Category: Emerging Conservation Professionals

ECPN Interviews: Electronic Media Conservation with Brian Castriota

To promote awareness and a clearer understanding of different pathways into specializations that require particular training, the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) is conducting a series of interviews with conservation professionals in these specialties. We kicked off the series with Chinese and Japanese painting conservation, and now we are focusing on practitioners in AIC’s Electronic Media Group (EMG). These conservators work with time-based media, which can include moving components, performance, light or sound elements, film and video, analog or born-digital materials. We’ve asked our interviewees to share some thoughts about their career paths, which we hope will inspire new conservation professionals and provide valuable insight into these areas of our professional field.

Previous posts in ECPN’s EMG blog series include interviews with Yasmin Dessem, Alex Nichols, and Nick Kaplan. In this installment we hear from Brian Castriota, a conservator specialized in the conservation of time-based media and contemporary art. Brian holds a Master’s degree in Art History and a Certificate in Conservation from the Institute of Fine Arts at NYU where he graduated in 2014. He worked as a contract conservator for time-based media artworks at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and was a Samuel H. Kress Fellow in Time-Based Media Conservation at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. He is currently a Research Fellow in the Conservation of Contemporary Art at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and is pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Glasgow within the research program “New Approaches in the Conservation of Contemporary Art” (NACCA) – a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network.

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Brian Castriota documenting the artist-modified turntables used in Susan Philipsz’s installation “Seven Tears” (2016) at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. [Photo: B. Castriota]
ECPN: Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Brian Castriota (BC): My name is Brian Castriota, I’m a conservator of time-based media and contemporary art. I’m currently working on a Ph.D. at the University of Glasgow within the EU-funded research initiative “New Approaches in the Conservation of Contemporary Art” (NACCA).

ECPN: How were you first introduced to conservation, and why did you decide to pursue conservation?

BC: Both of my parents are art historians and my mother worked as a museum curator and director for many years, first at Duke University and later Amherst College. I spent a lot of my childhood backstage in museum storage around artworks and artifacts from all periods, which I think was probably a very formative experience for me. Something resonated with me in the kinds of interactions I observed conservators have with museum objects, their unique expertise about the material fabric and production history of these objects, as well as their profound sense of responsibility in ensuring their continuity.

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Backing-up and verifying file integrity of audiovisual material on artist-supplied carriers in the collection of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. [Photo: B. Castriota]
ECPN: Of all specializations, what contributed to your decision to pursue electronic media conservation?

BC: I think I have always felt a draw towards “obsolete” equipment, media and technologies; I was an avid record collector in my adolescence, studied color darkroom photography in college, and I have a small collection of vintage analog synthesizers. I first became aware of electronic media conservation as a sub-specialism of art conservation after starting in the conservation masters program at NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts. Christine Frohnert was of course a big inspiration for me – her enthusiasm and passion for time-based media conservation was absolutely contagious, and she really gave me the confidence to pursue this pathway and specialization. Joanna Phillips was also instrumental in providing me with the practical training to become a time-based media conservator in my fourth-year internship and subsequent fellowship at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

ECPN: What has been your training pathway?  Please list any universities, apprenticeships, technical experience, and any related jobs or hobbies.

BC: My training pathway has by no means been straight and narrow. I concentrated in studio arts at Sarah Lawrence College where I did my Bachelor’s degree. During my junior year abroad in Florence, Italy I took a year-long course on painting conservation which confirmed my interest in pursuing master’s-level training in conservation. Upon returning to New York I interned in the Photographs Conservation department of the Met for a summer. After I graduated from Sarah Lawrence in 2009 I worked for a paper conservator in private practice for a year while I completed the rest of my lab science requirements for grad school. During my time at the IFA I specialized in the conservation of objects and archaeological materials. I took every opportunity to work on their affiliated excavations, including three consecutive summers with the Harvard-Cornell Archaeological Exploration of Sardis, and NYU’s excavations at Selinunte and Abydos.

After taking Christine Frohnert’s seminar “Art With a Plug” in my third year I devoted my thesis research to examining the significance of CRT video projectors in Diana Thater’s early video installations. I then split my fourth year internship between the Artefacts Conservation section of the National Galleries of Scotland and the Time-Based Media Conservation Lab at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Upon graduating I was fortunate to work for a few months at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on their time-based media art collection, and afterwards returned to the Guggenheim for a Samuel H. Kress Fellowship in Time-Based Media Conservation before I started my Ph.D. at the University of Glasgow.

ECPN: Are there any particular skills that you feel are important or unique to your discipline?

BC: I find that time-based media art conservation requires a very unique combination of skills: a sound knowledge of modern and contemporary art history and conservation theory, a sensitivity for contemporary artistic working practices, a broad technical knowledge of historic and current audiovisual technologies, a knack for interfacing with many groups of people with diverse skillsets and backgrounds, and an ability to think critically and reflectively.

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One of seven synchronized record players used in Susan Philipsz’s installation “Seven Tears” (2016), installed at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. [Photo: B. Castriota]
ECPN: What are some of your current projects, research, or interests?

BC: In my doctoral research I am taking a critical look at how contemporary conservation theory and practice grapple with works of art whose authenticity doesn’t inhere through a fixed or finite physical assemblage, or even a fixed set of rules, parameters, conditions, or properties. There are in existence works whose creation continues after the work is acquired by a museum, works whose rules or conditions change over time or are seen as being variable among stakeholders. This in turn leads to questions about how the continuity of the work’s authenticity can be ensured. I am developing a framework and language to characterize these phenomena and account for them in our practical workflows and protocols.

In conjunction with my doctoral research I am working part-time at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art where I wear two hats. As a researcher, I’ve been examining some of the theoretical and practical challenges posed by particular artworks in and entering the collection. Right now I’m working on an exhibition that includes a number of Susan Philipsz’s complex sound installations involving custom equipment and wireless transmission, which are serving as case studies. I’ve also been lending my expertise as a time-based media conservator to help review their collection care practices around their growing time-based media art collection. Following an initial collection survey and risk assessment we have begun backing-up and condition assessing audiovisual material in the collection, as well as revising and expanding documentation records and acquisition protocols for time-based media artworks.

ECPN: In your opinion, what is an important research area or need in your specialization?

BC: I think one that deserves a bit of focus is terminology. There are a lot of terms that we use in our field, not always with the most consensus about what we mean: emulation, replica, copy, version, authenticity, fidelity, iteration, just to name a few. Some of these terms are borrowed from or have particular lineages within academic discourses in philosophy, ethnography, performance studies, or computer science. In some cases these terms may also have particular meanings in particular industries. These terms also have colloquial usage and connotations. And these are just the English terms. Our field is so international, and there are many terms in other languages that do not have direct translations in English. I have joked for a while that we need to have a “Term Focus” conference – perhaps there will be one on the horizon!

