AIC’s Annual Meeting – Page 24 – AIC Blog Archives: Conservators Converse

43rd Annual Meeting – Book and Paper Group Session, May 16, 2015. “Multitasking on a Shoestring: Storage and Display Mounts for Oversized Maps at the Library of Virginia” by Leslie Courtois

The talk began with an introduction to the Library, which as a state resource, also houses the archives and is mandated to make all content accessible, from the original object to digital access. The original building was built on a Jeffersonian model, which is supplemented with a massive offsite storage comprising some 97 million items over fifty-five miles of shelving, and yet has a very small staff for conservation and exhibit preparation. The Library has a very enthusiastic curator of maps, a benefactor with a interest in sponsoring maps scholarship and a robust interest group that seeks to use the collection. As such, Courtois presented a solution she has come up with that allows her to access and mount for display their extremely oversize maps without much additional help, using a modular system of her own invention and implementation.
With insights into the use of maps, “a highly aesthetic visual documentary material”, Courtois discussed several of local interest, including: the Mitchell (1755), the primary map used to define the nation after the revolution; the Sayer & Bennett map of the Chesapeake bay (1777); the John Henry map of Virginia (1770); and the “monster” Boye Map of Virginia (1826), printed from nine copper plates. Indeed, the scale of these editions permitted the publisher space for extreme detail and decorative elements that formerly were best perceived by the original user up close in their folded, pocketed format. The irony of the preservation rehousing, a 5mm thick Mylar and map folder hybrid, which permits flat storage and prevents improper folding damage, is that it can prevent the observer from seeing the details due to enforcing a certain distance due to its dimensions (up to 40” x 60” standardized, and custom for sizes beyond that). The flat housings also take up space on tables, if not exceeding the surface area available for reference, thus limiting the number that may laid out at one time, and lastly makes for an ergonomically unsound, and risky relationship of viewer to the object. For these reasons, the goal was to go vertical, for the least cost, and without having to rehouse the object in yet another expensive format.
The solution arrived at was to use Hexamount panels (or alternately, double laminate cross-directional corrugated board) as the vertical panel support, which are fastened to arms on independent wooden floor stands (or stanchions), hand-built by Courtois of simple materials and construction. The stands themselves are sturdy and functional, and once the panel is attached to swiveling arms by hook-and-loop tape, the feet are only visible part. The stand bases are made up of 3/4” furniture plywood, and two-by-fours are used as the risers. The arms to which the panels are attached, are fixed to the risers with a hex bolt that may be loosed and tightened, to allow for an angled presentation. There is no cross-brace or frame other than the panel itself, allowing the independent stands to be adjusted in width to each other based on the size of the Hexamount panel, allowing for flexibility of size. All told, the stands cost about $184 or about $30 each to make up six, including drill bits, wood, paint, wide Velcro ™ strip; the Hexamount runs about $87 per panel not including shipping.

Front and back views of oversize maps mounted to independent wooden stands are shown — Vertical presentation of oversize maps on in-house built stands

The maps are supported on the panel using a pass through hinge system: the storage folder is pierced with wide slits above the map, and Mylar strapping is passed through matching slits in the panel behind and below and and affixed at the back.

Image shows a piece of Mylar slipping through a slot in a support board for a mounted object — A piece of Mylar is slipped through a slot in a support board for a mounted object.

Difficulties include supporting wide maps in the middle where sagging is a potential issue, but this can be resolved with additional strapping. Mounting and dismounting the large panel tends to be the stickiest issue, if you’ll pardon the pun. Once a large surface area of hook-and-loop tape attaches, it can be difficult to pry apart, so when setting up, it is helpful to place a removable barrier such as a slim ruler or other in between the hook and loop to allow for a break-away point if the strips are aligned improperly. For removal, it helps to have an assistant, and using a ruler to split the hook-and-loop as sort of zipper helps to peel them apart. (It was suggested during Q and A that leaving a few thin squares of Mylar or metal foil in place could also serve as a tool entry point for later removal; although visible tabs might present a security concern). For the Boye map, which was previously treated and edge mounted with a fabric extension similar to that which is used for quilt-hangings, a folded over fabric tube at the top allows for a rigid strut piece of corrugated or other material to be slid through the tube and which is tied in with linen tapes to the support board.
Courtois suggests a couple of further tips during the Q and A:

