Category: Allied Organizations

HISTORIC AND MODERN ASSEMBLAGES: TREATMENTS OF WOOD BASED MULTIMEDIA ARTWORKS/INTERIORS IN CONTEXT

Joint Interim Conference of the ICOM-CC Working Groups: Wood, Furniture, and Lacquer and Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decoration, kindly supported by the German Association of Conservator-Restorers (VDR) Specialty Group: Furniture and Wooden Artifacts.
Hosted in collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
Access the conference website

 
Date:         8-10 April, 2016
Location:   University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
Set within the historic gardens and palaces of Potsdam, this conference will focus on site-specific wooden works of art of a composite nature. Included in this broad theme are the exploration of the purpose and the complex means used to create these works consisting of multiple elements and mixed materials as well as the conservation strategies designed to preserve and display them.
This three-day conference will bring together an international roster of conservators, art historians, conservation scientists, and artists to share new research, past experiences, and their specific and varied expertise.
The conference will be divided into two days of presentations and followed by a day with guided tours of historic sites, museums and conservation studios. Lunch and coffee breaks will be accompanied by posters displayed in the main hall.
Presentations will focus in sessions on the following themes:
–    Assemblages in-situ: Architectural interiors
–    Conservation in-situ: Methods and challenges
–    Assemblages set in the museum context: Western, non-western and religious
–    Innovative techniques for documentation, conservation technology and analysis
The conference will be held in English

Program

Friday April 8th
SESSION 1: ASSEMBLAGES – HISTORICAL APPROACH
Keynote lecture – Speaker TBD
The paradise bed & the painted chamber of Westminster Palace c.1486
Helen Hughes
Charlemont medal cabinet (1767-68) designed by Sir William Chambers: A consideration of its past and future
Paul Tear
Conservation and recreation: The restoration of Sir John Soane’s private apartments at 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
Helen Dorey, Lyall Thow, Jane Wilkinson
Tegel Palace (1822-1826): A unique survival of the interiors designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel for Wilhelm von Humboldt
Martina Abri, Jörg Weber
SESSION 2: CONSERVATION IN SITU – METHODS AND CHALLENGES
The hall of catalogues and the hall of globes: The laser scanner survey and data collection of two complex 19th century libraries located within the Accademia delle Scienze, Turin
Stefania de Blasi
The Junkerhaus (1850-1912), Lemgo – An exposed wooden house and its contents: A review of the preventative conservation measures installed in 2001-2004
Norbert Grote
The Eremitage of the Neuer Garten in Potsdam: Investigation of the interior panelling and the original appearance
Gerald Grajcarek
SESSION 3:  DOCUMENTATION, TECHNOLOGY AND ANALYSIS
Modern methods of documentation for conservation: Photogrammetric evaluation of historic recordings
Gunnar Siedler, Sebastian Vetter
The scientific investigation of 18th and 19th polychrome furniture from the collections of the House of Esterházy, at Esterhazy Castle, used to inform conservation-restoration decisions
Sabine Stanek, Martina Griesser, Václav Pitthard, Susanne Kaefer, Florian T. Bayer
Capturing the history of finishes: A documentation tool for architectural paint research
Edwin Verweij and David Edvardson
Choir stalls (1537) from Transylvania: A conservation challenge saving every millimetre – the use of 3D laser scanners and digital techniques for their reconstruction
Gerdi Maierbacher-Legl, Christine Fiedler, Gunar Grossmann
SOCIAL EVENT IN THE EVENING
Saturday April 9th
SESSION 4: MUSEUM PRESENTATIONS – WESTERN ASSEMBLAGES
A rococo room from a Grachtenhuis in Amsterdam (1743-1748) in the Rijksmuseum: The reinstallation of the original fittings – and a streak of sunlight
Paul van Duin
The Bernstorff Suite at The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Its presentation and interpretation from the 18th to the 21st Century
Cynthia Moyer
The Period Rooms in the Swiss National Museum, Zurich: The 1898 installations conserved and reinstalled
Gaby Petrak
Building Backwards: Ornament defines structure in the installation of the Worsham-Rockefeller bedroom (1881) at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
F. Carey Howlett
“Are you still cooking or already eating?” – The reinstallation of a Frankfurt kitchen (1926-1931) provides a new understanding of built-in furniture of the period
Christian Dressen
SESSION 5: MUSEUM PRESENTATIONS – NON-WESTERN ASSEMBLAGES
Petioles, paint and steel: The conservation and re-installation of the Mariwai Village Kwoma ceremonial house ceiling at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007
Beth Edelstein, Christine Giuntini
The Alhambra Cupola in the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin:The history of a 14th century wooden ceiling, current conservation challenges and new prospects for a Nasrid masterpiece
Julia Gonnella, Anne Mollenhauer, Jutta Maria Schwed
Ornate panels from 18th and 19th century Damascene ʿajamī interiors: Conservation issues and Western perceptions of the ‘Orient’ revealed
Anke Scharrahs
SESSION 6: RELIGIOUS ASSEMBLAGES
Three Baroque Altarpieces in the Church of Our Lady in Aarschot (Belgium): Insights into the working methods of Antwerp sculptor and designer Pieter Scheemaeckers
Ingrid Geelen
The investigation and treatment of a 17th century wooden Jain Shrine (house-temple) from Gujarat, Western India
Part 1. Context
Part 2. Treatment
Kathleen M. Garland, Kimberly Masteller, John Twilley, Cathleen Duffy
Q&A AND CLOSING REMARKS
Sunday April 10th
TOURS
Several post-conference tours will be offered to allow participants to explore museum collections and conservation projects in Potsdam and Berlin.
 