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Receiver aerial mounted on the roof of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, relaying Susan Philipsz’s wirelessly-transmitted sound installation “You Are Not Alone” (2009/2017). [Photo: B. Castriota]
ECPN: Do you have any advice for prospective emerging conservators who would like to pursue this specialization?

BC: Do it, because the need is certainly there. If you are pre-program, the Institute of Fine Arts has developed the first dedicated stream in time-based media conservation training in North America. Also be on the lookout for short Mellon-funded courses and workshops geared towards established conservators wishing to pursue greater specialization in time-based media. Attend digital archiving conferences and workshops, join the AMIA listserv, make use of some of the online resources like Code Academy to learn some programming languages, get a Raspberry Pi or a kit for building a little synth or a guitar pedal. The best way to understand the technical underpinnings of time-based and electronic media is to play around with some yourself. Make something!

ECPN’s Follow-Up to the Fall Webinar on Preparing and Maintaining a Conservation Portfolio—Q&A and Other Resources

ECPN’s webinar “Showcasing Your Work: Preparing and Maintaining a Conservation Portfolio,” took place on November 14, 2017 and featured presentations by Susan Heald and Gwen Manthey. Please see the previous blog post announcing the webinar for more extensive biographies of our speakers, and visit AIC’s YouTube Channel for the full recording of the webinar.

Several questions from viewers could not be addressed during the webinar due to time constraints; however, the panelists have generously answered them here.

Q&A

Should you adapt portfolios for your audience—for example, academic institutions, nonprofits, museums, private practice?

Susan Heald: I would keep a full portfolio of your work for yourself in whatever method you chose to save it, but I would adapt the portfolio for a target audience when you’re submitting an application for an internship/fellowship/job.

Gwen Manthey: Absolutely. Doing research about the collections will help you in choosing what projects to share. For museums and academic institutions (interviews or even a lab visit), I tend to review three to five past annual reports  to see the size of the conservation department, who is working there, if conservation is promoted in the report, and what is actively being conserved. Annual reports provide information on what they are actively acquiring, and this research helps me develop my portfolio. In addition to related artists, time periods, and materials, I like to make sure my portfolio represents every facet of conservation: research, technical analysis, innovative treatments, and the strengths of my hand skills. If I’m lucky, these facets overlap on selected projects, even if the object itself isn’t a direct reflection of their collection. When it comes to my private work and from my experience working with other private conservators and regional centers, it’s about time-management, problem-solving, flexibility in working on-site, effective communication when working solo or on a team, and efficient report-writing.

Is there an ‘expiration date’ on your previous work? For example, is there a certain point at which you would recommend excluding pre-program or program course work to feature more recent but perhaps less-relevant work? 

Susan Heald: That’s a good question. I don’t think there should be an expiration date—sometimes earlier work can still be advantageous to include, especially if it is more relevant to a project than more recent work that’s not relevant.

Gwen Manthey: For things that are several years in the past, I might still include the treatment reports and the critical images, but not focus on them when preparing a presentation or guiding someone through your portfolio. If a past project comes up in the conversation, I find it can be useful to discuss what I might do differently at this stage in my career or inquire how my colleagues and mentors may have approached it. Big projects, even many years past, have developed your knowledge and skills.

If you are seeking to showcase your experiences in a digital format, would you recommend building an online presence through platforms such as LinkedIn or Academia.edu in addition to a digital portfolio, or do you find it’s more worthwhile to focus efforts on one comprehensive website? Gwen, do you have thoughts on the logistics of potentially maintaining and coordinating multiple online profiles? And Susan, what is your perspective on this as a reviewer?

Susan Heald: As a reviewer, I would just want the portfolio to be easily accessible in whichever format was chosen, and a password-protected site would be just fine—as long as the password is provided.

Gwen Manthey: Yes. The benefit of the LinkedIn profile is that the end-user does not necessarily need to have their own account to view your profile, as it is free; if you ever let your paid website expire, the LinkedIn profile can live on. It may be easier for someone early in their conservation career to develop a LinkedIn profile and have a digital portfolio at hand and ready to share in a cloud-based service, rather than creating and maintaining a paid website. My LinkedIn profile serves as a digital master C.V. It is directly accessible from my website; in fact, this question prompted me to make sure it was also accessible from the “Conservator” page, where my background information lives. I feel it is prudent to have at least one profile that is dedicated to my entire conservation career, independent of the website, developed with my private practice in mind. If my website served solely as an e-portfolio, I might have the entire C.V. accessible. I want to make it clear that museums where I have been employed were not “clients,” but naturally, my private work has benefited from the exposure to skilled colleagues at those museums. Conservation is a big part of my life, so it naturally leaks into my other social media presences. Some of my peers have accounts dedicated to their private practices and I salute that initiative; I do not myself, since my professional career is still quite fluid. I do not have an Academia.edu profile.

What makes a bad online portfolio? Are there any specific things to avoid like too much information, too many images, poor organization, difficult navigation, etc.? Do potential supervisors prefer brief summaries or lengthy text entries with detail?

Susan Heald: As a reviewer, I just need to be able to find the information easily—so difficult navigation and poor organization would drive me nuts. I like the idea of having summaries with overall images up front (as Gwen showed in one example during the Webinar), with the longer, complete report format and additional detail images available for review if desired.

Gwen Manthey: I think the biggest concern is poor organization. You can put nearly an unlimited amount of information on your personal website, constrained only by the file size imposed on the specific plan you select from your provider. You should think about your intended audience, who may not have the same technological savvy you do. Clear tabs, a legible font, and smart navigation through text and images are key. I don’t even like scrolling down through long entries myself, so those preferences influenced the design of my website.

On average, how long would a potential supervisor spend looking at an online portfolio before an interview?

Susan Heald: That’s a really hard question to answer because it depends on how many applicants are in the pool, how many interviews are conducted, and how much time the reviewer might have in addition to other work responsibilities. I try to spend a minimum of 30 minutes looking at a portfolio submission containing 3-4 examples of work, and that is after I have reviewed that candidate’s letter of introduction, CV, writing samples, and the 3 letters of recommendation. I always take notes as I do this. Sometimes as a panel of 3-5 reviewers, we might divide the portfolio into sections with each reviewer taking a particular section most relevant to their area of expertise, reading that section thoroughly, and then briefing the other panelists on the review committee. Good organization of the text, images, and supporting materials within the portfolio is crucial—it must be easy to review and consume.

One of my concerns as I start making my own website is having a design that is both easy to use and distinguishable from my peers who may be using similar templates. How customizable is the platform that you’ve used, and how easy did you find it to make those changes?

