This talk, given by Dawn Wallace, caught my eye because it focused on a treatment that I had heard of, but largely amongst doll collectors, not amongst conservators – and I had never had the guts to try it! The use of acne treatments, such as gels containing salicylic acid and benzoil peroxide, to reduce or remove copper staining has really interesting potential, but was not previously well-tested. Dawn treated various PVC dolls (including Barbie!) and completed analysis using pyrolysis GC/MS, XRF, and mass loss/mass attenuation. The results showed that for most gels, there was movement of copper within the stain, although with some there were changes to the plastic makeup. The salicylic acid did remove copper, but showed a slight weight gain rather than a weight loss – pyrolysis GC/MS then confirmed that a residue had indeed been left on the surface. The benzoil peroxide showed significant weight loss, but had its downsides as well.
Although this was a quick talk (15 minutes), I found it very informative and enjoyable. I would have liked to see more visual comparisona of the before and after treatment, as I wonder if the success in removing the stains is enough to make it worth pursuing removal of the residue as an additional treatment. I will be interested in any future research into this treatment!
Category: AIC’s Annual Meeting
Provides the membership with updated news about the annual meeting. Also announces themes, deadlines for papers, need for volunteers, etc.
Joint 44th AIC Annual Meeting and 42nd CAC-ACCR Annual Conference – Research and Technical Studies Session, May 17th – “Ensuring Maximum Impact for Conservation Science” by Marie-Claude Corbeil
Right off the bat, Dr. Corbeil noted that the title of the talk should probably be a question rather than a statement, because nobody has all of the answers, and this talk was not going to be a definitive guide to conservation science. She noted that conservation science still has some issues – it can be very expensive to complete scientific research projects, and thus there is a reliance on government funding, which can be fickle in a number of ways. Through these challenges, Dr. Corbeil’s aim was to show how the CCI operates, raise questions about the efficiency of the approach, and understand how best to ensure maximum impact for conservation science.
The CCI has three main categories of work: research and development, expert services, and knowledge sharing, all of which are interconnected, and which relate to the community that CCI serves. Dr. Corbeil spoke specifically about a number of examples of this work, including dripping paint on works by Alfred Pellan; authentification of works by Jean Paul Riopelle in conjunction with the Getty; fading paint on Rothko murals; and various pesticide surveys of textiles.
Of these cases, the Rothko question had interesting implications. With the Rothko, the institution asked for the analysis to be completed, and result showed the presence of a fugitive pigment. A monitoring program was enacted in response to this. Dr. Corbeil mused on a few topics – was the analysis really necessary, given that many Rothko works have these fugitive pigments? Would the exhibition decision have been different without analysis? Is the monitoring necessary, given that degradation of these fugitive pigments is inevitable?
The pesticide surveys also brought up an interesting chain of discussion, involving the repetition of analysis for different clients. If enough data has already been collected to generate guidelines and predict the results of surveys, is it necessary to continue to analyze separate collections? Dr. Corbeil noted that it has been an inescapable fact that people want to test their own collections, even if previous applicable results are available. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it also points to the idea that services rendered for one client may be broadly applicable, and that dissemination of results will always be significant.
Dr. Corbeil concluded that the key elements for success involve choosing the right research question, engaging in collaboration, transparency in methodology, and effective dissemination. Within this context, one of her previous statements resonated with me – she stated that results are disseminated “in the traditional way” at CCI. I wonder if there is a benefit to looking into non-traditional routes for the sharing of knowledge, since that is one of the areas Dr. Corbeil indicated was most important for the success of conservation science? I look forward to future discussion of this topic, and the bright future of conservation science as a whole. Keep up the great work, CCI!
44th Annual Meeting – Photographic Materials Session, May 17, "Salvaging Memories: The Recovery of Fire-Damaged Photographs and Lessons Learned in Conservation and Kindness," by Debra Hess Norris
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but its worth is immeasurable when all other possessions are lost. The efforts of the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation can be described, therefore, as invaluable. For the past two academic years, Debra Hess Norris and the faculty, staff, and the graduate students of the WUDPAC program have undertaken recovery projects for photographs damaged by fires and floods. In addition to the rigorous course load of the Photographic Materials block at WUDPAC the classes of 2017 and 2018 have added examination, documentation, and treatment of between 240 and 260 photographs, or about 25-35 photographs per student. Their goal was to help people and families who have just survived heartrending disaster.