Getty Workshop Series – Current Issues in Photograph Conservation

Octopus, 2007, Tim Hawkinson, Inkjet digital foam collage. © 2007 Tim Hawkinson. Commissioned by JPGM.
Octopus, 2007, Tim Hawkinson, Inkjet digital foam
collage. © 2007 Tim Hawkinson. Commissioned by JPGM.

The nature of photography is evolving. Rapid and transformative innovations are both exciting and challenging for conservators. The profession needs to find ways to effectively share current knowledge and research to reach caretakers of these changing and growing collections.  The Getty Conservation Institute is pleased to announce a new series of workshops that focus on topics relating to the contemporary conservation treatment of photographic materials.
Current Issues in Photograph Conservation is designed primarily for mid-career conservators who work with photographic materials. Instructors in the series are preeminent experts in the field. Through lectures, discussions, and practical work, they will elucidate the various aspects of a given topic throughout each intensive workshop.
The first workshop in the series – The Digital Print: Contemporary Practice, Identification, and Preservation— will be offered from July 25 – 29, 2016 at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California.
For additional information and to complete an online application, go to:  http://www.getty.edu/conservation/our_projects/education/cons_photo/digital_print.html

RE-ORG Crowdsourcing Project Launch

“We re-used large wooden crates. We fixed secured chains on the crates to hang the masks. Now it is off the floor, so we will no longer risk stepping on them.”
“We re-used large wooden crates. We fixed secured chains on the crates to hang the masks. Now it is off the floor, so we will no longer risk stepping on them.”

Collection Storage Tips and Tricks – “#reorgtips”
RE-ORG International is an initiative to assist small museums, libraries and archives reorganize their collections in storage for better access and long-term conservation. RE-ORG encourages the reuse and re-purposing of existing equipment and space. Ideas are out there; sometimes all you need is a little inspiration.
If you work with collections show us your tips and tricks!
Storing collections is not a simple task, and you know first-hand the challenge of having to strike a balance between conservation, institutional and financial concerns. Storage solutions must adapt to the needs of the object but at the same time optimize space usage and costs.
“We adapted a shelving unit to store our collection of oars and spears. We are able to use up less shelf space than before. We gain more room for other objects.”
“We adapted a shelving unit to store our collection of oars and spears. We are able to use up less shelf space than before. We gain more room for other objects.”

The good news is that it is often possible to repurpose or adapt already-existing equipment or materials, making sensible use of resources.
Many museums – through the years and at present – have found many inventive solutions:
ICCROM and the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) want to hear about all of them. Be part of a global solution!
Send us one or two photos of your storage solution with a short descriptive sentence that tells us:

  • The type of object
  • The materials used or re-used to create your storage solution
  • Why this system is better than before

There are several options for sharing your photos:

"We created compartments in a box with cardboard folded in zigzags. Now we can take each pen easily. Also, they don't rubbing against each other"
“We created compartments in a box with cardboard folded in zigzags. Now we can take each pen easily. Also, they don’t rubbing against each other”

You have until 31 January 2016 to send us your submission. The results will be posted on a Tumblr blog and hosted on the ICCROM website.
Important notice: By sending your images, you acknowledge that they are yours and that you have the permission to send them, but that you’re willing share them under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence.