Gwen Manthey: Squarespace is a very, VERY smart website builder. Even if you select one of their templates, the customization is virtually unlimited. The first website I ever had a hand in building was my own, so it was a trial by fire, since I personally found the breadth of customization and its design tools were not intuitive to me. It was quickly overwhelming until I forced myself to be patient and practice. It might have been more difficult than Wix or Weebly, both of which I had also considered at the time, but a graphic design friend strongly suggested it, as it was more customizable at the time. I like using gray backgrounds, big images, and limited text when developing PowerPoint presentations, so my website is an extension of that design preference. While it may look similar to the websites of my colleagues, my experiences are pretty singular and that is what tends to stick out.

What is the best iPad or MacBook program that can be used to set up a digital portfolio? 

Gwen Manthey:  As always, “best” is subjective. Best will depend on how you want to prepare and present your digital portfolio, so spend some time thinking that. I believe I left out one key format in presenting a digital portfolio in my presentation: compiling your documents into a single PDF package. Doing that can be accomplished through a variety of software applications. Your digital portfolio does not need to live scattered across multiple apps in a tablet, as mine did (and still does). I use an iPad because I am familiar with it, and that ease works to my benefit during its presentation. I prefer to use some of the heavier-hitting and integrated applications (such as Dropbox, Adobe-based programs, iBooks, and the iPhotos apps) since I trust they will be continually updated as time progresses. As such, I can only confidently speak about Mac-based software and iPads, and lack experiences with other platforms and operating systems.

Thank you to Susan and Gwen! ECPN is grateful to the speakers for their participation in the webinar and for sharing their expertise on this topic. Thank you also to my fellow ECPN officers, and the AIC board and staff who made this program possible. If you have additional comments or questions on this subject, please email ECPN.aic.webinar@gmail.com.

Here are links to a few key AIC resources that our speakers mentioned during their presentations:

And here are other ECPN resources on the topic of portfolios in the conservation field:

 

ECPN Interviews: Electronic Media Conservation with Yasmin Dessem

To promote awareness and a clearer understanding of different pathways into specializations that require particular training, the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) is conducting a series of interviews with conservation professionals in these specialties. We kicked off the series with Chinese and Japanese painting conservation, and now we are focusing on practitioners in AIC’s Electronic Media Group (EMG). These conservators work with time-based media, which can include moving components, performance, light or sound elements, film and video, analog or born-digital materials. We’ve asked our interviewees to share some thoughts about their career paths, which we hope will inspire new conservation professionals and provide valuable insight into these areas of our professional field.

This is the third post from ECPN’s EMG blog series, for which we first interview Nick Kaplan and more recently, Alex Nichols. For our third interview from the EMG series, we spoke with Yasmin Dessem, currently Head of the Audiovisual Preservation Studio at UCLA Library where she serves as the technical lead as the library continues to develop its program of preservation, digitization and access of its moving image and sound holdings. Previously she managed archive deliverables for new feature releases at Paramount Pictures. She has experience working with a wide variety of moving image and sound formats, as well as pre-film animation devices, silent-era cameras, costumes and paper collections. Yasmin holds Master’s degrees in Art History and Moving Image Archive Studies from UCLA.

Yasmin Dessem (left) and Allie Whalen (right) cleaning and relubricating a Betacam deck. [Photo: Walter Urie]
Yasmin Dessem (left) and Allie Whalen (right) cleaning and relubricating a Betacam deck. [Photo: Walter Urie]
ECPN: Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your current position.

Yasmin Dessem (YD): I oversee the preservation of moving image and recorded sound materials at the UCLA Library’s Preservation Department. For nearly 90 years, the UCLA Library has collected audiovisual materials with content such as home movies, oral histories, and radio broadcasts. Examples are home movies of Susan Sontag’s parents sailing to China in the 1920s and field interviews with Watts residents after the 1965 riots. Audiovisual preservation (AV) at the library is a relatively young unit—a dedicated AV preservationist first came on board in 2011. We offer a number of in-house digitization and preservation services and are currently focusing on increasing our capacity and launching a survey.

ECPN: How were you first introduced to conservation, and why did you decide to pursue conservation?

YD: The 1996 re-release of the restored version of Vertigo first made me aware of film restoration and preservation as an actual practice. Later, as I was finishing my Masters in Art History at UCLA, I took a wonderful class on restoration, preservation, and conservation with Professor David A. Scott. The course covered the material care issues and decision-making ethics for a wide breadth of cultural heritage materials. The class struck a deep chord with me, but I was eager to graduate and start working. After graduation, I ended up working in the film industry for about six years. I was tracking down historic stock footage at one job when my mind circled back to the preservation field as I considered how the films were stored and made available. I had entertained the idea of potentially returning to graduate school to study art conservation some day, but around that time the idea of film preservation as a possible career path began to fully materialize for me. As a result, I began exploring potential graduate programs.

ECPN: Of all specializations, what contributed to your decision to pursue electronic media conservation?

YD: My longtime love for film and music intersected with my curiosity for all things historical and technology-related. These were topics that in one form or another always interested me, but I don’t think I had a full grasp on how to combine them meaningfully into a profession. Preservation was the missing key. My exposure to preservation and conservation while studying art history and my later experience working at film studios both helped direct me towards the specialization.

ECPN: What has been your training pathway?  Please list any universities, apprenticeships, technical experience, and any related jobs or hobbies.

YD: I pursued my studies in the Moving Image Archive Studies (MIAS) Program at UCLA—which persists today as a Master of Library and Information Science (M.L.I.S.) with a Media Archival Studies specialization. While in the program, I completed internships with Universal Pictures and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and volunteered at the Hugh Hefner Moving Image Archive at the University of Southern California. Throughout the two-year MIAS program, I also worked as a fellow at the Center for Primary Research and Training program at UCLA Library Special Collections, where I learned archival processing. My experiences weren’t limited to preserving moving image and sound media, but included paper-based collections, costumes, and film technology. After graduating I attended the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) Film Restoration Summer School hosted by the Cineteca di Bologna and L’Immagine Ritrovata.

ECPN: Are there any particular skills that you feel are important or unique to your discipline?

YD: Digital preservation will continue to be a key area of expertise that’s needed in museums and archives. Preserving the original source material and digitizing content is not enough. There are more resources than ever for strategies and tools for digital preservation, and it’s important to seek them out. Another valuable skill is developing a level of comfort with handling and understanding the unique characteristics of a wide variety of physical analog formats  such as film, videotape, audiotape, and grooved media (LP, 78s, lacquer discs, wax cylinders, etc.). Similarly, it’s helpful to have a familiarity with playback devices for these obsolete media formats (equipment like open-reel decks or video decks.) Lastly, metadata can be an unsung hero in media preservation. Often, we’re the first to see or hear a recording in decades, so capturing metadata around the point of transfer is critical. Metadata standards can be a rabbit hole of complexities, especially when it comes to describing audiovisual media, but understanding their application is an essential skill.