On Christmas Day in 2014, Ricky and Traci Harris lost their three sons and Ricky’s mother to a devastating house fire. Searching for any way to lessen their grief, friend and WUDPAC PhD candidate, Michael Emmons, sent this image to Ms. Norris via text message:
One of the firefighters had taken the time to collect the fire-damaged photographs and lay them out in the Harris’ garage. Mr. Emmons coordinated with Ms. Norris to have the 260 photographs brought to the Winterthur conservation labs where the first-year graduate students began examining them for treatment. Each individual photograph had a unique variety of damage. By working closely with Mr. Emmons as the Harris family liaison, the students were able to approach treatment with approval and context from the family. The emotional nature of the project was the biggest, but not only, struggle for those involved. Condition concerns ranged from minor planar distortions to an irreversible white haze to the bleeding of inks and dyes. After minimizing the smell of smoke by storing the photographs with zeolite and blotters, students focused on surface cleaning and flattening. The stabilized photographs were then housed in polyester sleeves with zeolite-containing papers to increase the ease of future scanning.
May 24th, 2015 a flash flood hit central Texas with waters reaching 33 feet high in a matter of hours. 30 lives were lost and over 1,000 homes were damaged. As with the Arno floods that formed the theme of AIC’s 2016 Annual Meeting, compassionate volunteers and first responders attempted to salvage photographs and other personal belongings. Local archivists were able to do much in the recovery of the photographs, but 240 of the most severely damaged were sent to Winterthur for their new graduate students. The types of photographs sent ranged from tintypes to digital prints, negatives to photo albums and all suffered severe damage ranging from flaking and delamination to inactive mold. Although there was a wider variation in materials than the fire-damaged photos from the previous year, the primary treatment concerns remained surface cleaning and flattening but also included consolidation, tear mending, and unblocking. Each student was also able to choose one photograph for loss compensation as both an educational exercise and an attempt to make the most severely damaged images more cohesive. In both projects, students progressed from dry to wet cleaning techniques as detailed below and routinely used microscopic examination to assess their progress and analyze different techniques.
Left: Dry Surface Cleaning Techniques, Right: Wet Surface Cleaning Techniques
Different approaches were also needed for fiber-based supports vs. resin-coated supports, again detailed below:
While the educational opportunities of these projects were immense, what I find truly remarkable is the way they inspired and reflected compassion and benevolence both inside and outside the field of conservation. The subject matter clearly resonates with many of us as there was not a dry eye by the end of Ms. Norris’ presentation and the Q&A section was filled with heartwarming remarks and suggestions for how to continue and spread these outreach efforts. Additionally, the public reactions to various press and social media resulted in an inundation of offers for volunteer work, especially for the Harris family. So I would like to end with Ms. Norris’ call to action, “As a profession we must seek ways to share our skills and knowledge broadly, to be a visible presence following unthinkable tragedy, and a known resource for families facing the potential loss of their treasured photographs.”
For details on D4 and its use in photograph conservation, Ms. Norris suggests Shannon Brogdon-Grantham’s abstract entitled “New Approaches to Cleaning Works on Paper and Photographic Materials” from the 2015 Biannual PMG Meeting.
44th Annual Meeting – Objects/Wooden Artifacts Joint Session, May 16th, “A New Understanding of the Aging Characteristics of Asian Lacquer” by Marianne Webb
In this talk, Marianne Webb presented some findings from her ongoing research into the degradation of Asian lacquers.
She produced 11 different samples of lacquer formulated with Urushiol-based lacquer (sourced from Japan, China, and Korea), Laccol-based lacquers (from Vietnam or Taiwan), oil, and pigment. The sample boards were all prepared in the same manner, coated on both sides with raw lacquer, a layer with inert clay filler applied to both sides, and then ground smooth after drying in a wet box. The different lacquer formulations were then applied. The samples were artificially aged in a weather-ometer, exposing a new section of the sample each week for four weeks.
