July 14-20, 2013
Maine’s Hancock and Sullivan Counties, with their rocky shorelines and inland hills, are rich with lichen species and biofilms. Buildings and structures made with granite from local quarries host lichens and biofilms. Imported grave markers of granite, marble, slate, and sandstone from other New England states and foreign countries are found in cemeteries, and these markers also host lichens and biofilms. This seminar, will study the physical, chemical, ecological, and aesthetic relationships between lichens, biofilms, and stone.
Different lichen species grow on different stone types in different environments. Lichen growth is influenced by a stone’s mineralogy and condition, and by the microclimates created by plant cover, open-air exposure, proximity to water, stone orientation, and surface topography. Biofilms also show diversity with their presence on different stone types and in different environments. The interactions between lichens and biofilms and to what extent lichens and biofilms protect or harm stone surfaces from weathering are questions that will be discussed.
Lectures will cover basic lichen morphology and species identification; biofilm “morphology;” the role of lichens and biofilms in the environment; basic geology; the history of stone quarrying, finishing, and construction; and the history and contemporary practices of preservation “treatments” for stone. Field trips are planned for forest and shore environments, a granite quarry, a gravel pit, and several cemeteries. Examination and identification of lichens, biofilms, and stones will be undertaken in the field and in the laboratory. The impact of surface manipulation of stone (cutting, polishing, and chemical “treatments”) and how these impacts may influence (or not) the growth of lichens and biofilms will also be examined. As a class project, participants will compile a checklist of the lichen species found during the field trips.
Participants are expected to represent a wide variety of disciplines and avocations; the pursuit of individual interests will be encouraged. While prior knowledge of lichens, biofilms, or stone will be useful for this seminar, it is not necessary.
Judy Jacob is a Senior Conservator with the National Park Service, Northeast Region, in the New York City Field Office. She works primarily on stone monuments and masonry buildings: evaluating conditions, preparing preservation plans, and executing stabilization and repair treatments. judithmjacob@yahoo.com
Michaela Schmull, PhD., is a lichenologist and the Research and Curatorial Associate at the Farlow Herbarium, Harvard University. Her research interests include lichen ecology, biodiversity, and systematics. She has taught classes in plant microscopy, plant identification, and lichens and air pollution. mschmull@oeb.harvard.edu
Class limit – 16 students
Daily meeting times – generally from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM (lunch is at 12:30), 1:30 to 5:30 (dinner is at 7:00), from 8:00 onwards is optional, though most participants spend a few hours in the classroom after dinner for assignments and/or independent studies.
Activities during the week generally combine intensive field studies and follow-up work in the lab with lectures, discussions, and a review of the current literature. Evenings are free for independent studies, presentations, and follow-up discussions.
http://www.eaglehill.us/
Category: Conferences, Courses, Workshops & Seminars
27th Annual National Archives Preservation Conference
Hot Trends in Response and Recovery: 40 Years After the Fire
Date: Thursday, June 27, 2013
http://www.archives.gov/preservation/conferences/2013/
A program schedule will be posted when speakers have been confirmed.
Cost: TBA
Location:
National Archives at St. Louis
One Archives Drive
St. Louis, MO 63138
About the Conference
The National Archives will commemorate the 1973 fire that occurred at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) with its 2013 Preservation Conference, Hot Trends in Response and Recovery: 40 Years After the Fire. The conference will be held at the new National Archives in St. Louis facility, dedicated in October, 2011, to mark the 40th anniversary of that devestating event. The June 27th one-day conference is the first time the popular conference has moved outside of the Washington, DC metro area. Sponsored by Preservation Programs at the National Archives, the annual conference attracts a national audience of archivists, librarians, facilities managers and administrators, conservators, preservation specialists and reformatting experts.