Lacquer disc cleaning and transfer workshop at the Instituto de Historia de Cuba in Havana, Cuba [Photo: Yasmin Dessem]
Lacquer disc cleaning and transfer workshop at the Instituto de Historia de Cuba in Havana, Cuba [Photo: Yasmin Dessem]
ECPN: What are some of your current projects, research, or interests?

YD: We’re just wrapping up digitization of materials from the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company (GSM), an African American-owned and operated insurance firm established in Los Angeles in 1925 in response to discriminatory practices that restricted the ability of African American residents to purchase insurance. GSM operated for 85 years and their collection is a vibrant resource documenting Los Angeles and the empowerment of a community. We received grants from the National Film Preservation Foundation and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation to support this work. The digitized collection is now available on Calisphere. We’ve just started a crowd sourcing project working with former GSM staffers to describe any unidentified content. It’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career, hearing everyone’s stories and seeing how much it means to everyone involved to have this collection preserved and made available.

We’ve also been in preparation to launch a large-scale survey that will help us gather data on the Library’s audiovisual collections that can be used for long term-planning. Outside of UCLA, we’ve been involved with ongoing work with cultural heritage institutions in Cuba. Last February, I set up equipment and held a workshop on the digitization of radio transcription discs held at the Instituto de Historia de Cuba (IHC) in Havana. I’m heading back there next week to begin a project to transfer IHC’s open reel audio collections.

ECPN: In your opinion, what is an important research area or need in your specialization?

YD: It’s crucial to preserve the expertise related to the operation and repair of playback equipment. Playback equipment will become more and more difficult to source in the future. Engineers, whose entire careers are dedicated to the use and care of this equipment, are some of the best resources for this knowledge. Their knowledge is shared through conversation, YouTube videos, social media, and professional workshops. Documenting the skills required to handle, maintain, calibrate, and service this equipment in a more formalized way and sharing that knowledge widely will ensure that the preservationists can keep their equipment viable for longer.

ECPN: Do you have any advice for prospective emerging conservators who would like to pursue this specialization?

YD: Try everything. Media preservation requires a wide variety of skills from computer coding to soldering decades-old circuit boards. Depending on where your career takes you, it’s good to have at least a passing familiarity with the full range of skills you may need to call upon. Apply for internships or fellowships with organizations, like the National Digital Stewardship Residency. Volunteer at community-based archives that need help getting their collections in order. Join professional organizations, like the Association of Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) or the Association of Moving Image Archivists. Attend conferences like code4lib, the Preservation and Archiving Special Interest Group (PASIG), or the Digital Asset Symposium (DAS). Network with engineers or preservation professionals to continue to grow your own expertise, but also share your own skills when you can. Collaboration and knowledge-sharing are a fundamental part of the profession.

Perforation repair of 16 mm film [Photo: Yasmin Dessem]
Perforation repair of 16 mm film [Photo: Yasmin Dessem]
ECPN: Please share any last thoughts or reflections.

YD: One thing to be aware of, if you’re a woman in the field of audiovisual preservation, is that you may occasionally run into people who are surprised to see a woman working with technology (much less wielding a screwdriver!). This response persists to some degree despite the presence of many successful female professionals in the field. What’s encouraging, however, is seeing the growth of groups like the Women in Recorded Sound collective at ARSC providing support.

Audiovisual preservation is such a gratifying profession. Having the opportunity to make historic content available is incredibly meaningful work that I feel lucky to be a part of everyday. On an even more basic level, figuring out a new workflow or getting a piece of equipment to finally work is just so viscerally satisfying. I’m part of an amazing team whose passion, humor and willingness to try out new things inspires me every day and makes me feel so lucky to be doing this work.

ECPN Interviews: East Asian Art Conservation

This is Part II of the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network interview with Grace Jan, the Yao Wenqing Chinese painting conservator at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Art of the Smithsonian (Freer|Sackler).  This post focuses on the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation initiative in Chinese Art Conservation; please read Part I to find out more about her background and reflections on her training!

Continue reading “ECPN Interviews: East Asian Art Conservation”

ECPN Interviews: East Asian Art Conservation

To promote awareness and a clearer understanding of different pathways into specializations that require particular training, the Emerging Conservation Professional Network (ECPN) is conducting a series of interviews with conservators in these specialties.  We’ve asked our interviewees to share some thoughts about their career paths, which we hope will inspire new conservators and provide valuable insight into these areas of our professional field.  We have an ongoing series for East Asian art and recently started covering Electronic Media.

We continue the East Asian art conservation series with Grace Jan, the Yao Wenqing Chinese painting conservator at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Art of the Smithsonian Institution (Freer|Sackler).  She graduated from the Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University, where she studied paper conservation with a specialization in Chinese mounting from 2003 to 2007.  She received a BA in History and Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Continue reading “ECPN Interviews: East Asian Art Conservation”

ECPN Interviews: Electronic Media Conservation with Alexandra Nichols

To promote awareness and a clearer understanding of different pathways into specializations that require particular training, the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) is conducting a series of interviews with conservation professionals in these specialties. We kicked off the series with Chinese and Japanese painting conservation, and now we are focusing on practitioners in AIC’s Electronic Media Group (EMG). These conservators work with time-based media, which can include moving components, performance, light or sound elements, film and video, analog or born-digital materials. We’ve asked our interviewees to share some thoughts about their career paths, which we hope will inspire new conservation professionals and provide valuable insight into these areas of our professional field.

In our first EMG interview, we spoke with Nick Kaplan. Now for our second interview from the EMG series, we turn to with Alexandra Nichols, currently a Sherman Fairchild Foundation Fellow in the conservation of time-based media and installation art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. From 2016-2017, she was a Samuel H. Kress Foundation Fellow in Time-based Media Conservation at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. She earned her Master’s of Art Conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (2016) where she concentrated on the conservation of modern and contemporary objects.

ECPN: Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Alexandra Nichols (AN): I received my Master’s of Conservation from Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation in 2016, where I concentrated on the conservation of modern and contemporary objects. I recently completed a one-year fellowship as a Samuel H. Kress Foundation Fellow in Time-based Media Conservation at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, where I was working under Joanna Phillips, the Guggenheim’s Senior Conservator of Time-based Media. Just a few weeks ago, I joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a Sherman Fairchild Foundation Conservation Fellow, where I’ll be working with the Met’s collection of time-based media and installation art.  

ECPN: How were you first introduced to conservation, and why did you decide to pursue conservation?

AN: After obtaining my undergraduate degree in art history, I moved to London and landed a job as an executive assistant at the British Museum. While there, I visited the Hirayama Studio, the British Museum’s conservation lab dedicated to the care and treatment of East Asian paintings and works on paper. It’s a beautiful, peaceful room, with tatami mats and walls lined with brushes and different types of paper. I loved how the conservators could develop such a close, tactile relationship with the artworks, and how the treatments were carried out with respect for the cultures that created the works. This led me to seek out internships where I could gain experience in conservation.