The degradation was evaluated using five factors: color, gloss, surface pH, autofluorescence, and microcracking.
Color – Fading was not a reliable assessment of degradation of black lacquer, but worked well for red lacquers. Microfadometer tests have placed red lacquers between Blue Wool 2 & 3, indicating that lacquer has similar light sensitivity to paper or textiles.
Gloss – Each sample had a different original gloss, with laccol on its own having less gloss than urushi, but becoming very glossy with the addition of oil. Transparent urushi retained its gloss well, but formulations with added oil lost a significant amount of gloss after aging.
Autofluorescence – chemical changes in lacquer seemed immediate once exposed to light (after 12 hours, the differences were obvious) but there is a maximum point at 1 week, then the autofluorescence decreases.
Surface pH – The pH of lacquer doesn’t necessarily drop as it ages. Transparent lacquer seems to have the lowest pH after aging because the light can penetrate it and therefore it gets more light damage. There was not direct correlation between the amount of oil and pH after aging, but they generally had higher pH. After approximately 1 week the pH reaches a plateau and then after 3-4 weeks it goes back up. Clearly, lacquer’s pH does not have a linear relationship to aging. Disclaimer: All pH tests damage the surface of lacquer since they require water to solubilize degradation products, leaving a void.
Microcracking – All of the samples showed changes after exposure to light. The patterns were distinct and all different.
The level of detail in the investigations and results of the study was incredibly impressive. The study emphasized the number of factors that one should consider when approaching each individual piece of lacquer. The author also indicated a desire to investigate formulations with Thitsi lacquer (from Burma and Thailand) and the sudden fogging phenomenon sometimes observed when lacquer is exposed to heat and moisture in the future.
Joint 44th AIC Annual Meeting and 42nd CAC-ACCR Annual Conference — Book and Paper Session, May 16th — “The Coptic Binding Collection at The Morgan Library & Museum: History, Conservation and Access” by Georgia Southworth and Francisco H. Trujillo
Georgia Southworth, Independent Book Conservator, and Frank Trujillo, Associate Book Conservator at The Morgan Library & Museum, closed out Monday morning’s Book and Paper session with a fascinating talk on the history and rehousing of The Morgan’s singular collection of Coptic bindings.
The story of the Coptic bindings at The Morgan Library & Museum began in 1910 with the discovery of a cache of nearly sixty volumes dating from the 9th and 10th centuries CE. Found in Hamouli, Egypt, these volumes made a circuitous journey with stops in France, the United States, and Italy, before coming to rest New York in the 1920s. During the nearly thirty years between their discovery and their arrival at The Morgan, the parchment textblocks were separated from the covers, never to be reuinited. While the textblocks were extensively treated at the Vatican Library, the covers were packed away, presumably with the intention of addressing them at a later time. Unfortunately, World War I and J. Pierpont Morgan’s death interfered with the planned project to photograph and restore the collection, extending the timeline by several years. The covers, which had been consolidated with oil and wax, and in some cases lined with gauze, were not returned to The Morgan until 1929. They remained packed away until 1984, when Deborah Evetts, then the Drue Heinz Book Conservator, found them still stored in their Vatican shipping crates.
The covers are comprised of laminated layers of papyrus covered with leather. The decoration of the leather ranges from simple cold-tooled designs to elaborate compositions incorporating layers of colored and gilt leather and parchment that have been cut, pierced, and interlaced to create complex and beautiful designs.
Image courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum
The condition of the covers varies widely; while some are almost completely intact, others are brittle, fragmentary, and riddled with wormholes. Attempts to devise a housing method for these exquisite objects had been ongoing since they were re-discovered in 1984. In consultation with Christopher Clarkson, Deborah Evetts performed minor stabilization treatment on a few of the covers, and tested several housing prototypes. The ideal housing would protect and support the covers, while still allowing for easy access and viewing of both sides of each board.
