Publications – Page 5 – AIC Blog Archives: Conservators Converse

New Website: “How to Digitally Archive and Share Historical Photographs, Documents, and Audio Recordings”

Information was sent to the AIC office on a relatively new website Preserving History: How to Digitally Archive and Share Historical Photographs, Documents, and Audio Recordings that provides practical, technical guidelines for creating archival digital files for historical photographs, documents, and audio recordings. The site describes methods and workflow for preparing the master files for presentation and covers the use of inexpensive consumer technology as well as more expensive professional technology, addressing the cost benefits of the different levels products. The website is aimed at historical organizations, families, and individuals, and should be particularly useful for anyone working with budget limitations.

The topics covered include:

The value of preserving original historical items and using good digital copies.
Digitization “best practices” developed by museums, archives, and libraries and less expensive, less complicated “good practices” that may be acceptable for some archive projects;
Strengths and weaknesses of five common scanning software programs and specific workflow, steps, and settings for using the software to create archival images;
Use of the consumer level Photoshop Elements software and professional level Photoshop CS when creating master archival images and for preparing images for presentation;
Use of the consumer level Nero WaveEditor software and the higher level Adobe Audition software for preparing recordings for presentation;
Suggestions, workflow and settings for creating historical slide shows using consumer level and more advanced slide show software;
Copyrights and related legal rights with attention to pivotal provisions for historical items including inheritance of copyrights and the fundamental change in copyright ownership for professional photographs before and after 1978;
Technical information and recommendations on color management, effective resolution of scanners, using copy stands with cameras, and batch processing of images.

James Kennedy, the site’s creator first began working with historical items over 12 years ago after retiring from a career that spanned non-profit organizations, government, academics, and industry, working with involved data analysis and systems analysis, programming, and management for data processing systems. While his initial interest was family history, his work soon expanded to include developing digital archives and displays of historical information about a small Amish/ Mennonite town.

He remembers useful technical information and guidelines were difficult to find when he first started out. Meeting with the digitization group at the Denver Public Library was a breakthrough for sorting out the inconsistent opinions and for finding reliable information about appropriate digitization practices. However, extensive study of manuals and trial-and-error learning was still required to actually apply the practices with the various technology and software. Hopefully this site will provide useful information for small institutions and historical societies as they begin tackling their own digitization projects.

For more information visit http://archivehistory.jeksite.org/

JSTOR Launches “Register & Read”

AIC is participating, along with about 70 other publishers, in a new program that JSTOR is testing, called Register & Read. It’s not the kind of access for our members that we’re really after, but it’s a good start. Register & Read allows individuals to register for free with JSTOR and find content that can be read online or purchased. Users can add content to a “reading shelf” to read online for a minimum of 14 days during the BETA (meaning that this may change over time as JSTOR assesses use and user needs). Users have the ability to view articles within the context of the entire issue and can remove content from the shelf after 14 days or choose to leave it there indefinitely. Users may also choose to purchase and download articles if the publisher participates in the Publisher Sales Services, as AIC does. Purchased articles will be stored on a new “Purchases” tab in the user’s account and users will then have unlimited access to the article PDF file. Unregistered users who purchase articles will receive a traditional access token that limits access to 5 PDF downloads and expires in 14 days. Our goals in participating in this program include making JAIC more accessible to researchers beyond the field, researchers with institutional access to only a limited number of JSTOR collections, and researchers who currently have no access to JSTOR, in addition to helping to provide increased research opportunities to our members.

A Thank You

The following has been reposted here from the Textile Specialty Group’s mailing list, TSG-Discuss, with the author’s permission.

Having been a textile conservator at the MMA for over 30 years, I confess that in some ways I kept to myself and did not always participate actively in the Textile Specialty Group endeavors,(though maintained my membership throughout my professional career.)

Now that I am preparing to teach a course on Textile Conservation at the UCLA/Cotsen/Getty Villa program on archaeological conservation, I would like to sincerely thank all of you who have put so much time, energy, professional thought and your personal and intellectual experience into what has become the WIKI– TEXTILES project.

It is a tremendous service to the field, and all of us can benefit from it.
Christine Giuntini, Susan Heald, Meridith Montague, Mary Ballard, Lucy Commoner, Kathy Francis, Deborah Trupin, Sarah Stevens, Jane Merritt,Susan Mathisen, Denyse Montegut, Sara J. Wolf and EVERYONE who contributed in the past untold hours to make this project what it is, and to those who continue to contribute now their time and effort into this project — all deserve a huge thanks and recognitition of the work that has gone into the project.

I personally and professionally truly appreciate what you have done, and think it is a great project. It is so useful on so many levels, designed with forsight and integrity, filling a big need for the profession.