ECPN: Of all specializations, what contributed to your decision to pursue electronic or time-based media conservation?

AN: I’m really fascinated by the wide range of materials and methods utilized by contemporary artists. Something I love about time-based media art is its complexity and variability. An artwork may have multiple channels of video, require a very specific placement in the gallery, or be shown differently based on the size or shape of the room.

My training is in objects conservation, focusing on the conservation of contemporary art. During the course of my graduate studies, none of the North American programs offered coursework in time-based media*. Thus, I was able to explore working with time-based media during my graduate internships at the Hirshhorn and the Museum of Modern Art. I’ve been pleasantly surprised that many of the time-based media pieces I’ve worked on incorporate sculptural elements, so my graduate training has been helpful in ways I didn’t expect. Learning how these objects should be placed in an installation and their relationship to electronic and audiovisual elements is really intriguing.

*The Institute of Fine Arts (IFA) at New York University is implementing a curriculum geared towards the conservation of time-based media, and is accepting applications this this year for Fall 2018 matriculation.  http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/fineart/conservation/time-based-media.htm

Alexandra and Contract Video Engineer Maurice Schechter conduct a quality check (QC) on a video file. [Photo: Joanna Phillips]
Alexandra and Contract Video Engineer Maurice Schechter conduct a quality check (QC) on a video file. [Photo: Joanna Phillips]
ECPN: What has been your training pathway?  Please list any universities, apprenticeships, technical experience, and any related jobs or hobbies.

AN: I’ve always had an interest in computers and electronics. In middle school and high school, I learned the programming language C, built computers as a hobby, and took courses in video editing and digital photography as part of my undergraduate degree.

I’m originally from the Washington, DC area, and after deciding to pursue conservation, I completed pre-program internships and contracts at various museums in the Smithsonian system, including the Freer and Sackler Galleries, the Museum Conservation Institute, and the National Museum of African-American History and Culture.

In 2013, I began my graduate studies at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, where I specialized in the conservation of modern and contemporary objects. As a graduate student, I completed a summer internship at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, preparing time-based media works in their collection for the 2014 exhibition Days of Endless Time. During my third-year internship at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, I collaborated with Kate Lewis and Amy Brost to treat a pearlescent bead-adorned cathode ray tube television set by Nam June Paik and Otto Piene.

Additionally, the chance to work with Joanna Phillips at the Guggenheim has been thrilling—there aren’t many opportunities to learn about time-based media conservation in the American graduate conservation programs, so emerging conservators must gain expertise through internships and fellowships. However, this is changing soon — The Institute of Fine Arts (IFA) at New York University is implementing a curriculum geared towards the conservation of time-based media, and is accepting applications this year for Fall 2018 matriculation (link: https://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/fineart/conservation/time-based-media.htm). I’ll be utilizing the skills I’ve developed over the past year at my current fellowship working with the time-based media art collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

ECPN: Are there any particular skills that you feel are important or unique to your discipline?

AN: Strong documentation skills are important in any specialization, but this is especially true for time-based media. The inherent variability of time-based media requires extensive research and documentation to ensure that it can be installed correctly in the future. It’s also important to know about the history of video production, including film history and the development of various formats. Foundational knowledge of video and other technologies is also crucial and has to be updated continuously, since technology is always evolving. Without this knowledge, media conservators cannot seek out and engage external specialists and vendors who can provide specific technical expertise

ECPN: What are some of your current projects, research, or interests?

AN: I am just getting started at The Met, but I am currently working with Nora Kennedy and Meredith Reiss to help document the 250 time-based media artworks in The Met’s collection. This includes updating questionnaires that are sent to artists during the acquisition process, which help us learn more about the production history and intended exhibition of the artwork, and researching past exhibitions to create retroactive iteration reports. The Met has had a Time-based Media Working Group for many years now, and I am looking forward to collaborating with its members as I conduct my research.

Image of a Skype interview with an artist, in which Alexandra and Contract Video Engineer Maurice Schechter discuss the audio channels of an artist-provided video file. [Photo: Alexandra Nichols]
Image of a Skype interview with an artist, in which Alexandra and Contract Video Engineer Maurice Schechter discuss the audio channels of an artist-provided video file. [Photo: Alexandra Nichols]
ECPN: In your opinion, what is an important research area or need in your specialization?

AN: I think the acquisition and display of virtual reality (VR) will pose a number of challenges for conservators in the coming years. Artists are increasingly experimenting with these types of works—Jordan Wolfson exhibited a VR work in the Whitney Biennial this year, for example—but as far as I know, no museums have acquired a VR piece yet. This technology is so new and is still being developed, and as a result, there’s so much potential for the obsolescence of file formats and hardware.

ECPN: Do you have any advice for prospective emerging conservators who would like to pursue this specialization?

AN: Try playing around with how to shoot and edit your own video in Final Cut Pro or Premiere! It will teach you about digital video formats and give you some insight into the artist’s process. And, don’t be afraid to reach out to conservators you admire to learn more about what they do!

ECPN: Please share any last thoughts or reflections.

AN: Supervised training under established media conservators is essential to the development of one’s skills as an emerging time-based media conservator. Fellowships and internships provide practical experience with real-life museum scenarios that is not possible to gain through readings or coursework. I am extremely grateful to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the Sherman Fairchild Foundation for providing me with opportunities to hone my expertise at the Guggenheim and The Met.

 

*Featured photograph: Alexandra examines a MiniDV tape containing an artwork while working at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. [Photo: Kris Mckay]

 

ECPN Fall Webinar Announcement – Showcasing Your Work: Preparing and Maintaining a Conservation Portfolio

The Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) is pleased to announce our upcoming webinar, “Showcasing Your Work: Preparing and Maintaining a Conservation Portfolio,” taking place on Tuesday, November 14th from 12:30-1:30 pm EST.

A well-conceived and eye-catching portfolio can be crucial for emerging conservation professionals to progress in the field. But when is a digital portfolio appropriate versus a hard-copy portfolio? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? How should your portfolio evolve as you progress in your career? This Webinar will cover the creation and use of digital and hard-copy portfolios in various scenarios and early-career stages, from pre-program candidate to graduate student and post-graduate.

ECPN has invited two speakers to provide different perspectives on this topic. Susan Heald, Textile Conservator at the National Museum of the American Indian, will discuss her experience reviewing portfolios as part of internship and fellowship applications. Gwen Manthey, a paintings conservator who has worked in both private practice and museums, will speak about digital portfolios, including the practicalities of compiling and maintaining one.

ECPN is seeking submissions for the Q&A session following the speakers’ presentations. To submit your questions in advance, please post in the comments section below or send them via email to ecpn.webinar@conservation-us.org. Questions will be accepted until the morning of the webinar, or can be submitted during the presentations via the GoToWebinar platform.