Collection Care Network Program for Montreal

The Collection Care Network has been busy! We are highlighting the connections CCN has developed with some of our allied preservation professionals. We are delighted to team with the Canadian Association for Conservation/Association Canadienne pour la Conservation et la Restauration (CAC-ACCR) to bring you these collection care offerings.
This year we thought, why not start early, even before the meeting officially starts. Our colleagues at the International Association of Museum Facilities Administrators (IAMFA) thought this was a good idea too. AIC, CAC-ACCR and IAMFA have developed a dynamic and interactive pre-meeting seminar that focuses on some of the concerns we share.
Share the Care: Collaborative Preservation Approaches, Friday, May 13, 2016, 9:00 am – 5:30pm
This seminar delves into the concepts of shared risk and responsibility of allied preservation professionals. The following topics will be considered through this lens: interacting among the professional groups, reviewing institutional emergency plans, surveying the current state of environmental guidelines, considering the existing international environmental guideline standards.
Choosing and Implementing an Automatic Fire Suppression System for a Collecting Institution, Saturday, May 14, 2016, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
This special half-day session is the second part of the pre-meeting session hosted by AIC, CAC-ACCR, and IAMFA. The program will introduce attendees to the different types of automatic fire suppression systems available, evaluation criteria for each system, and implementation guidelines and considerations for collecting institutions.
This pre-session has a separate registration from the national meeting. For registration details for this special pre-meeting session consult: http://aics44thannualmeeting2016.sched.org/event/4gp4/pre-conference-meeting-iamfa-meeting#
Another pre-conference offering continues our successful collaboration and expansion of the original content provided by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC). We’re hosting the third installment of:
STASH Flash, Saturday, May 14, 2016, 3:30pm – 5:30pm. This session is FREE with regular meeting registration.Join your fellow colleagues for a lightening round of storage tips. Submissions are being solicited around three topics:

  1. Building on this year’s program theme Emergency! Preparing for Disasters and Confronting the Unexpected in Conservation  the program will present storage solutions that were either specifically designed to mitigate against the threat of a disaster or inappropriate environment, or presentations that assess how rehousing solutions performed in protecting (or not protecting) collections in a disaster or emergency event.
  2. The second proposed theme focuses on multi-function supports serving more than one purpose, such as storage, storage, travel and/or exhibition purposes.
  3. General presentations on innovative storage solutions for individual or collection group. To read more about the session and how to submit an idea for a short five-minute tip presentation visit the STASH website.

Next, join us for the Collection Care sessions. The first installment is planned for Sunday, May 15, 2016 with the second Tuesday, May 17, 2016. This year’s program covers an extraordinary wide range of collection care topics whose solution is frequently rests in the cooperation and input from a diverse group of allied preservation professionals.
Collection Care Session I, Sunday, May 15, 2:00 pm – 5:30 pm
This session will cover topics that include: risk management, considering loss of value in a collection, facing institutional change while maintaining consistency, planning pitfalls during construction projects, considering art and noise, designing exhibition HVAC in historic buildings.
Collection Care Session II, Tuesday, May 17, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Speakers in this session will discuss collaborative preservation training; unforeseen hazards of implementing emergency training, planning for emergencies at archaeological sites, and lessons learned creating emergency planning for international partners.
Consider meeting for lunch! There are two opportunities to hear about recent work in collection care while enjoying lunch. Advance registration and additional fees apply.
On Sunday, May 15, the Collection Care Network Lunch will focus on collection care issues that have arisen from content developed for the upcoming book, Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage, a partnership publication by AIC, SPNHC, Smithsonian Institution and George Washington University. Expected publication date, October 2016.
On Monday, May 16 IMLS staff will conduct a lunch presentation focusing on the 2014 Heritage Health Index. Tune in to hear about developments in IMLS’s continuing support of collections care and conservation. Hear about the launch of a new national conservation assessment program for collections care in small and medium-sized museums. And hear highlights of models, tools, and other resources recently developed by IMLS-funded Collections Stewardship projects.
The full conference schedule can be found at http://www.conservation-us.org/annual-meeting/meeting-schedule.
Meet me in Montreal!
Gretchen Guidess
AIC Collection Care Network