Previous prototypes included deep sinkmats, Plexiglas sandwiches, and simple matboard folders lined with glassine. One prototype was made of layers of Plexiglas cut to fit the perimeter of the cover to create a customized well. Unfortunately, this design was also heavy, and caused the fragile covers to rest against a hard surface.
Image courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum
Image courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum
The final housing design incorporated the idea of a custom recess, and used separate layers to allow the sides of each cover to be viewed without direct handling.
The material selected to create the well was soft, inert, non-abrasive Volara foam. Each cover was carefully traced, and the outlines were sent to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where they were laser cut into the foam. The layers of foam are sandwiched between two pieces of 1/8” Artcare archival foam board to create a light and rigid support. A full sheet of Volara is adhered to each piece of foamboard, and two inner layers of Volara are laser cut to the shape of each cover. These wells are slightly larger than the covers, providing protection without actually touching the fragile edges.
Image courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum
Foam pegs keep the layers aligned, but allow them to be separated to expose the sides of the covers. When closed, the layers are held securely in place by these pegs, allowing the sandwich to be flipped to show the verso of the cover. This light, rigid sandwich is stored inside a Talas e-flute reinforced clamshell box. A linen tab was added to the interior of each box to facilitate removal of the sandwich. For easy storage, three standard sizes of clamshell were selected.
Image courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum
This solution worked well for the covers and large fragments. Smaller fragments were stored separately in Mylar envelopes, which were barcoded to associate them with their parent binding. These envelopes of fragments were stored together in a separate box.
Image courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum
The final element of this project was the creation of high-resolution images of all the bindings. These images are currently being processed, and will soon be available to the public via The Morgan’s website. In the meantime, I’m sure that many of us will have ideas for applying this novel housing concept to objects in our own collections. Thank you, Georgia and Frank, for an excellent talk!
Joint 44th AIC Annual Meeting and 42nd CAC-ACCR Annual Conference — Book and Paper Session, May 16th — “Push Pins, Staples, Daylight, Glazing and Barrier Free: Are conservation standards becoming too relaxed?” by Joan Weir
In the BPG session on Monday, May 16, Joan Weir gave voice to a question that has undoubtedly plagued the sleep of many of her colleagues: are conservation standards, particularly when it comes to exhibition, becoming too relaxed? In her role as Conservator for Works of Art on Paper at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Ms. Weir has gained extensive experience with the challenges of exhibiting contemporary art. Noting that the range of artifacts classified as “works of art on paper” is very broad, Weir commented that it can be difficult to set consistent boundaries and guidelines for exhibition practices. Some touchstones are available to conservators, including AIC’s Code of Ethics and intellectual property laws. I was interested to learn that in Canada, artists retain “moral rights” to their work, even if they no longer hold economic rights to the work. This moral right allows artists to protect their work from changes that might compromise their original intent, including changes in how the work is displayed.*
To illustrate the challenges inherent in exhibiting contemporary art, Weir presented several case studies. The first example was Richard Serra’s 9’ by 21’ oilstick on paper, Untitled, 1974 (presented at the 2013 AIC Annual Meeting, and blogged by Karen Dabney). The artist’s intention was that the work be stapled directly to the gallery wall, and shown without any barrier. Weir and her colleagues collaborated with Serra and a studio assistant to develop a protocol for installing the work, which toured to several locations. They created mockups to practice the installation protocol, and to try to answer what Weir called “a world of nerdy conservation questions,” such as: what kind of staples should be used? What kind of stapler? Do the staple bands need to come into contact with the paper? Should existing staple holes be used? The same two-person team traveled to all exhibition venues to carry out the installation, and an agreement was reached to station a guard in the gallery at all times, to compensate for the lack of a physical barrier. While the protocol was largely successful, Weir noted that it is often the case that “once you go there, you can’t go back” – stapling is now considered an option for other exhibits.
The next case study was installation of large, unglazed wax pastels for AGO’s 2015 exhibition Stephen Andrews POV, which were hung using a temporary tab of sheer polyester attached to the work using Beva and heat, and stapled to the wall. The artist liked this system so well that he requested that the tabs be left attached to the works he loaned for the show. Low platform barriers were used for this exhibition, but AGO staff noted the presence of footprints on top of the platforms, suggesting that the barrier was not entirely successful.