Attendance is free and open to all AIC members. Please register here to watch the webinar. If you are unable to view the program on November 14, or are not a member of AIC, the full video will be recorded and uploaded onto the AIC YouTube Channel following the broadcast.

 

Please see below to learn more about our speakers:

SUSAN HEALD has been the National Museum of the American Indian’s textile conservator since 1994, where she has supervised many pre-program interns and post-graduate fellows. Prior to NMAI, she served as the Minnesota Historical Society’s textile conservator, and was a Smithsonian Conservation Analytical Lab postgraduate fellow. She holds an MS in Art Conservation (textile major/objects minor) from the University of Delaware/Winterthur Museum, and a BA in Chemistry and Anthropology from the George Washington University. She served as chair and vice-chair for the AIC Textile Specialty Group (1997-98), and as a board member for the North American Textile Conservation Conference (2004-09).

GWEN MANTHEY is the newly-appointed Contract Interim Paintings Conservator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and maintains a private practice outside of Philadelphia. Prior positions include Assistant Paintings Conservator at the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA), National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow at the Chrysler Museum of Art (Norfolk, VA), and the Wyeth Fellow for American Art at the Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, MD). A graduate of the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (B.A.S, M.S., C.A.S.), she is serving as Program Chair for the Philadelphia Area Conservation Association and a mentor for ECPN-HBCU Mentor-Pilot Program.

 

— Posted on behalf of ECPN Webinar Coordinator Jen Munch (ecpn.webinar@conservation-us.org).

ECPN Interviews: International Training, Book Conservation at West Dean College

 This blog post series will look at United States citizens who trained abroad and are currently practicing conservation in the US. The goal of these interviews is twofold: to provide pre-program students with a starting point for understanding international training through a range of student perspectives and to bring awareness of overseas conservation training programs to conservators practicing in the United States. It is the hope that the discussion of international training will answer questions and start an open dialog of the challenges and benefits of training abroad.

This blog series takes the form of interviews with established and emerging conservators who have trained abroad. Each interviewee offers their personal and professional perspective. So, while themes are apparent throughout these interviews, no single interview can summarize all the challenges and rewards of international training.  

These interviews do not reflect the opinions of AIC or the training programs being discussed. The series has been created to reflect a range of experiences, and the personal accounts will not reflect the views of all students from any specific program.

What is Your Name, Specialty and Current position?

Noah Smutz, Books and Library Materials, Book Conservator at Smithsonian Libraries

Why did you pick your specialty? 

As I became interested in conservation, the functional aspect of books greatly appealed to me. I view books as organic machines and enjoy the problem solving involved in making them function as books again. The variety and ingenuity found in historical bookbindings are also a large draw for me. I enjoy studying the different ways that have been developed to bind a book.

Noah fixing a volvelle, checking that it works correctly
Noah fixing a volvelle, checking that it works correctly (Image courtesy West Dean College)

Can you describe your training pathway? 

I began my training pathway my junior year of undergrad. I had come to the decision that I no longer wanted to pursue a career in Archaeology and began exploring a career in conservation. I got a job in the Stannard Conservation Lab at the University of Kansas as a student worker treating general collections materials under the supervision of Whitney Baker and Roberta Woodrick. Within a month, I knew that I wanted to become a book conservator.

My supervisors’ willingness to help and their advice proved invaluable. They directed me to begin taking chemistry courses, to explore what options there were for book conservation in graduate school, and to keep an eye out for internship opportunities. These discussions took place in the fall of 2011, after the University of Texas program had shut its doors, but before Buffalo, Delaware, and NYU had provided publicly available information about how these programs were going to add book conservation education. Even had this information been available, I would not have given the American programs much consideration. All three programs have significant requirements around studio art. I did not come from an artistic background nor did I think for my desired specialty that investing the time in studio art courses (and further delaying graduate school) would be a good return on investment.

Very early in my graduate school explorations, I began looking abroad for English-speaking graduate schools because I did not want to try and do a graduate degree in a non-native language. I quickly found Camberwell’s and West Dean College’s programs. West Dean immediately appealed to me. A school in a converted manor house, set on an idyllic estate of 6,400 acres, and a program started by the late Christopher Clarkson equipped with equipment from Roger Powell and Peter Waters’ workshop (though I didn’t learn that fact until much later). I don’t think I am overstating to say that these three men were all extremely influential on the development of book conservation as a field in the United Kingdom and the United States. I found the idea of going to a program, even only tangentially linked to these men, extremely appealing.

West Dean was the only program that I applied to in the fall of 2011. West Dean does offer the option of a Skype interview, but I felt if I were going to invest two years in graduate school I wanted to see the place before going. When I visited in early 2012 for an interview, I knew West Dean was the correct fit for me. Their emphasis on developing hand skills, studying and recreating historical bindings, and a 6-week work placement in the second year cemented my belief it was the correct school for me. I was offered a spot beginning fall of 2013 as they had already filled the class beginning that fall. I had hoped to go straight from undergrad to graduate school. However, this was a blessing in disguise as it allowed me a year to save money for school and gain more experience.

In the summer of 2013 I interviewed for multiple internships and was awarded a paid internship at the Smithsonian Archives under the supervision of Nora Lockshin. This was my first experience working with special collections materials and proved to be a great launching pad as I entered West Dean.

While at West Dean, I had the opportunity to work with many visiting conservators and to spend six weeks as an intern at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Once I completed my masters degree, I did not find full time employment immediately. I moved back to the United States and lived with my parents in St. Louis while doing private work and applying for jobs. During this time I worked on many family bibles, as well as projects for the St. Louis Art Museum, Nelson Atkins Art Museum, and the Missouri State Archives. My job search began while I was still a student at West Dean and spanned 22 months, 40 positions applied for, and 3 second places before getting my current position at Smithsonian Libraries. I believe part of the reason this search took so long is because my professional network was UK-based. During my first year back in the States I worked diligently to expand my network of American conservators attending conferences and workshops, getting to know the conservators in my local area, and joining organizations I was not yet a part of (the Guild of Bookworkers and the Midwest Conservation Guild). In addition I sent cold-call style emails to as many book and paper conservators as I could get email addresses for. These emails did not lead to a position but I received a surprisingly high percentage of responses (above 90%). The replies tended to include encouragement to keep looking and to not get discouraged. I believe building a network is important because knowing someone, or knowing someone they know can be the difference in getting or not getting a position.

 

Noah toning a Japanese paper hinge repair on the book
Noah toning a Japanese paper hinge repair on the book (Image courtesy West Dean College)

What were the advantages of your program of choice: 

West Dean’s greatest advantage is its emphasis on developing hand skills and teaching conservation science in an extremely practical way. Week one in the Books program involved making a paring knife out of a hacksaw blade, in order to understand the materiality of our tools as well as to learn how to sharpen knives (an invaluable skill for a book conservator), and documentation and treatment of a clothbound book. From this starting point, more and more treatments were added to our slate as well as scientific research papers and bookbinding projects. This resulted in spending 30-40 hours a week for 72 weeks spread over two years treating objects and learning bookbinding (research and writing accounting for another 10-20 hours a week). I went from being able to confidently work on certain types of general collections repairs to confidently working on anything found in a special collections library. This is a result of the high emphasis on hand skills at West Dean.