Call for Applications: Donald Peterson Student Travel Award, Deadline: February 28, 2016

The Donald Peterson Student Travel Award Subcommittee invites applications from archival science students and recent graduates of archival programs.  The award subsidizes travel to the SAA Annual Meeting for students presenting research or actively participating in an SAA-sponsored committee, section, or roundtable.
Award and application information follow below.  The application deadline is February 28, 2016.  If you have any questions regarding the award or the application process, please contact Rachel Howard, Donald Peterson Student Travel Award Committee Chair, at rachel.howard@louisville.edu.
Purpose and Criteria for Selection
Established in 2005, this award supports students and recent graduates from graduate archival programs within North America to attend SAA’s Annual Meeting. The goal of the scholarship is to stimulate greater participation in the activities of the Association by students and recent graduates. This participation must include either a presentation of research during the Annual Meeting or active participation in an SAA-sponsored committee, section, or roundtable.
Eligibility
Awarded to an SAA member in good standing who is currently enrolled in an archival education program or who graduated from an archival education program in the previous calendar year. Applications are evaluated based on the merits of the applicant’s essay and letters of recommendation.
Sponsor and Funding
The Society of American Archivists, in honor of Donald Peterson (1908-1999), New York lawyer and philatelist, whose deep appreciation of world history and preservation developed early through his stamp collecting and held true throughout his life.
Prize
Up to $1,000 in support of registration, travel, and accommodation expenses associated with the SAA Annual Meeting.
First Awarded
2006
Application Form and Documentation
Submit three copies of the following to the address on the application form:

  1. A 500-word essay describing the applicant’s career goals and potential impact on the archival profession.
  1. Unofficial transcript to verify student status or copy of graduate diploma.
  2. Two letters of recommendation from individuals having definite knowledge of the applicant’s qualifications.
  3. Application form.

Application Deadline
February 28, 2016

New Collection Storage Book Seeks Cover Image

new-bookThe Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, The American Institute for Conservation, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Museum Studies Program of George Washington University are collaborating on a new book entitled Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage.  The volume discusses all aspects of collection storage, from planning and assessment, through building design and facilities management, to storage furniture and specimen housing. It is due for publication in late 2016.
As part of the book design process, the editorial board is seeking a cover image that reflects the concept of (good) collection storage. We hope that you will contribute one or more images you feel would work well. Given the scope of the book, the image might be a photograph at the building, room, cabinet/shelf, or object level, or simply reflect a “good storage concept.”
There is no financial reward, but you and your institution will receive full acknowledgement and a free copy of the book and, of course, incredible bragging rights!  The winning image may also be used on the book website and other promotional materials.
If you’re interested in submitting an image for consideration, please send a horizontal image, at least 300 dpi, and minimum of 8 in W x 5 in H (2400 x 1500 pixels, 300 pixels/inch). JPG or TIF format preferred to Lisa Elkin (lelkin@amnh.org) or Chris Norris (christopher.norris@yale.edu) by October 31.

2016 Rome Prize Competition Now Open

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The American Academy in Rome invites applications for the 2016 Rome Prize.
For over a century, the Academy has awarded the Rome Prize to support innovative work in the arts and humanities. Through a national juried competition, Rome Prizes are awarded to emerging and established artists and scholars working in the following disciplines:

  • Ancient Studies
  • Architecture
  • Design (includes graphic, industrial, interior, exhibition, set, costume, and fashion design, urban design, city planning, engineering, and other design fields)
  • Historic Preservation and Conservation
  • Landscape Architecture (includes environmental design and planning, landscape/ecological urbanism, landscape history, sustainability and ecological studies, and geography)
  • Literature
  • Medieval Studies
  • Modern Italian Studies
  • Musical Composition
  • Renaissance and Early Modern Studies
  • Visual Arts (includes painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, film/video, installation, new media, digital arts, and other visual arts fields)

Ranging from six months to two years, the thirty fellowships include a stipend, room and board, and individual workspace at the Academy’s eleven-acre center in Rome.
Submissions due: NOVEMBER 1, 2015
Visit aarome.org/apply for guidelines.