The immense 1973 fire and its long-lasting impact on our nation’s records and veterans provide the context for the conference. Speakers will discuss the latest approaches in risk assessment, fire prevention and building design to protect archives and cultural heritage. New trends that enhance emergency response will be explored: models of community collaboration, the impact of social media, and the psychology of disasters. National Archives staff will also describe ongoing efforts to preserve fire-damaged records and join with other experts to share the latest tools and technologies in image recovery.
A complete list of speakers and registration information will be posted in the coming weeks.
Contact
For information please contact the Conference Coordinator: Richard Schneider, 301-837-3617
An abundance of College Art Association meeting sessions on conservation, technical art history, and the material aspects of works of art
In a typical year, one or two sessions at the annual meeting of the College Art Association focus on conservation or the material aspects of works of art. The 2013 meeting which took place in New York City on February 13-16 included seven sessions on these subjects– “The Proof is in the Print: Avant-Garde Approaches to the Historical Materials of Photography’s Avant Garde”, “Destruction of Cultural Heritage in European Countries in Transition, 1990- 2011”, “Collaborative Understanding through Technical Investigations: Art Scholar, Conservators and Scientists Research in Tandem”, “Between Maker, Agent, Collector, Curator and Conservator: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Islamic Tilework”, “Technical Art History and the University Curriculum”, “The New Connoisseurship: A Conversation among Scholars, Curators and Conservators”, “Artists and the Manufacturing of Art Materials”– with a number of them stressing collaboration. Some day in the future will we look back to this meeting and see it as the beginning of a golden age of conservator-art historian collaboration?
Call for Papers: The American Schools of Oriental Research Annual Meeting
Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel
Baltimore, MD
November 20-23, 2013
The American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) is a non-profit 501 (c)3 organization that supports and encourages the study of the peoples and cultures of the Near East, from the earliest times to the present. The 2013 ASOR Annual Meeting will be held in Baltimore, MD, from November 20th to 23rd. The Annual Meeting is the yearly coming-together of ASOR’s vibrant academic community. The conference attracts over 900 scholars and enthusiasts of archaeology, linguistics, geography, epigraphy, anthropology, and other fields related to the study of the ancient Near East.
2013 Call for Papers
II. Abstract Submissions
An individual may submit an abstract/paper proposal to deliver a paper in one of the sessions detailed in the List of 2013 Sessions. Deadline for submission of abstracts for individual papers is February 15, 2013.
A. General Instructions for Individual Submissions
Session chairs will accept papers for presentation strictly on the basis of the quality of the abstract and its conformity to the following guidelines regarding content and format (see below). To be considered by session chairs, abstracts also must be submitted by the deadline (February 15, 2013), and proposers must be preregistered for the meeting (see Rules for Participation). Standards for acceptance will be the same for all abstracts submitted.
1. Abstracts for papers that fit into the sessions described in the List of 2013 Sessions should be submitted via the online abstract submission database on the ASOR website. The abstract will be forwarded to the correct Session Chair based on the session(s) noted on the form. For further information regarding the theme or other specific requirements of the session, we strongly suggest that you email the Session Chair in advance of the submission deadline.
2. Abstracts for papers that do NOT fit into established sessions or new Member-Organized sessions (available online by January 15, 2013) are also invited. For such papers, please select “Individual Submissions” on the online database.
3. If your interests are not met by an existing session, we suggest that you contact people with interests similar to yours and that you propose a new Member-Organized Session (deadline: December 15, 2012).
Proposers will be notified of acceptance or rejection of their papers by the ASOR office by April 30, 2013. Any questions concerning the status of papers should be addressed to the ASOR office (asorad [at] bu [dot] edu) (not to the Session Chair or to members of the Program Committee).
Further questions regarding academic sessions should be addressed to the co-chairs of the Program Committee: Andrew M. Smith II (amsii [at] gwu [dot] edu) and Elise A. Friedland (efried [at] gwu [dot]edu).
B. Content of Abstracts
The content of the paper should focus on the significance of the material or on proposed solutions to specific problems rather than on a descriptive narrative.