The weekly three-hour chemistry, biology, and physics lectures at West Dean were specifically tailored to provide the knowledge students need to become successful conservators. In addition to these lectures, every lesson was reinforced in the workshop. We would go directly from a science lecture about the chemical makeup of collagen and how it degrades to looking at samples of leather at different levels of degradation. Personally, I know of no better way to learn and remember scientific concepts, learning the abstract scientific concept and immediately seeing how it manifests in objects.

The program at West Dean is also loosely structured, which allows for the exploration of personal interests. For example, I have a scholarly interest in bookbinding structures dating roughly from 500-1500 AD. I was able to do research projects learning about these bindings, while my classmates researched other things of interest to them, all as part of the program. This flexibility is a real asset of West Dean’s program structure and dovetails nicely with the flexibility required in the field of conservation to successfully treat objects.

What were the disadvantages of your program of choice? 

Going abroad to graduate school does not come with the same financial advantages as going to an American program does. The cost can range from $30,000 to $60,000 and will vary dramatically and constantly due to the exchange rate. I was able to make this cost work through a combination of generosity on the part of my family as well as bursaries (scholarships) from West Dean that in the end accounted for approximately 40% of my tuition costs.

West Dean draws its strength from being deeply rooted in the handcrafts that created the objects we conserve. This is a wonderful thing. But just as technology has uprooted much of society within the last 30 years, it has had profound effects on conservation workflows as well. And it should not come as a surprise that a place so rooted in handcraft has been (in some but not all ways) slow to adapt to these changes.

A disadvantage of West Dean is (through no fault of its own) that it is not as well known in the United States. Conservators generally know what they’re getting from a Texas, Buffalo, Delaware, NYU, or North Bennet Street graduate. But they are not as certain when dealing with West Dean because usually they are not as familiar with how the program works. I have run into this at many professional conferences as well as in many job interviews. I have developed a 5-minute informational lecture to help introduce West Dean to people (if you see me at a conference I’ll gladly share it with you!). At times, I have had to deal with the opinion that the training at West Dean is lesser than what is offered in the United States. I do my best to show that this is incorrect. The education offered at West Dean is not better or worse than those offered elsewhere, it is different, but different does not mean lesser.

Noah using a Peachey board slotting machine
Noah using a Peachey board slotting machine (Image courtesy West Dean College)

What advice do you have for pre-programmers considering a similar path?

Speak to graduates! We all know the struggles of the pre-program phase and facing life-altering decisions related to our education. We are happy to answer questions and provide advice! If you’re a pre-programmer reading this feel free to contact me with any questions you have!

Regardless of what program you look to attend, if you plan to work in the field in a different country from the program make sure you are building your network of colleagues in the country you want to work in. These networks are invaluable professionally in a field as specialized as ours and can lead to wonderful friendships within the profession.

If you are faced with the attitude within the field that programs abroad are lesser than the American programs, remember that all the countries those programs are based in have incredible museums and works of art. The majority of the conservators working on those objects are trained in their home countries. If that training is good enough there, it is good enough for the States. During my job search, I constantly reminded myself of this fact. Going abroad is not an easier path than the American programs or a lesser path than the American programs it is only different, no better, no worse.

 

Noah is a book conservator at Smithsonian Libraries and can be contacted at: ndsmutz@gmail.com

 

ECPN Interviews: Electronic Media Conservation with Nick Kaplan

To promote awareness and a clearer understanding of different pathways into specializations that require particular training, the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) is conducting a series of interviews with conservation professionals in these specialties. We kicked off the series with Chinese and Japanese painting conservation, and now we are focusing on practitioners in AIC’s Electronic Media Group (EMG). These conservators work with time-based media, which can include moving components, performance, light or sound elements, film and video, analog or born-digital materials. We’ve asked our interviewees to share some thoughts about their career paths, which we hope will inspire new conservation professionals and provide valuable insight into these areas of our professional field.

In our first interview from the EMG series, we spoke with Nick Kaplan, a graduate fellow in the Winterthur/University of Delaware class of 2019. Nick is pursuing a major in objects conservation and has a special interest in electronic media conservation.

ECPN: Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Nicholas Kaplan (NK): I have just begun my second year as a graduate student in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation where I am pursuing a major in objects conservation and a minor in preventive conservation. In 2009, I received my BFA with a concentration in sculpture from Washington University in St. Louis. Between 2009 and the start of my graduate education, I worked as an intern and held various positions at The National Archives and Records Administration, Art Conservation and Restoration LLC., and the Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden respectively.

Nicholas Kaplan, graduate fellow in the Winterthur/University of Delaware class of 2019.
Nicholas Kaplan, graduate fellow in the Winterthur/University of Delaware class of 2019.

ECPN: How were you first introduced to conservation, and why did you decide to pursue conservation? 

NK: I was first introduced to the field of conservation by my high school chemistry teacher. I didn’t think about it too much at that time, but then a few of my undergraduate professors reiterated the idea of pursuing a career in conservation. I had been studying fine art and chemistry independently up to that point. Despite my love of art, I think I knew that I didn’t really want to pursue it professionally. As I began to look in to art conservation more seriously, it became apparent that it was a good blend of my interests. So, I tailored my remaining time as an undergraduate toward the aim of attending one of the graduate programs in art conservation.

ECPN: Of all specializations, what contributed to your decision to pursue electronic or time-based media conservation?

NK:  When I began my pursuit of a career in conservation, I hadn’t actually heard of electronic media conservation as a unique specialty, and I had planned to focus on the conservation of contemporary art more generally. Modern and contemporary art has long been my favorite area of study, and its conservation seemed to present the most diverse range of areas for exploration. The number of unanswered and perhaps unanswerable questions appealed to me, as did the ethical and philosophical considerations of an artwork’s conceptual nature versus the material reality of its constituents. When I was introduced to the specialty of electronic media conservation, the issues that had initially drawn me to contemporary art conservation became magnified. The phrase “time-based media,” denoting a particular artistic genre, was also new to me, but it quickly became apparent that all of my own artwork fell solidly into this category. So, given my interests and previous familiarity with the materials and media, specializing in electronic media conservation seemed a very natural fit.

Image of Nick Kaplan conserving a computer that is part of the artwork, Neither There Nor There (2005), by Siebren Versteeg. [Photo: Alexandra Nichols, courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institute]
Image of Nick Kaplan conserving a computer that is part of the artwork Neither There Nor There (2005) by Siebren Versteeg [Photo: Alexandra Nichols, courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden]
ECPN: What has been your training pathway? Please list any universities, apprenticeships, technical experience, and any related jobs or hobbies.