Throughout her presentation, Weir emphasized the importance of dialog between conservators, curators, and artists. Natural light presents a special set of challenges. Weir cited an exhibit of Marcel Dzama’s work, in which over 100 works were rotated into 33 frames to minimize individual light exposure. She also described a large watercolor on canvas by Silke Otto-Knapp, which was shown unglazed in a gallery with uncovered windows. In that case, the artist shared information about the materials used to create the work, allowing conservators to determine that it was likely to be stable in the gallery conditions.
Through these examples, Weir made a compelling case that our job as conservators is to adapt to changing conventions and exhibition practices, while still ensuring the safety of the artwork. By engaging in early, frequent, and open communication with stakeholders, including the artist, and by thinking creatively about solutions to exhibition challenges, conservators can be good stewards not only of the physical object, but of the artist’s conceptual intent.
*I am not a legal scholar, and I apologize if I mischaracterized the implications of Canadian copyright law!
44th Annual Meeting – Wooden Artifacts Session, May 15, "Embers in the Ashes: Challenges Encountered During the Restoration of Fire-damaged Woodwork in a Historic House Museum by Amanda Salmon and Deborah Hudson”
Craigflower Manor National Historic Site (1853-6) in Victoria, BC is one of the oldest remaining farmhouse buildings in British Columbia and opened to the public in 1969. In January 2009, during an unusually cold winter, a fire started on the first floor. It was probably a “delayed ignition” (also called long term low temperature ignition) fire, caused by an electric heater warming and drying the area over time. There was no fire suppression in the house; fortunately, firefighters arrived in minutes, and extinguished the fire before it reached flashpoint.
Most of the damage was limited to the central staircase, adjacent to the ignition site. There was extensive charring of the structure and millwork, in some places total loss. There were also charred and blistered finishes and soot damage, but relatively little water damage. The restoration of Craigflower took four years, and along with cleaning included replacing wood elements (reusing the hardware as much as possible).
The worst damaged wood (judged as 50% or less of sound wood remaining) was removed. CO2 pellet blasting was used to remove char and soot from other areas, which worked well to quickly expose undamaged wood. Unfortunately, the plastic sheeting intended to contain all the material blasted off the surface was inadequate, and dust was deposited all throughout the house, requiring extensive cleanup in areas with no fire damage. While CO2 blasting companies will often claim that the process does not generate waste or leave behind residues, we should be aware that all the material blasted off during cleaning will go somewhere! Before using CO2 cleaning technique, test to determine how much dust will be generated, and make sure adequate extraction and abatement enclosures are in place before blasting. In the end, traditional mechanical removal of the char using chisels etc. may be more controllable and preferable.
44th Annual Meeting & 42nd Annual Conference – Book and Paper Session, May 16, “Paper Tapestry: Wallpaper Preservation” by Joanna P. McMann
Joanna McMann, Assistant Conservator at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, was incredibly busy in Montreal, presenting two talks at the Book and Paper specialty session! This presentation outlined the work completed for the Spadina Museum in Toronto, Ontario. The historic house museum opened in 1984, and has been the subject of restoration treatment previously, as presented in the 2011 CAC-ACCR conference in Winnipeg: https://www.cac-accr.ca/files/pdf/e-cac-conference-2011.pdf (see page 20 for the abstract of “Wallpaper Reproduction Goes Digital”).
The 1912-1913 third floor servants’ hallway had not been restored, and the floral-patterned wallpaper’s in situ stabilization was McMann’s goal. There were a number of condition issues including losses, abrasions, delamination of wallpaper from the wall, water staining, tearing, and significant soot, dust, and grime, resulting from the area being used as a storage space. The wallpaper’s paper substrate was pulpy and weak, and its media was water-soluble. McMann found that a modified technique of the full-scale digital printing previously used was necessary to complete the conservation project in the short timeframe of the month of December. There was 500 square feet of wallpaper requiring treatment, requiring a specific coding system to map the damage efficiently.