The SIGNIFICANCE of the author’s work should be stated explicitly.
CONCLUSIONS, as well as the evidence for them, should be presented clearly.
The TITLE should be precise and give sufficient information to allow for bibliographic indexing.
Bibliographic references should be kept to a minimum. PREVIOUS SCHOLARSHIP on the subject may be cited, if particularly relevant as a point of departure for clarifying the advances made in the author’s own work. See below for bibliographic format.
It is understood that excavators and others engaged in research in the field during the summer cannot provide conclusions by the February 15 deadline. Preliminary submission for reports on excavations and surveys, however, is required; submissions should be detailed and specific, and should include information on the precise objective of the project and its research design.
Time limits on all papers will be enforced.
C. Format of Abstracts
Abstracts should not exceed 250 words.
In the case of multiple authors, list the name of the person who will read the paper first. Each member may submit only ONE paper for which he/she is the reader.
Submitters/first authors/presenters MUST list ALL co-authors in the fields provided by the online abstract submission system at the time of submission and by the February 15 deadline.
If bibliographic references are included, these must follow the BASOR style as set forth in BASOR 294 (1994):16.
Abstracts should be submitted electronically as part of the online submission process.
Abstracts should be submitted electronically using ASOR’s online abstract submission system powered by Oxford Abstracts.
First Annual Graduate Symposium for Students of Conservation and Preservation (GSSCP)
Call for papers!
The students of the UCLA/Getty Master’s Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials invite you to the first annual Graduate Symposium for Students of Conservation and Preservation (GSSCP). This is a FREE, half-day, student-run symposium for graduate students of conservation, preservation, heritage studies, and related fields to be held on the UCLA Campus in Los Angeles, CA on April 27, 2013.* This symposium aims to encourage a conference of ideas, experiences, and observations between different fields engaged in the promotion and management of cultural properties, sites, materials, and values. The deadline for paper submissions has been extended to February 1st. Please follow this link for more details.
*The timing of the symposium coincides with the final day of the Association of North American Graduate Programs in Conservation (ANAGPIC) Annual Meeting, held at the Getty Villa and UCLA from April 25- 27, 2013.
AIC-PMG & ICOM-CC PMWG Photographs Conservators Joint Meeting 2013
This is a reminder that registration is open for the February 2013 AIC PMG Joint Meeting with the ICOM-CC Photographic Materials Working Group (PMWG) in Wellington, New Zealand. The early registration rate is still available through November 30. Details on the meeting schedule, workshops, hotels, tours, travel, registration and more can be found on the meeting website:
http://www.wellington2013photographicmaterials.org.nz/
The impressive roster of speakers and their topics is now on the website as well. We had a great response to the call for posters, so this first poster session for each group promises to be successful. This meeting will be the first time either group has met in the southern hemisphere.
The meeting will be held 11-15 February 2013 at the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand.
We hope to see you in Wellington!
Warm regards,
Marc Harnly
ICOM-CC PMWG Coordinator
Barbara Brown
PMG Chair
Review of FAIC Preventive Conservation Workshop: Ossabaw Island, GA (January 7-20, 2012)
How does one care for a historic home that is currently being inhabited? How much care should be given to maintain such a site when funding and physical isolation prevent a clear future?
Last January I attended a two-week preventive conservation workshop along with five other participants on Ossabaw Island, a wilderness barrier island off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, to try to tackle these questions. As a pre-program conservation student, this workshop offered me a chance to consider conservation outside of traditional contexts, to engage in preventive conservation, and to experience a truly unforgettable adventure.