NCPTT accepting grant applications through November 3, 2015

NCPTTNational Center for Preservation Technology and Training is now accepting grant applications for two grant programs. In addition to the annual Preservation Technology and Training Grants that award up to $40,000 for research and technology, NCPTT has a new Media Grants Program. The latter program provides up to $15,000 to develop videos, mobile applications, online publications and more.
For more information, check out NCPTT’s website at https://ncptt.nps.gov/grants/

IIC Los Angeles 2016 Congress – final call for papers and poster proposals

IIC 2016 Los Angeles Congress-logo_0
 
 
 
Conserving contemporary art? You now have until the 15th of July … to save the Now!
Contemporary Art delivers contemporary problems to the conservation community…and may mean that we deconstruct and re-invent ‘standard’ conservation thinking and practice.
Saving the Now: Crossing Boundaries to Conserve Contemporary Works, IIC’s next Congress, to be held from the 12th to the 16th September 2016, links so very well with its setting, Los Angeles, in allowing things to be looked at in very different and new ways.
This can be a minefield – or a source of new and creative approaches to heritage conservation. As we move ahead with new artists, new materials, new concepts of what creativity is, we must adapt what conservation involves and tries to achieve. We may borrow from other areas of skill and expertise in doing this. We may change our concepts of what conservation is there to do in the first place …
What are your thoughts, your experiences, your predictions? Let’s start you off here:
• How do you work without the benefit or comfort of that well-established hierarchy of values available to colleagues working on more traditional heritage objects?
• Are you working with a range of different and varied conservation philosophies and approaches – from various countries and cultures, from differing disciplines and markets – to develop new methods for conserving contemporary works?
• What will we lose if your major guiding principle is the artist’s intent? If it is known at all, that is …
• Can
the commercial art market help influence Institutional thinking on conservation?
• How is public art influencing conservation practice and theory?
• Are the ethics and values used in conserving the built heritage applicable to the conservation of moveable heritage ¬– and vice versa?
• Can approaches used for conserving ethnographic collections be applied to contemporary art practice?
• Can non-materialistic philosophies help to move the field forward in broader terms?
Submit your proposal for a paper or a poster now! It’s easy: go to https://www.iiconservation.org/congress Share your expertise and learn first-hand what your colleagues around the world are doing!
A call for Student posters will be made later in the year.
Please contact us at iic@iiconservation.org if you have any questions or wish to receive further information on the Congress

Survey: "Know anyone using display cases or glazed frames?"

Survey logoUniversity of Warwick SURVEY INVITATION FOR:

“Users of display cases & glazed frames for local environmental control of indoor heritage collections”

This survey (closing July 1st) aims to capture the recent behaviours & opinions of enclosure users from around the world – at a time of changing environmental guidelines.

It takes 20 – 30 minutes depending on the respondent’s experience.

Heritage conservators, registrars, curators etc are encouraged to consider completing the survey and to forward this announcement to colleagues in their workplace, region & international networks.

The survey is looking for responses from people around the world working for heritage institutions of all sizes & types, and with any level of experience.

A conservator researching heritage microclimates at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom designed the survey.

It was tested with conservators & scientists working for metropolitan and regional institutions in the United Kingdom & France:

  • The British Museum
  • C2RMF, Louvre Museum
  • Museum of London
  • English Heritage
  • Birmingham Museums Trust
  • The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum

It is expected this research will guide the future manufacture, testing, use & maintenance of enclosures for more sustainable conservation of vulnerable exhibits.

The results will first be presented at the Science and Engineering in Arts, Heritage and Archaeology Conference taking place on Tuesday 14 & Wednesday 15 July 2015 at UCL, London. 

The Powerpoint presentation for that conference will be emailed to survey respondents who choose to be contacted. It will also be publically available for download – with a link from LinkedIn’s “Exhibit Enclosure Environments” discussion group. An extended written analysis & discussion of the results, in the form of a paper, will be submitted for publication to open access and peer-reviewed international heritage conservation journals.

Survey closing date: Wednesday, 1 July 2015 

Survey is here: https://goo.gl/5OqbkA 

Alternatively the survey can be shared via social media:

— James Crawford, PhD student, Department of Physics, University of Warwick