I just wanted at this time to thank you all for your efforts. It is and will be a great resource for so many.
Best,
Elena

Elena Phipps
President, Textile Society of America (2011-2014)

BROMEC 33, the Bulletin of Research on Metal Conservation is now available online

BROMEC 33, the Bulletin of Research on Metal Conservation is now
available online at the following websites:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/research/condensedmatt/sims/bromec

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Metals-Conservation-Discussion-Group/

http://www.icom-cc.org/10/documents?catId=13&subId=127

Nine research abstracts and five announcements are presented,
together with the usual lists of related contacts and informative
metal research/conservation websites and discussion groups.

You will find English, French and Spanish language versions for
downloading as PDF documents.

As a reader, or potential contributor, we trust you will find this
issue informative and useful.

BROMEC Editorial Team

Anglophone Editor and Translator:
James Crawford

Francophone Coeditor:
Michel Bouchard

Hispanophone Coeditor:
Emilio Cano

Francophone Translators:

Nathalie Richard
Elodie Guilminot
Marc Voisot

Hispanophone Translators:

Diana Lafuente
Inmaculada Traver

Review of Health & Safety for Museum Professionals appears in January issue of JOEM

Working in a city where there is a museum nearly at every corner, we enjoyed reading Health & Safety for Museum Professionals because it illuminated a world of work and workers largely hidden from our view when we visit the many museums here in Washington, District of Columbia. Most of all, we enjoyed reading this book because it is well written, well organized, and informative without being a ponderous reference book. Health & Safety for Museum Professionals is a valuable addition to any safety and health professional’s shelf of resource books, but it would seem to us an indispensible one for every museum safety professional.”

Excerpt from book review by John Howard, MD, and Anita Schill, PhD, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Washington, DC, appearing in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Volume 54, Number 1, January 2012

January AIC Wiki Edit-a-thon

This month there is an AIC-wide wiki “edit-a-thon” event, to raise awareness of the platform, encourage participation and to add to the content already on the AIC wiki. Volunteers are needed to help with creating new content, adding content that has already been written and summarizing specialty group listserv threads, for both the individual specialty group catalogs and also for additional topics, such as the History of Conservation, Preventive Care, and Exhibition Standards. Take a look at some of the valuable content already on the wiki by clicking here.

For all of us in the field, but especially for us emerging conservators, this is an excellent opportunity to contribute to a dynamic, new resource that is already providing a great benefit for our profession. Volunteering for this project is also a way to acquire new skills and knowledge, and to connect with your colleagues and peers!

If you are interested in working on the wiki, please contact AIC e-Editor Rachael Perkins Arenstein with your contact info and area of interest: rachael AT AMArtConservation dot com. Interested in helping but uncertain how you’d like to contribute or what you might be able to offer? We can help direct you to the appropriate specialty group or connect you with another conservator to work on content. For emerging conservators, this could be an opportunity for a mini mentoring exercise with an experienced conservator, who would offer knowledge and advice to help pull together content for an article. Again, please contact Rachael if you’d be interested in such an opportunity.

We hope to hear from you! And at the very least, if you aren’t familiar with the AIC wiki, or if you haven’t checked it out in awhile, take a look at the main page, and remember to check back often, as new content will be continually added.

Writing for Conservation

With the relaunch of the Journal of Conservation and Museum Studies in November there is now another entry on the list of conservation e-journals that should be on a conservator’s radar. You can stay abreast of new issues via RSS feed or updates on your favorite social networking platform. I was particularly happy to see JCMS revitalized as it was the brainchild of Alan J. Hogg, a conservation classmate of mine at University College London. Alan eventually shifted from conservation, obtaining a PhD in Atmospheric Space Science and now works at the Sweetland Center for Writing at the University of Michigan where he teaches writing with a focus on presenting scientific research. Alan joins the new JCMS editorial board and is well positioned to assist our profession bridge sciences and humanities. Alan wrote a short editorial for the latest issue of JCMS entitled Writing About Conservation that I think may be useful to emerging conservators as well as experienced professionals. If you aren’t familiar with IMRaD: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Take a look at his post and see how it might help you with your next conference presentation or JAIC submission.

Relaunch of the Journal for Conservation and Museum Studies

The Journal of Conservation and Museum Studies (JCMS), an Open Access and fully peer-reviewed journal, is being relaunched with a newly constituted international editorial board.

We are currently welcoming contributions focusing on:

Collection and exhibition management
Critical approaches to conservation, museum collections and exhibitions
Learning, communication, interpretation and evaluation of museums
Materials science and technical studies of objects, collections and conservation materials
Participatory processes
Professional and ethical issues
Remedial or preventive conservation

Check the JCMS website and get in touch with Renata Peters (m.peters@ucl.ac.uk) and/or Anastasia Sakellariadi (a.sakellariadi@ucl.ac.uk) if you wish to contribute.