The island, whose earliest settlements date to 2000 BCE, was occupied by the Guale and Creek Indians, Spanish and English explorers, and plantation owners until its eventual purchase in 1924 by Dr. Henry Norton Torrey of Michigan. Dr. Torrey’s daughter, Eleanor Torrey West, inherited the family’s home in addition to the entire island where she fostered a creative retreat, The Ossabaw Island Project, attended by writers, artists, and scientific researchers. Mrs. West (99) continues to live on Ossabaw today, but has since sold the island to the State of Georgia under the condition that it be kept as a nature preserve for academic pursuits. The island offered a meditative and isolated setting for our preventive conservation study; ancient shell middens, Spanish moss draped palmetto and live oak trees, tidal marshes, untouched beaches, wild pigs, and the ruins of tabby slave quarters comprised the island’s lush landscape.
The primary focus of the workshop was to discuss and employ preventive conservation strategies, including monitoring the temperature, relative humidity, light, and pests, while following and revising a housekeeping manual for the 1924 Spanish colonial revival style Torrey-West house. The workshop, taught by Peebles Island Resource Center conservators David Bayne, Kristin O’Connell, Abby Zoldowski, Michele Phillips, and private practice conservator Rose Cull, also included dedicated sessions on the care of the house’s textiles, books and works on paper, furniture, and outdoor iron structures. Several preventive sessions were continuations of the 2010 campaign, including the recording of pest activity, temperature, and climate within the house. We identified insects found in traps, discussed data reconnaissance techniques, recorded light and ultraviolet readings, and selected two rooms on the ground floor to be lightly cleaned using housekeeping methods appropriate to historic houses.
In the object-based workshop sessions, the group learned about ideal conditions and care for different objects within the house’s collection. We selectively intervened based on the house’s two main limitations: the climate could not be kept constant, and most importantly, the house was inhabited. During the two weeks, we examined textiles damaged by insects and conducted a freezing cycle on two infested pillows, we learned about the basic mechanism of iron corrosion and treated a corroded window grate, we constructed protective enclosures for books, and took part in lectures and demonstrations on conservation tools and proper handling techniques.
This workshop provided me with an invaluable and thorough introduction to preventive conservation and historic housekeeping. The artifacts in the Torrey-West house presented challenging scenarios for proposing care or treatment; many objects were in daily use, such as the rugs, furniture, and stove, or had potential to be used, such as a book on a shelf. The need for interpretation also arose when choosing which rooms to monitor or clean, and which damaged objects ought to be stabilized.
Not only did the instructors teach us practical skills and concepts, but they encouraged the students to explore ideas about value, and balancing treatment ideals with real-world limitations. The landscape, the lessons learned, and the networking prospects (two of the participants, myself included, continued on to intern at the Peebles Island Resource Center) at Ossabaw Island made it well worth the trip! The FAIC generously awarded the participants a travel stipend to attend, and housing was provided by the Ossabaw Island Foundation in the restored “Clubhouse” building.
Applications for the next workshop (1/18- 2/1) are due November 12! For more information, visit www.conservation-us.org/education.
New Archaeological Conservation Workshop at the Annual Meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research
We (LeeAnn Barnes Gordon and Suzanne Davis) are pleased to announce a new conservation workshop session at the annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR). This year’s session will be held on Friday, Nov. 16th from 4:20 – 6:25 pm at the Chicago Marriot Downtown Magnificent Mile, and we would like to encourage Chicago-area conservators to join us for what promises to be an interesting and constructive afternoon.
The workshop, Archaeological Conservation Strategies in the Near East, aims to foster collaboration and promote information sharing among conservators and archaeologists working in the Near East. Contributors will present multi-disciplinary projects and research on archaeological heritage from Egypt, Israel, Turkey, and Iraq. Topics examined will include regional trends in conservation, balancing preservation and access, site management, treatments of challenging materials, and collaborations with local conservation and archaeological communities. A moderated discussion will engage the contributors as well as the audience, creating an ongoing dialogue that we hope will ultimately improve preservation for archaeological materials and sites in the Near East.