To deal with a problem that also came up in the pre-conference 2015 STASH Flash II session (search this blog for that session review) – the tendency of hook and loop tapes’ adhesive to detach from substrates. The Hexamount surface is somewhat friable, and she suggests first lightly marking out the areas to which the tapes will be applied, and consolidating the stripes with PVA and allowing them to dry before laying down the tape. During Q&A, she added that she may be using more Velcro than is necessary, which impedes the dismount.

For passing the mounting straps through the through the thickness of the support, it helps to use a slender tool such as a thin ruler, to keep the strip from bending and to find the matching outlet.

Always know your route, and that you have a path to safely transport the mounted work. Courtois suggests using a dolly to transport all the stands at once, since there may be many a double door, ramp or other obstacle to be managed on the way to the exhibition site. With limited staff on hand, the logistical concerns of movement must be thought through thoroughly.
Michelle Facini, co-author of Big Paper, Big Problems (see also:poster and tables) noted that in responses to her Kress-funded survey even the use of the term oversized is challenging – every institution’s parameter for oversize is different! However, all face the same expensive choices, as sizes increase, so do material costs. Inquiring about the Boye map, Courtois replied that indeed, that one is rolled on a core for storage.

Sarah Norris noted similar issues at the Texas State Archives, and noted that they have one extremely oversize map that is mounted with an extension with grommets at the top. Others are in standardized housing with a strip of corrugated board at the top, which allows for a monofilament to be strung through for hanging.

Courtois notes that this vertical, modular system allows the observer to get really close up in viewing the map, with little risk and much reward. The reward for all this hard work “is the engagement of the users – when you go to lengths to accommodate them, people really do value that effort.” In viewing candid shots from map society visits, and random visitors walking by encountering a map of size for perhaps the first time, this reviewer can only agree.

43rd Annual Meeting, Electronic Media and Objects Joint Session, Co-Organized by Voices in Contemporary Art (VoCA), May 14, “Preserving What is Right: Learning the Ethics and Similarities of Collaborating with a Living Artist and Buddhist Monks,” Céline Chrétien

Object Conservator Céline Chrétien described her experiences working with contemporary artist Richard Fauguet to conserve his piece Mirida and her more recent work with Buddhist monks to conserve actively-used liturgical objects. Though on the surface these projects seem very different, they both raised interesting questions about how to apply conservation ethics to situations in which the artist – or, in the case of the liturgical objects, the believers – still have a living relationship with their objects.
While working at the FRAC (Regional Fund for Contemporary Art) in Besançon, France, Chrétien was responsible for the conservation of the 1993 piece Mirida by artist Richard Fauguet. Mirida consists of three translucent silicone rubber horse heads covered in glass marbles. The silicone heads are somewhat soft and intentionally deformed to evoke Fauguet’s dreamlike aesthetic. The heads were damaged from the mounting screws and the silicone had discolored. Conservation was necessary, but no alterations could be made to the piece without permission from the artist. During an initial conversation Chrétien had with the artist to discuss the condition of the piece and its need for conservation, Fauguet was concerned that the silicone had discolored too severely and he believed that the best approach would be for the piece to be remade, either by him or by Chrétien. The collections manager immediately rejected this proposal, however, since in reconstructing the piece its authenticity would be lost. Once Fauguet was able to come see the condition of the piece in person, he determined that the discoloration was not as drastic as he feared and agreed to treatment of the original work. Chrétien mended the horse heads with Beva and constructed new mounts and crates that offered more support to the silicone forms. Chrétien had to navigate complex ethical considerations through multiple conservations with the artist, his colleagues, and her colleagues at FRAC to arrive at the best outcome.
This collaborative experience served Chrétien well during her more recent work at a Buddhist monastery in northern India. The monastery was preparing for a new exhibition space, and many of the clay figures and masks used in religious ceremonies were in need of conservation treatment. These objects had never been repaired by outsiders, only local members of the community. Chrétien interviewed the monks to learn more about how the objects were used and their goals for treatment. People still leave offerings at the objects, which serve as homes to various deities. The deities will leave when the object becomes damaged, so they must be repaired in order to invite the deity back to reside there again.
Since the Buddhist objects were being actively used, they couldn’t be treated in the same ways ethnographic objects are treated in Western museums. As a result, Chrétien and her fellow conservators had to take an approach that is more similar to working with living contemporary artists. Chrétien drew interesting parallels between conservation of ethnographic objects in an active monastery setting and conservation of contemporary art in consultation with the artist. In both cases, the interview is a crucial tool. The conservator is an outsider and must act as mediator. And care must be taken not to privilege the norms of traditional Western conservation ethic.