Surface cleaning was completed using goat-hair brushes and latex-free makeup sponges. The fragments were carefully cleaned, and cracks were cleaned with the makeup sponges and Absorene chemical absorbing sponges. McMann remarked on the effectiveness of this, allowing the cracks to recede into the overall aesthetic of the wall.
Delaminated wallpaper was re-adhered to the wall with a very dry wheat starch paste, gouges were pulp-filled, smoothed, and toned, and if necessary, damaged plaster was filled.
Losses were divided by size, so that medium – large losses were filled with the digitally printed reproduction papers, and small losses were filled with papers that were toned with watercolour. Using this coding system, more than 600 infills and 63 losses/abrasions were completed and treated! Three rounds of proofing were used to produce a quality output of the reproductive wallpaper paper, and the printed paper was split mechanically while damp as the reproduction paper was thick overall and chamfering was not possible. All fills were first done with toned Japanese tissue, in order to ensure a sympathetic colour if abrasions were to occur again, as the area will remain used as storage space after stabilization. The large losses required precise alignment before they were trimmed, and a combination of methyl cellulose and wheat starch paste was used to adhere and to allow for some slip during alignment.
Final toning was done using acrylics and a number of different light sources, to ensure compatibility to the viewer.
McMann presented the challenges and problem-solving techniques needed for the completion of the project to the very interested audience. She guided us through the stabilization of the servants’ area, noting its imortance to the Spadina (Spa-deenah or Spa-dinah depending on your class status in the nineteenth century!) Museum, as they have gained the title of being “Toronto’s Downton Abbey” and have exhibited costumes from the popular BBC drama.
44th Annual Meeting – Textiles Session, May 16, "A Material Disaster: Preservation of the Muppets,” by Sunae Park Evans
Dear Children of the ‘80s and ‘90s,
Fear not, our childhood has been well preserved. You may have been concerned to hear our Muppet friends were suffering from the ill effects of aging and, I’ll be honest, the diagnosis (and the pictures!) seemed grim. Internal decay, failing support structures, foam hemorrhages, and alopecia were just some of the concerns. Fortunately Sunae Park Evans, Senior Costume Conservator at the National Museum of American History, was up to the challenge.
From both clinical and personal standpoints, the scope of the treatment was fascinating and produced some strangely existential questions. What makes a Muppet a Muppet? Where do you draw the line between replaceable miscellany and canonical Muppet accoutrements? And then, once you determine what is essential to Jim Henson’s original creations, how do you fit conservation techniques geared towards human costumes to a creation where the only human shape is Jim Henson’s arms and hands? With close consultation with original member of the Muppet design team Bonnie Erickson, Ms. Evans was able to navigate these questions while maintaining the integrity of the Jim Henson Legacy.
It may surprise you that puppets so seemingly innocent could have so many inherent vices. First there is the issue of the primary material, Scott Foam, which is a staple in puppeteering for its flexibility. However, the answer to the question of, “What is Scott Foam made of?” was repeatedly, “Scott Foam.” After speaking with several employees of the manufacturer, Ms. Evans was able to confirm that it was a low-density polyurethane which explained the large-scale deterioration and degradation of the Muppet’s internal structure, leading to the loss and collapse of other features. Polyurethane wasn’t the only material at issue as the Muppets were designed more for budget than longevity and featured attachments such as soup spoons and ping pong balls for eyes and leather shoe soles for the mouth. It was determined that much of the foam would have to be removed, leaving only the heads still intact, but the fabrics, facial features, and other appendages would be maintained as much as possible.
Next is the matter of how to classify and treat a movable, usable object used by humans that are not human but emote like a human. Is it a stationary object, costume, installation, or kinetic sculpture? Ms. Evans stated that she struggled greatly with the question and it seems the answer lies somewhere in the middle of all of them. She was able to use standard costume conservation materials and techniques to create the very non-standard forms shown below. By using the jointed base structure she was able to allow for the potential of movement and by padding them out with Ethafoam she was able to customize each form as one would for a costume. Once each Muppet was mounted on its new support and positioned in keeping with its unique personality, Ms. Evans and Ms. Erickson reviewed the new display but something was still off. It turns out that because the Muppets were made to be viewed on screen, they must also be considered as a 2D image. Many of our enigmatic friends were only made to be viewed from a specific camera angle. The Swedish Chef, for example, was always filmed at a downward angle so when he was positioned to be viewed straight-on, the resulting image did not match that from our childhood memories.