Editorial board:

Renata Peters, UCL Institute of Archaeology, UK
Dr Anastasia Sakellariadi, UCL Institute of Archaeology, UK
Eleni Asderaki, Archaeological Museum of Volos, Greece
Dr Kalliopi Fouseki, UCL Centre for Sustainable Heritage, UK
Dr Alan J. Hogg, University of Michigan, USA
Emily Kaplan, National Museum of the American Indian, USA
Dr Barry Knight, The British Library, UK
Dr Theano Moussouri, UCL Institute of Archaeology, UK
Eric Nordgren, The Mariners Museum Norfolk, USA
Prof Elizabeth Pye, UCL Institute of Archaeology, UK
Prof Bethania Reis Velloso, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil
Dr Cordelia Rogerson, The British Library, UK
Devorah Romanek, The British Museum, UK
Tracey Sweek, The British Museum, UK
Brian Hole, Ubiquity Press, UK

New Book on the Conservation of Modern Materials

Future Talks 009.
The Conservation of Modern Materials in Applied Arts and Design
Edited by Tim Bechthold

ISBN 978-3-9813755-1-0
Euro: 29,80
Paperback
255 pages, 28 f/c and 194 b/w photos

Proceedings from the first Future Talks conference, organised by the Conservation Department of Die Neue Sammlung. The International Design Museum Munich, October 22-23, 2009. With 27 conference papers this volume highlights current scientific research. It presents a comprehensive compilation of innovative practical conservation treatments of degraded plastics worldwide, including continuative information on materials and authors. Contributions among others by Thea van Oosten, Yvonne Sahashoua, Friederike Waentig and museums such as MOMA NY, The International Design Museum Munich, SF MOMA, V&A London, Triennale Design Museum Milan and many more (see below).

Contents:

Collecting Plastics
Identification of plastics
Cleaning and consolidation of plastics

Tim Bechthold is Head of Conservation at Die Neue Sammlung. The International Design Museum Munich. In 2002 he set up the Conservation Department. Since that time thereis a strong focus on the conservation of degraded modern materials.
Through the research into the deterioration and preservation of the collections, the development of new conservation processes and the knowledge of original technology, the Conservation Department has become an important hub for the conservation and the maintenance of modern design objects. It also plays an active role in networking and information sharing. and takes part in national and international research projects in the conservation of design. He has initiated and organised both the Future Talks 009 in October 2009 and the Future Talks 011 in October 2011.

Order via : conservation [at] die-neue-sammlung__de
or your (online) bookstore.

New Book on Picasso’s Use of Enamel Paints

New book on Picasso’s use of enamel paints

Picasso Express
Musee Picasso, Antibes, 2011. 166 pp.
Soft cover. In French with English translation.

Description: Pablo Picasso is renowned for pushing the boundaries of conventional art making and for his innovative experimentation with materials, including Ripolin, a line of matte and glossy enamel paints–“Ripolin Express” being one of those–manufactured by the eponymous French company. Ripolin paints gained enormous popularity in France and Europe starting from the beginning of the 20th century

and had a profound impact on artists.

This interdisciplinary book, integrating the voices of art historians, scientists and conservators offers an original, highly detailed and yet accessible vision on the different aspects of Picasso’s experience and practice in Antibes, shedding ultimate light on the legend that has grown around the artist’s use of Ripolin.

Produced by the Musee Picasso, Antibes (France) this book delves deeply into Picasso’s use of enamel paints, which has long been known in the literature and cited on gallery labels, but has rarely been scientifically demonstrated in individual works. With evidence from documentary sources as well as new, extensive scientific analysis of the works in the Antibes collection, created during the

artist’s prolific 1946 residence in the Chateau Grimaldi, this book for the first time presents a scientific study of Ripolin and how it can be distinguished among the paints chosen by artists in the first half of the 20th century. An in-depth art-historical overview of Picasso’s use of this unconventional medium before 1950 sets the stage for the discussion. The book also explores in detail the

surface of the paintings and illustrates the fascinating new creative solutions inspired by enamel paint in Antibes, providing the material vocabulary to articulate the evolution of the artist at this critical time of renewal. Extensive background information on the history of the Ripolin manufactory and the technology of its renowned products is also gathered here for the first time.

Authors: Jean-Louis Andral is Director, Musee Picasso, Antibes; Francesca Casadio, Gwenaelle Gautier and Kim Muir are members of the Department of Conservation of the Art Institute of Chicago; Marilyn McCully is an independent art historian; Michael Raeburn is an independent scholar; Daniele Giraudy is Curator Emerita and Former Director, Musee Picasso, Antibes; Benoit Dagron is an independent

conservator; Alain Colombini and Emilie Hubert are scientist and photographer, respectively, at the Centre Interregional de Conservation et Restauration du Patrimoine, Marseille.

Available online at http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?paratrk=&isbn=9782905315014