The first two presentations of the session will focus on site work. Hiroko Kariya will discuss the Luxor Temple Fragment Conservation Project, which includes the documentation, treatment, and monitoring of tens of thousands of sandstone fragments. Kariya’s presentation will address two particularly challenging aspects of the project: the protection of a massive number of semi-portable, inscribed fragments and providing accessibility to the collection on site for a high volume of visitors. In the following presentation, “Getting What You Came For: Conservation and Research at Tel Kedesh, Israel,” Suzanne Davis will demonstrate how on-site conservation activities can successfully contribute to archaeological research. This talk will also introduce the important discussion topic of how to balance the expectations of local conservation and archaeological authorities with the on-the-ground realities and priorities of international project teams.
Case studies presented by Krysia Spirydowicz and Catherine Foster will discuss the challenges of preserving two exceptional and fragile archaeological collections. Spirydowicz will outline the methods used to conserve ornate, wooden furniture from the royal tombs at Gordion. This presentation will highlight the difficulties of preserving ancient wooden objects, while addressing the particular conservation problems posed by the charred and fragmentary Gordion furniture. The focus of Foster’s talk will be the preservation of the Nimrud ivories, which resulted from a joint Iraq-U.S. project undertaken at the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage in Erbil (the Institute). The project initiated a program of conservation and improved display of the famous ivories, as well as provided training to Iraqi conservation professionals. The final presentation by Vicki Cassman will elaborate on the history and goals of the Iraqi Institute. Institute participants receive training by international conservation experts, as part of an effort to build a sustainable conservation community that will serve preservation needs at sites and museums throughout Iraq.
This workshop session will be held at the 2012 ASOR Annual Meeting on Friday, Nov. 16th from 4:20 – 6:25 pm.
To learn more about ASOR and/or to register for the 2012 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, please visit the ASOR website at www.asor.org.
Call for Papers: “Polychrome Sculpture: Decorative Practice and Artistic Tradition”
Interim Meeting of the ICOM-CC Working Group – Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decorations
Hosted by Tomar Polytechnic Institute
Tomar, Portugal
28-29 May 2013
This two day symposium will focus on artistic tradition within the field of polychrome sculpture relating to decorative practice. After two symposiums on construction techniques (Maastricht 2010 and Glasgow 2012), the main focus will now be on decorative practices, from painting materials, to varnishes or metal leaf applications, etc.
The meeting will be hosted by the Polytechnic Institute, Tomar (Portugal). Tomar is well known for the Convent of the Order of Christ (12th century),–originally a Templar stronghold–and one of Portugal’s most important historical and artistic monuments, classified as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1983. The Polytechnic Institute provides training for conservators in the form of a Master degree course in Conservation and Restoration.
The organizing committee and the ICOM-CC working group Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decoration invites papers and posters related to decorative practices within the field of polychrome sculpture and the conservation treatment of these objects. Several decorative techniques will be addressed such as painting techniques from different regions, gilding, estofado , use of incised and punched patterns, varnishes, lacquers, applications, etc.
The meeting will provide a forum for discussion between conservators, conservation scientists, researchers, educators and curators to discuss artistic practice within the field of polychrome sculpture. The symposium aims to bring together international experts on polychrome decorative practice and to provide an opportunity for the worldwide conservation community to exchange new research, experiences and expertise within this field.
Original papers are invited for submission to focus on case studies and advances in research and treatment of polychrome sculpture. Authors interested in presenting a paper or poster should submit an abstract (400 – 600 words) by 31 December, 2012 to icomccspadtomar2013 [at] gmail__com
Work should be original and not have been published previously. Contributions of work-in-progress are also welcome. Abstracts should be in English and include the contact information for the author(s) (affiliation, address, telephone, fax and e-mail). The abstracts will be reviewed by the Conference Organizing Committee, and authors will be informed by 31 January 2013. Full papers are to be delivered by 30 April 2013. It is the intention of the organisers to publish all accepted papers in English.
