bulbs in the overhead lights with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.
Julie Newton started her talk off with the statement that “a box of lab scraps is a hundred tiny art projects waiting to happen”, which will resonate with anyone who loves to collage or make other types of paper-based art. Through her vigorous efforts, Julie was able to extend the life of many materials before they went into the recycling bins. She noted that while conservators are usually very frugal with their materials, such as Japanese tissue, they tend to be less frugal with more plebian materials such as box-making board or paper towels. She encouraged her staff to re-use scraps in creative ways, either within the lab or outside of it. She also acknowledged that you do have to ask yourself on occasion if the effort and time it takes to accumulate and repurpose scrap is worth it, versus just getting new materials. Making scrap useful is again, not a “free” activity, as it requires staff time to sort and organize it in a useful way.
I’ve made a list of the some of my favorite creative uses for scraps and “waste” that were presented by these speakers:
- Several thousand pounds of paper dust were repurposed as horse bedding when it was donated to an Amish farm by ECS.
- Excess rubber bands were donated by ECS to a teacher in Indiana, who is trying to break the record for the largest continuous rubber band ball.
- Some materials can be composted, such as paper towels, old paste, used tea bags.
- Scraps of board and paper can be donated to schools or local art programs and clubs.
All in all, the speakers acknowledged that recycling and reducing consumption requires some effort and staff time, but in the end it can make a big difference by improving the environment and providing a positive impact on our society. In addition, contributing to sustainability efforts helps strengthen our relationship with our surrounding community, by forging partnerships with local businesses and environmental groups.
What creative solutions for repurposing “waste” or reducing material consumption has YOUR lab undertaken? Share them in the comments!