43rd Annual Meeting – Photographic Materials Session, May 16, "Revealing Affinities across Collections through the Language of the Photographic Print" by Paul Messier

The language used to describe silver gelatin prints revolves around four main attributes: paper tint, thickness, texture, and surface sheen. These characteristics are advertised subjectively in paper manufacturers’ descriptions using terms such as “warm”, “double weight”, “smooth” or “glossy”. But what do these terms really mean when side by side comparisons of prints denoted as “glossy” by their respective manufacturers exhibit a striking visual difference in surface sheen? A need to quantify these terms was apparent, and Paul Messier delivers with a repeatable, interoperable, and non-invasive protocol which he presented during the Saturday afternoon photography session at AIC’s 43rd Annual Meeting.

Kodak Photographic Papers
The protocol for obtaining measurements of thickness, paper tint, and surface sheen is fairly straightforward and employs tools well-known to conservators and scientists to collect the data. A micrometer measures thickness of the paper in millimeters; a glossmeter records the surface sheen in gloss units; and a spectrophotometer calculates the paper tint (highlights) using L*a*b* values. Quantifying texture, however, was not as simple, so Messier challenged teams from several universities to come up with a characterization algorithm based on images of the surface of photographic papers under the magnification in raking light. Using area-scale fractal analysis, the teams were able to meet his request and translate the 2-D images into information about the 3-D surface texture of silver gelatin papers from Messier’s extensive personal collection.
Once the four values described above are calculated, Messier gives them context by plotting them on a diagram based on percentile within each category. A diamond-shaped field is created with texture represented on top, thickness to the right, surface sheen on the bottom, and paper tint on the left (see image below). So called “practical” papers (smooth, glossy, neutral white, and single weight) tend to have points lying near the middle of the diagram while more “expressive” papers ( rough, matte, war m-toned, and thick ) have points towards the outer edges. These diagrams are useful for comparing prints across collections, interpreting artist’s intent, dating, and matching paper type and manufacturers to a growing database of known papers evaluated in this way.
Diagram
The first large scale project using this method was carried out by Messier and his team to characterize prints in the Thomas Walther collection at the Museum of Modern Art and then compare them to prints made from the same negative at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Messier’s essay on this subject in MoMA’s Object: Photo website and publication is titled Image Isn’t Everything: Revealing Affinities across Collections through the Language of the Photographic Print (see link below). In addition to essay, the website also provides a clear description of the Messier’s protocol and includes specifications about the equipment and setup. Broader applications for this data are still being discovered, and the protocol is currently being used by the Center for Creative Photography to map the gelatin silver papers used by Harry Callahan. With this, Mesier presents a working method for the objective analysis of basic paper characteristics which still “honors and preserves the language that photographers knew and used.”

Link to Essay: http://www.moma.org/interactives/objectphoto/assets/essays/Messier.pdf

43rd Annual Meeting – Electronic Media Session, May 16, "Cross-disciplinary Conservation: Building a Synergetic Time-based Media Lab,"by Joanna Phillips

The Guggenheim's Time-based Media Conservation Lab. — The Guggenheim’s Time-based Media Conservation Lab.