Further details regarding this conference will be posted on the home page of the ICOM-CC Working Group: Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decoration, which is at www.icom-cc.org/38/working-groups/sculpture,-polychromy,-and-architectural-decoration
The Conference Organizing Committee:
Ana Bidarra
ICOM-CC Working Group Assistant Coordinator: Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decoration
Private Conservator-Restorer
Rua Almirante Candido dos Reis No. 28 3T
3800-096 Aveiro
Portugal
+351 966590968
bidarra.ana [at] gmail__com
Kate Seymour
ICOM-CC Working Group Coordinator: Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decoration
Head of Education
Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (SRAL)
Avenue Ceramique 224
6221 KX Maastricht
The Netherlands
+31 43 321 8444
k.seymour [at] sral__nl
Call for Papers: Heritage Wood – Research and Conservation in the 21st Century
Joint Interim Conference of three ICOM-CC working groups:
Wood, Furniture, and Lacquer
Scientific Research
Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decoration
National Museum in Warsaw, Poland
28-30 October, 2013
Hosted in collaboration with the National Museum in Warsaw, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
The conference entitled “Heritage Wood: Research and Conservation in the 21st Century ” will focus on novel scientific methods and applied research into heritage wooden structures, as well as furniture, wooden sculpture, painted wood, gilded wood, varnished wood, lacquered wood, paintings on wooden supports, and all other heritage wooden objects.
Themes will include:
- Advances in scientific research applied to heritage wood for analysis and conservation
- The study and elucidation of mechanisms of wood damage and wood deterioration associated with environmental and physical conditions
- The interrelation between the wood and various finishing layers
- Novel conservation methods applied to unvarnished, varnished, polychrome, or gilded wood (sculptures, paintings on wooden supports, furnishings and furniture, architectural structures and decorations)
- Case studies highlighting problems associated with heritage wood conservation, novel solutions and appropriate treatments
- Case studies emphasizing complex research of artworks on wooden supports linking technical investigations with historical context and subsequent conservation treatment
The meeting will provide a forum for discussion between conservation scientists, researchers, educators and practising conservators. The conference aims to bring together international experts on heritage wood research and to provide a great opportunity for the worldwide conservation community to exchange new research, experiences and expertise.
It is the intention of the organizers to publish all accepted papers in English, however oral presentations at the conference will be allowed in both official languages of the meeting, Polish and English, and simultaneous translation will be provided.
Call for Papers deadline: February 28, 2013
Original papers are invited for submission to focus on case studies and advances in heritage wood research. Authors interested in presenting a paper or poster should submit an abstract (400 – 600 words) by February 28, 2013, to heritagewoodconservation2013 [at] gmail__com
Work should be original and not have been published previously. Contributions of work-in-progress are also welcome. Abstracts should be in English or Polish and include the contact information for the author(s) (affiliation, address, telephone, fax and e-mail). The abstracts will be reviewed by the Conference Organizing Committee and invited experts, and authors will be informed by April 30, 2013.
The Conference Organizing Committee:
Kate Seymour
Coordinator, ICOM-CC Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decoration Working Group
k.seymour [at] sral__nl
Austin Nevin
Coordinator, ICOM-CC Scientific Research Working Group,
austin.nevin [at] ifn__cnr__it
Dr Malgorzata Sawicki
Coordinator, ICOM-CC Wood, Furniture, and Lacquer Working Group
margaret.sawicki [at] ag__nsw__gov__au
Marcin Draniak
Coordinator–contacts with the Director, Head of Laboratory, National Museum in Warsaw
mdraniak [at] mnw__art__pl
Dr Elzbieta Pietrusinska-Pilecka
Art Science and Conservation Specialist
National Museum in Warsaw
epilecka [at] mnw__art__pl
Dorota Ignatowicz-Wozniakowska
Head of Conservation Department,
National Museum in Warsaw
dignatowicz [at] mnw__art__pl
Prof. Iwona Szmelter
Faculty of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
badania [at] asp__waw__pl