NK:  As an undergraduate in the Sam Fox School of Art and Design at Washington University in St. Louis, I took classes in video production, circuit design and fabrication, and the use and manipulation of A/V feeds and playback equipment. At the time, all of that was geared toward my own artistic practice, which I continue to pursue independently. When I began to enter the conservation field, however, I was incredibly fortunate to get a position at the Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden where I began as a pre-program intern in the conservation department. I was eventually hired as the Collections Assistant in the museum’s collections management department. While I was there, Gwynne Ryan, now chief conservator, enthusiastically encouraged my participation in the museum’s artist interview program, its internal time-based media team, and the Smithsonian Institution’s time-based media   working group. Thus, I was able to take part in workshops, learn tools for media analysis and playback equipment from experts, and work with colleagues across the Hirshhorn Museum and the Smithsonian Institution.

This helped me to build a comprehensive understanding of the various considerations surrounding the conservation of electronic media. Now as a graduate student in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, my advisors and instructors are very supportive of my decision to pursue electronic media conservation and have helped me to hone my education through independent studies and specialized projects. I have also had the opportunity to work with Christine Frohnert and Reinhard Bek as an intern at Bek & Frohnert LLC.

ECPN: Are there any particular skills that you feel are important or unique to your discipline?

NK: Like any conservation specialization, I think it’s important to have a familiarity with the material and media of the works being treated. For electronic media the specific information that might be important to familiarize oneself with can range from physical media to various coding languages to formats, codecs, and color spaces, as well as hardware and playback equipment. The list could go on and on, but I don’t think it is necessary to have an encyclopedic knowledge of all the video formats that have ever existed, for example. I think it is more helpful to look at these all as systems and be familiar with the parameters, their relationships, and how they come to define specific characteristics or aspects of a particular work. I also think it is important to be familiar with the tools and safeguards of examination. Again, these can vary but the list might include write blockers, checksums, activity logs, programs for metadata extraction, analog and digital scopes, multimeters, and imaging tools.

I think that possibly one of the most important things when working with electronic media is knowing the limits of your own knowledge and being comfortable reaching out to professionals in related fields to ask for help and advice. Given the breadth of materials that fall under the umbrella of electronic media and the speed with which that material changes, there will always be people who are more familiar and knowledgeable about particular areas. This may include professionals in IT, cyber security, video production, exhibitions, the library and archives community, electrical engineers, and other areas of computer science. I think it’s crucial that the conservation community be able to engage with people outside our field to draw on their expertise and the resources allied professionals can provide.

Image of Nick Kaplan and colleague evaluating Horizontal by artist Eija-Liisa Ahtila. [Photo: Andrew Doucette, courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garnden, Smithsonian Institute]
Image of Nick Kaplan and colleague evaluating Horizontal by artist Eija-Liisa Ahtila. [Photo: Andrew Doucette, courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden]
ECPN: What are some of your current projects, research, or interests?

NK: Recently, I have become increasingly interested in exploring processor-based control systems as well as 3D printing software and technology. I am also interested to see how consideration for the materiality of legacy equipment and components becomes increasingly relevant in the face of obsolescence. Obsolescence is obviously an ongoing concern for the conservation of electronic media. As stockpiles of replacement equipment are depleted I see more treatment focusing on the retention of as much of the original equipment as possible with a focus on the inherent aesthetic qualities that anchor this equipment to particular moments in history. I hope to pursue research in this area with a focus on CRT monitors in the near future.

ECPN: In your opinion, what is an important research area or need in your specialization?

NK: Electronic media conservation is, in my opinion, still in the early stages of development, and there are any number of avenues for future in-depth research. One such that caught my attention recently had to do with the consideration of artwork that exists on social media platforms. I also think that with the increasing availability of things like virtual reality (VR) technology, which have given rise to more interactive pieces, it will be important to focus research and preservation efforts on aspects of designed user experiences.

ECPN: Do you have any advice for prospective emerging conservators who would like to pursue this specialization?

NK: I would recommend that emerging conservators interested in pursuing electronic media conservation not be daunted by the scope of knowledge and information that may be relevant. I would encourage them to try and gain as broad of an understanding of the types of media and materials as possible from inside the conservation field but also through practical experience working with the medium. A large portion of my knowledge of electronic media came out of my interest in learning how to make it. I would suggest that people try writing a program, assembling a controller, or shooting, editing, and producing a video. It doesn’t necessarily have to be focused on conservation but just as a way to build a foundation of knowledge of how these things actually work.

Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) Seeking a Liaison to Conservators in Private Practice (CIPP)

The Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) is seeking candidates for the position of liaison to the Conservators in Private Practice (CIPP) specialty group. This is a one-year term position, with the potential to renew for another year. It is open to early-career conservators who are currently working in private practice and are members of CIPP.

The liaison would join ECPN’s growing Specialty Group Liaison program, and serve as a connection between Specialty Group leadership, ECPs in your specialty group, and the larger ECPN community.

Both ECPN and CIPP’s charges and current leadership can be found on the AIC website here and here, respectively.

CIPP Duties and Goals:

  • Conference Calls with CIPP Officers (first Wednesday of the month)
  • Subscribe to CIPP Officer listserv
  • Assist with developing CIPP programming targeted toward emerging conservators (such as Annual Meeting programs, webinars, resource guides, blog posts)
  • Participate/co-author one CIPP article in AIC News
  • Provide content for updating the CIPP website
  • Produce a summary of activities for CIPP biannual report to AIC Board of Directors
  • Funding may be available to offset the registration costs to attend the annual meeting

ECPN Duties:

  • Conference Calls with ECPN Outreach Officers (1-2x/year)
  • Conference Calls with ECPN Officers (1-4x/year)
  • Disseminate information pertinent to the ECPN community (e.g. BigTent forums andspecialty group listserv)
  • Make at least two short entries on BigTent updating the ECPN liaison community on upcoming or successful initiatives
  • When appropriate, advocate for ECPs in specialty group meetings and promote specialtygroup initiatives to ECPs
  • Assist with the AIC Wiki edit-a-thon on specialty group web pages in consultation with specialty group chair and ECPN
  • Provide support to ECPN entries on the AIC blog
  • Publicize ECPN webinars (two organized annually)
  • If present at the annual AIC meeting, attend the specialty group business meeting and give the ECPN update presentation (talking points will be provided by ECPN Officers); promoting ECPN programming
  • Stay connected via Facebook and ECPN posts on the AIC Blog
  • Brief Spring Report: a short summary of the work done by the specialty groups and how it affects the ECPN community and how this information was circulated.

Please send a CV and brief statement of interest to ECPN’s Outreach Officers at ecpn.outreach@conservation-us.org by August 4, 2017.