Time-based media art is still a relative newcomer to art conservation practice. Even at institutions that have embraced the developing theory and practice of conserving time-based works limitations of space and resources can affect this emerging area more acutely than more established areas of conservation. In her presentation at the electronic media session of the AIC’s 43rd annual meeting, Joanna Phillips, associate conservator of contemporary art at the Guggenheim Museum, described how time-based media conservation has evolved within the environment of the Guggenheim, culminating in the recent establishment of a lab devoted to this work. Phillips, who joined the Museum in 2008 and whose contributions to the development of conservation for time-based works includes publications and the organizing of the AIC-sponsored “Tech Focus” conferences of 2010 and 2015, described the new lab as a cross-disciplinary hub that integrates this practice within the larger mission of the Museum and its constituent departments.

Phillips screening a work with the movable media cart.

Equipment performance checks conducted in various spaces within the Guggenheim's Conservation Lab. — Equipment performance checks conducted in various spaces in the conservation lab.

Previous to the establishment of the lab the Guggenheim Museum had no permanent space allotted to conserving time-based works. Conservation was achieved on a fluid and ad hoc basis that utilized existing lab facilities, screening equipment and staging areas via coordination with the Museum’s audiovisual technicians and conservators. A movable cart of electronic devices for screening time-based works was assembled so that any space within the conservation and media departments could be used as a staging area for viewing and documenting works. While this arrangement allowed the conservation staff to optimize the use of existing facilities, the cart was a less than ideal solution. And with such limited real estate available to stage time-based works, conservation might also necessarily be conducted in the exhibition space during installation and, hence, was subject to the strictures of the installation timeline. Time-based media art conservation evolved at the Guggenheim through the coordination and flexibility of conservation and technical staff, but the situation posed many disadvantages. Troubleshooting conservation measures under the time crunch of installing exhibitions incurred additional costs and threatened to impact the integrity of the works’ exhibition where compromises were necessary. The existing lab facilities were not built to accommodate the special needs of time-based works and the necessity of constantly relocating equipment and components to whatever space was available hindered the development of documentation and workflows.

Legacy and contemporary screening equipment for time-based works in the Guggenheim's Time-based Media Lab. — Legacy and contemporary screening equipment for time-based works in the Guggenheim’s Time-based Media Lab.

Kress Fellow Brian Castriota compares the performance a time-based work on various exhibition monitors.

The establishment of the time-based media lab addresses the inadequacies of the ‘floating’ media lab that preceded it. The lab is equipped with screening equipment for previewing works. An interchangeable space is devoted to performing mockups of installation equipment, allowing conservators to make side-by-side comparisons of equipment performance to determine the best display method.In this new setting formalized methods for containing and tracking media components have been implemented to differentiate works that may exist simply on a nondescript flash drive and safeguards such as write-blockers have been installed to ensure that the integrity of digital objects is not disturbed during treatment. This devoted space also affords more space and time for creating richer iteration reports regarding the performance of these works and allows for a fuller investigation of custom-built electronics.

Kress Fellow Brian Castriota disassembling custom hardware.

Lab mock-up of "El Sueña de una Cosa" (2001) by Phillippe Parreno. — Conducting mock-ups in the lab.

Phillips_Guggenheim_Condition Photo — Conservation photography during the check-in process.

Custom housings and inventory management for components of time-based works. — Custom housings for components.

Phillips emphasized that, more than simply an amelioration of past inadequacies, the time-based media conservation lab presents opportunities that extend beyond lab work to engage other museum staff and researchers in a groundbreaking way. Describing the lab as a cross-disciplinary hub, she explained that researchers, curators and education staff are invited to engage with works in an authentic way that was previously limited to fleeting exhibition installations. The staging area can also facilitate artist interviews to establish which components and aesthetic features are most integral to a work’s integrity, and how the work might be treated without disturbing its authenticity.

Guggenheim_Phillips_Collaborating at the Bench — Time-based media conservators inspect new acquisition with an object conservator and registrar.

Phillips_Guggenheim_Hub — Phillips and NYU computer scientists collaboratively conduct an interview with artist Siebren Versteeg.

Artist-led planning session with curators, conservators, registrars, exhibitions designers, education and public programs staff.