What won’t come as a surprise is that Miss Piggy remained a diva. The structure of the current Miss Piggy was still several decades old and the screws holding her together had rusted closed. Only the careful and intuitive navigation of Ms. Erickson, Miss Piggy’s original creator, were the conservators able to cut the joints without disrupting the remaining support and recreate the body with archival materials.
One of my favorite parts of any project is getting to know the object being treated and I was happy to know that Ms. Evans not only spent countless, tireless hours watching The Muppet Show, but also that she remained in constant communication with the Muppets, themselves, during the treatment. With creatures so full of life it’s not hard to imagine they’d have much to say.
*All images are of the PowerPoint slideshow presented by Sunae Park Evans.
Joint 44th AIC Annual Meeting & 42nd CAC ACCR Annual Conference – Electronic Media Session, May 15, "Re-Constructions: Preserving the Video Installations of Buky Schwartz" by Eddy Colloton
With new media, traditional exhibition and conservation practices are constantly challenged. Eddy Colloton, MA student, Moving Image Archiving and Preservation at NYU, addressed such relationship in his talk Re-Constructions: Preserving the Video Installations of Buky Schwartz. This artist uses electronic media to explore the physical space and the relationship created with its viewers. As the presenter states, Buky Schwartz “focuses on the nature of perspective and perception.”
Indeed, amongst his work, many allow interaction between the physical space and a virtual representation of the totality of the piece. The viewers may become a part of the work and create a relationship that feeds the assistance of the electronic components. As Three angles, 1986, where viewers may enter the maze and use the assistance of the monitors to find the exit of the installation. In the original exhibition, CRT monitors were used. In a later iteration, they were replaced with flat screens and was presented in a smaller space. Schwartz’s work offers flexibility in its representation in accordance that perspective is not loss and the original intent is respected.
Physical and virtual spaces are dependant since they offer a complete perspective when combined. Eddy Colloton explains that to fully understand the works, they must be exhibited. Unlike more traditional mediums, whether in storage or in their exhibition area, they remain physically the same (or so we strive to achieve such state). Buky Schwartz constructs works that are comprehensive with the electronic component like the exhibit Painted projection, 1977 and work Yellow triangles, 1992. Other examples of such relationship: Spring 1981 and Fall 1981, from the same year also follow the idea that they must be exhibited to be experienced.
The challenge with exhibition of new media work is the inevitable iteration at every exhibition. As Colloton explains, perception was important for this artist and he made sure to document his thought process and artistic decisions. A reference to Pip Laurenson’s concept of score is crucial for the preservation of new media work. It gives indications on how to present and interpret the work and allow viewers to experience it. It gives guidelines for the curator and conservator at each new exhibition, it is an iteration of the original/first presentation of the work.
As it commonly occurs for living new media artists, Schwartz worked closely with the curators and conservators. He was also very organized in his planning where he would carefully calculate algorithms, make blueprints, provide installation manuals and construct prototypes for many of this works. The indications would also clarify the equipment selection and document camera use for some specific installations. This would be useful in making informed decisions for conservation purposes. The artist’s estate passed to his daughter and son-in-law, which his documentation helped in the identification of the materials and comprehensive understanding of his perspective on his work.
The completeness of the score and careful documentation are still put to great use in efforts for conservation. Some video installations may appear less “conservative” like Painted projection as they require shapes to be painted on the walls and floors to be constructed with the help of a recording device.
Joanna Phillips puts nicely that in conservation: we become interpreters, mediators or even co-producers of time-based media artwork. I believe that Eddy Colloton communicated the essence of this through his talk.
The Estate of Artist Buky Schwartz
Authenticity, Change and Loss in the Conservation of Time-Based Media Installations by Pip Laurenson
Reporting Iterations: A Documentation Model for Time-Based Media Art by Joanna Phillips