NYU computer scientists present case study to museum staff and guests. — Case study presentation to museum staff and guests as part of a collaboration between with the NYU Dept. of Computer Science.

The development of conservation documentation can enrich curator’s and audience’s understanding of the works and their creators which, when shared with audiences outside of the lab, builds awareness of the unique properties of time-based works and the challenges they present to conservators. By interfacing with development and education staffs the lab further increases the profile of time-based works and their conservation, enriching the Museum’s exhibitions and resources.
The time-based media conservation lab itself is a signal of time-based media’s increasing integration within the Guggenheim’s mission, one that opens opportunities for conservators and other museum staff to engage with these works in ways that were much inhibited in its previous time- and space-bound state. And as a cross-disciplinary hub the lab affords a new platform for sharing the development of this emerging practice within the Museum and beyond.

43rd Annual Meeting – Sustainability Session, May 15, "An Investigation and Implementation of the Use of Sustainable and Reusable Materials to Replace Traditional Wood Crates" by kevin Gallup

Kevin Gallup showing crate design. Traveler, lid and exterior crate in foreground.

This talk was of interest to me because I am a former member of the Sustainability Committee, and reusable crates were something that we received several inquiries about. As museums and other lending institutions look at ways to increase their sustainability, one thing they consider is finding an alternative to the typical wooden crate used to ship objects. The problems with wooden crates are: a) they are made to fit a specific sized object, and are difficult to retrofit for something else; b) extra room is necessary to store them until needed again; c) wood is attractive to a variety of pests; d) wood adsorbs and emits odors; and e) locally- and sustainably-sourced wood can be difficult and expensive to aquire. There are some European companies that rent resuable plastic crates, such as Turtlebox, but they are not yet available in the United States.
Yale University turned to Kevin Gallup when their Sustainability Strategic Plan compelled them to find a solution for this problem. They wanted a system of modular parts made of sustainable materials that could be taken apart, stored, and reused as necessary. As Mr. Gallup explains in his abstract: “There were many factors to take into account to obtain an acceptable system. Availability and price of materials, construction techniques, compatibility of materials, and the unique archival material requirements [of] the museum industry…are some of the features of the crating system that had to work together to produce a crate design. The fabrication and creation of the parts withing the design would need to be obtainable either by utilizing their own facility…or by having the parts…made locally. The system would need to be easily put together utilizing as many common parts as possible.”
After 10 years of trial and error, Mr. Gallup is satisfied with his current design. The crate is made with an aluminum frame and Dibond sides. Dibond is a composite sandwich of two thin sheets of aluminum with a white polyester coating bonded to a polyethylene core. There is an outer box with a smaller inner traveler or tray of the same materials to contain the object(s). Various foams or Sorbothane can be used to surround the traveler. Sorbothane feet are attached to the bottom to mitigate the effects of vibration.
He is currently working about a business model to make this available to other institutions. Parts can be cut out in various sizes with a CNC machine, but the system still requires a high skill level to assemble. If you are interested in learning more about these crates, Mr. Gallup suggests that you contact him in about 6 months, and he will be able to provide more information.

Audience members check out the crate materials: aluminum frame, Dibond, and Sorbothane

43rd Annual Meeting – RATS Session, May 15, "Polymer Coating Removal Nanosystems for Finely Controlled Cleaning of Cultural Heritage" by Piero Baglioni

I was certainly glad that I woke up in time for the first Research & Technical Studies talk of Friday morning’s session, which was presented by keynote speaker Dr. Peiro Baglioni. Dr. Baglioni is the Chair of Physical Chemistry at the University of Florence and CSGI (Consorzio Interuniversitario per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase, or in English…Center for Colloids & Surface Science).
Dr. Baglioni discussed the systems that they have developed to clean synthetic coatings as well as dirt and grime from pictorial art surfaces. He started by discussing the Florence Flood of 1966, showing images of some of the resulting damage to cultural heritage, and explaining how new methods of conservation really developed as a result of this catastrophic event. Dr. Baglioni explained that his work has focused on searching for new scientific methods and materials for conservation treatment.
His talk then launched into a group of newly developed cleaning methods. This includes nanoparticles, micelles & microemulsions, and containers (gels). These systems can be used for cleaning dirt/grime from mural paintings and wood, as well as for polymer coating removal. Dr. Baglioni even mentioned paper deacidification applications. Some of this information can be found on the Nano for Art site and I would urge anyone interested to check this link out. Dr. Baglioni has also co-edited a book titled Nanoscience for the Conservation of Works of Art.
Dr. Baglioni put forth the question – why not just use solvents for cleaning? He explained that synthetic polymers have been popular for conservators since the 1960s, but can age poorly. He showed examples of poorly aged polymer coatings at the Mexican Mayapan site. Using traditional solvents and swabs in coating removal can cause the solubilized polymer to inadvertently be injected into cracks within the deteriorated art surface. Alternately, using microemulsions not only keeps the cleaning material on the art surface, but also has the added benefit of being less toxic for the conservator.
3 types of cleaning gels were discussed: 1) PVA/Borax hydroxide gels, 2) Hydrogels, and 3) Organogels. Dr. Baglioni explained that the PVA/Borax hydroxide gels could be used as a peeling gel, i.e. can be placed on a surface and then peeled off later. The hydrogels could be a carrying system for various solvents and solutions. They can also be cut into gel squares and even re-used. Impressive visible light, UV light, and SEM photos of surfaces at various stages of cleaning showed how effective yet safe these cleaning gels can be.
Personally, I would love to try out some of Dr. Baglioni’s cleaning materials! There are definitely applications for a wide range of art surfaces. The cleaning materials are trademarked, but I believe they are available commercially (does anyone know where to purchase them?). Dr. Baglioni has so much valuable information to share with the American conservation community. I’m sure I’m not the only one that wished that his talk could have gone on a bit longer so that he could go into more detail. It seems like this talk only covered the tip of the iceberg in regards to his research. Excellent way to start out the RATS session!

43rd Annual Meeting – RATS Session, May 15, "New Inorganic Consolidants for the Restoration Market: Results From Nanomatch EU Project" by Adriana Bernardi

Dr. Adriana Bernardi was the presenter for this co-authored talk. She is affiliated with Padua University, a senior researcher at CNR-ISAC (Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate of the National Research Council of Italy), and head of the ISAC Unit of Padua. First, Dr. Barnardi explained that 13 partners from 7 European countries were involved in the Nanomatch project. This was a large-scale collaborative project with the aim of developing better consolidants for stone, wood, and glass artifacts. Discussions of wall painting consolidation were included as well. The developed consolidants had to be sustainable, react well with the substrate, and be safe to use. This talk discussed the testing and results of several new consolidants.
For stone and wood the class of consolidants that Dr. Barnardi described were calcium alkoxides. For glass, the consolidants were aluminum alkoxides (A18). Dr. Bernardi talked about the strategy for developing these consolidants. A mix of lab experimentation and field exposure was used in their development and testing. Mock-ups were made of wall paintings, wood, glass, and stone artifacts for testing purposes. Field tests were also done in several EU countries and Dr. Bernardi mentioned historical samples being tested as well.
The results of the Nanomatch Projcect were quite positive. There was too much detailed information to include everything in this blog post, but here are some of the highlights:

Stone – developed consolidant had good workability and use, was comptablible with stone, and there was no color change.
Wall painting – good workability and ease of use, good aesthetic results but decreased concentration needed for some colors.
Wood – acid neutralization in alkoxide treated wood. The consolidant acts as an alkaline supply.
Glass – consolidant A18 is highly compatible with glass (transparent, similar refractive index), good adhesion to glass, can penetrate cracks.

Dr. Bernardi showed videos during her presentation that demonstrated the use of the consolidants on stone, wood, and glass during Nanomatch training workshops. In conclusion, the newly developed limestone, wall painting, and glass consolidants all seemed effective as consolidating materials, while the wood “consolidant” was more effective in acid neutralization. If you’d like to know more about this project and the composition of the consolidants, visit the Nanomatch website for more information.

43rd Annual Meeting-General Session, May 15, 2015, "Lighten Up: Enhancing Visitor Experience," by Linda Edquist and Sarah Stauderman

Postal Museum Paper Conservator Linda Edquist was unable to attend the conference, so Sarah Stauderman presented in her place. Sarah began by describing the practice of philately and placing it within the context of the recent 18,000 square foot expansion of the National Postal Museum. A collective cringe radiated through the audience like the “wave” in a football stadium, when Sarah revealed that a key component of the building program was the plan to expose a large bank of southwest-facing exterior windows over the new exhibit space. Fortunately, the museum was able to use a variety of active and passive approaches to control light in the galleries.
First, there were translucent window films printed with large images of famous stamps. These required approval by the local architectural review board, since they were not in keeping with the period of the historic building. The stamp windows added an interpretive element, while reducing the ambient light level in the sunlit galleries.
Motion detectors were used to activate LED lights in the “GEMS” gallery, which houses the “inverted Jenny” and other famous or infamous stamps. The ambient light levels were kept low, while “Why is this room so dark?” interpretive signage allowed the museum to provide preservation outreach within the gallery.

A variety of interactive cases and open storage designs used a somewhat low-tech approach to reducing the light exposure of these works on paper. There was a series of pull-out frames filling the walls of what appeared to be a print reading room with the somewhat grandiose title of “National Stamp Salon.” A similar type of open storage housing was used in the Smithsonian Arts and Industries building in the 19th century. An updated version was manufactured by Goppion to meet current museum conservation and security standards in the Stamp Salon.
There were also cases with interactive lift-up doors that created an intimate viewing experience for each visitor. Horizontal pull-out cases were essentially glazed drawers set into exhibit cases. Visitor engagement was enhanced by the act of lifting and pulling to reveal the collection, a side benefit of the museum’s light-protection system. Magnetic switches permitted case lights to turn off when drawers were closed. The light switches in the lift-up cases were not always reliable, so the museum may try to redesign the lighting for these cases.

lift-up doors — Lift-up doors (circled in red) in the Mail Marks History Exhibit

Collections staff members have been meeting monthly to clean the cases and to assess the security and mechanical stability of all of these moving cases, yet they have continued to rely on some stationary case designs. To avoid the physical stress of constant movement, the museum sought a passive solution for reducing light levels in exhibits of the most fragile paper documents. In the months following 9-11, letters contaminated with anthrax had been treated with chlorine dioxide gas, making the paper more vulnerable to light. The museum selected VariGuard SmartGlass for the exhibit vitrine, blocking more than 99% of ambient light without moving parts. The glass is a laminate that can switch from opaque to transparent when an electrical current is applied. The National Postal Museum’s blog provides more information about the technology behind this interesting product, along with photos of the anthrax letters on exhibit.
Anyone who deals with works on paper or other light-sensitive collections would be likely to see some ideas to steal from this presentation. There were a wide variety of approaches, suitable for documents and works of art on paper in different formats and states of condition. Balancing the needs of the visitors to see the exhibits with the preservation of the collection can be very challenging. Linda Edquist and her colleagues at the National Postal Museum have provided a great set of models for the rest of us.

43rd Annual Meeting – Electronic Media Session, May 16, 2015, “Archiving the Brotherhood: Proposing a Technical Genealogy for Time-Based Works” by Joey Heinen

Warning! If you are a techy, you will have to wait for the published paper for the complete technical details; read on if you can stomach a more philosophical overview.
I recently heard a thought-provoking presentation by photograph cataloger Robert Burton who quoted his mentor, Sally Buchanan, and then explained how cataloging is preservation. Joey Heinen pushed that envelope further for me with his recent Electronic Materials Group presentation on his archival work focused on The Brotherhood, a technology-based, interactive, kinetic artwork (1990-1998) by Steina and Woody Vasulka that no longer exists. Since the artwork can no longer be experienced as an installation, preserving the archival record of the piece is the closest we can get to preserving the work.
The only way to understand or study the work now is to imagine it through immersion in its archival record, and Heinen argued further that understanding the technology is as important as understanding the visitor experience when representing the history of the artwork, much as a traditional conservator might integrate a technical study of manufacturing methods into a conservation treatment plan. As part of his graduate internship, Heinen spent the better part of a year analyzing, documenting and processing a disassembled collection of components and archives that form the corpus of The Brotherhood. And so I pose a question to you: is this preservation, or is it conservation, both, or neither?
Have you ever made a robot move to the rhythm of your voice when speaking into a microphone? Made from scavenged vintage warfare machinery from Los Alamos, the Vasulkas jury-rigged hardware, composed software, and used midi protocols to connect the gadgets to inputs like microphones and video cameras that took input or signal from the visitors (both inadvertent and purposeful), resulting in a stimulus/response sequence that integrated the visitor into the artwork and its experience.
Now disassembled and on the verge of being donated to the Brakhage Center at the University of Colorado – Boulder University Library, the work was originally installed in several venues including the InterCommunications Center in Tokyo. The artists do not intend for the artwork to be reinstalled. However, as the work integrated cutting-edge technology of the time and pushed limits of technical and aesthetic experience, they would like the collection (consisting of the work’s physical components as well as their personal archival materials) to be able to be studied. While ample video documentation of visitors experiencing with the work exists alongside a paper-based archival collection, there was no handbook to guide Heinen in how to document and therefore preserve the elements of the work that are possible to preserve.
How did Heinen accomplish this? He went way beyond normal archival processing, and instead imposed order on what I overheard one audience member describe as “chaos on so many levels.” He examined not only the physical objects, but the archival documents (e.g. notes, drawings and instructions) that were part of the artists’ design process, and videos of visitors experiencing the artwork. The analysis yielded complex mappings of the various components and their relationships to each other. He delved into the software code, creating what he calls a technical genealogy, and traced the various types and connections between inputs and outputs.
What is left to do to facilitate researchers successfully accessing the collection? One could develop curriculum to guide exploration of this kind of media, perhaps in the fields of history of computer science, or media archaeology, or enrich the archival record with artist interviews. While it may seem like a unique, one-off type of preservation project, in fact, in digital experience realms, the skills and tools Joey developed to document this project could have broader applications in documenting web-based experiences as well. I’ll be honest, some of this talk was over my head, but the rest of the audience feedback was incredibly positive, and confirmed my reaction: Wow, what a massive amount of work, and thank goodness Joey Heinen did it, or it would all be lost!
Joey Heinen’s internship was funded through the IMLS as part of requirements for the Moving Image Archiving and Preservation MA program at NYU.

43rd Annual Meeting – Joint Painting Specialty Group and Research and Technical Studies Session, May 14, “Franz Kline’s Paintings: Black and White?“ by Zahira Veliz Bomford, Corina Rogge, and Maite Leal

Three works by Franz Kline in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston were discussed with regard to their condition and construction: Wotan (1950), Orange and Black Wall (1959), and Corinthian II (1961). While the first two paintings exhibit alarming craquelure and flaking, the latter is in good condition. Rogge details the Museum’s investigation into the circumstances which lead to such differing states of preservation, presenting a clear, thoughtful look at Kline’s working methods and legacy.
Prior to this study, it was suspected that condition issues stemmed at least in part from the presence of zinc white, which Kline is known to have used; however, the causes of instability were not quite so “black and white.” The three aforementioned paintings were examined using a range of analytical methods, and an array of inherent vices were identified, including underbound paint, zinc/lead soaps, interaction with the gelatin sizing in the canvas, the thickness of paint layers, and the use of poor quality canvas. Kline also seems to have modified commercial paints.
It was found that Kline’s methods of layering paint and use of various materials was crucial to each painting’s relative (in)stability. It was suggested additionally that Woton’s integrity was compromised due at least in part to transportation. In the presentation, an animated map charted the painting’s transit, making the point of how excessively well traveled the work has been during its somewhat brief lifetime.
While treatment options for the paintings discussed were and are limited by inherent vice, the work undertaken to specify the various forces at play was remarkable: this talk above all highlighted the incredible ability we have today to begin to unravel the complexity of intertwined degradation mechanisms.