Closing the year with links to 3 articles, each covering an issue which could be seen as pointing to emerging trends in heritage preservation and conservation.

from CBC
U.S. artifacts at risk because of poor storage
go to article

The recent Heritage Health Index Report on the state of storage of heritage collections in the United States may be a depressive read, but the underlying forces resulting in such a state of affairs began much earlier, when pressure to reign in costs in museums often resulted in support functions being sidelined. In moving forward, there must be renewed recognition (and funding) for the essential long-term nature of the care of tangible heritage artefacts - building both (in-house) professional expertise and infra-structure for processes and physical spaces.

from New York Times
If Cambodia Can Learn to Sing Again
go to article

With intangible heritage, the picture seems rosier, with increasing levels of awareness and number of initiatives in documenting, recording and making available various reference resources of intangible traditional heritage, which might otherwise be lost due to a break in transmission. Disruptive acts of war or political apathy, notwithstanding.

from BBC news
Classic poets' voices go online
go to article

Advances in digital technologies have made the realisation of a separate category of heritage materials inevitable. Digital collections, which often incorporate references to either tangible or intangible heritage, are increasingly seen as the next frontier in heritage preservation. Although not likely to supersede tangible or intangible forms of heritage materials, digital collections will nevertheless fulfill the role of enhancing the long-term effort in preserving the memory of human civilisations across the world.

---

Wishing one and all a Happy and Peaceful New Year!

from The Art Newspaper
Nazi photo archive goes online
go to article

A clear case of how historical records, even those with a "negative" association, could be used for a greater good in time to come. In this case, it was the merticulous (or some would say, manic) documentation by a criminal regime that, because it was preserved, became the critical source for visual records aiding the restoration of the historic cathedral in Dresden (see previous BBC news item).

from BBC News
Clothes of 1924 head for Everest
go to article

An interesting way to understand history by re-creating in faithful detail of what was known. And using that recreation in the way it was meant to function. With the increasing focus on the need to preserve intangible heritage (as opposed to the more established work in tangible heritage), perhaps more recognition may be given to that extremely interesting terrain in between the two - that of making tangible what was previously intangible through recreation or reconstruction in a manner as close to the original as possible.

from The Art Newspaper
Rebuilding the Forbidden City
go to article

One might ask: "How does one determine when (over-zealous) restoration becomes replication or renovation?" If the objective of the project is solely to beautify (or glorify), with scant regard for the historical underpinnings of the artefact (be it large or tiny), then that is probably when the line has been crossed. Cultural differences and copious amount of funding not withstanding.

from The New York Times
Museums Under Fire on Ancient Artifacts
go to article

It is difficult being a museum with a comprehensive and universal collection these days. Damn if you collect, damn if you don't! Or might there be a better way to showcase cultures and heritage which transcends geographical boundaries? Like long-term loans?

from The Conservation Awards
Conservation Awards winners are announced!
go to news article

The winners of the UK Conservation Awards have been announced. View the full press release and photographs. Also press releases for the Award for Care of Collections, Student Conservator of the Year Award, and Digital Preservation Award.

from The Art Newspaper
Cimabue'’s Assisi fresco reconstructed
go to article

Almost 9 years of work will near its completion in the pain-staking restoration of a fresco destroyed by an earlier earthquake. If not for the help of digital technology, the reconstruction of the original from the thousands of plaster fragments would have been impossible (see older articles here and here). In this instance, the role of digital technology in the preservation of cultural heritage interestingly resulted in a tangible end, instead of a virtual one.

from The Guardian
Off the shelf and on to the web
go to article

A new initiative, The Open Library, which will digitally scan actual pages of books in the public domain and making these available via the internet. This is digital preservation with a public service face - and a huge one at that. This parallels nicely with the Turning-the-Page project which selectively make available British Library collections through a similar web-based interface.

However, the one big difference between the 2 projects lies in that the Open Library project allows for specific word searches in the books scanned, hence enabling these older books to be more usable to the generation which grew up with internet technology.

from The Conservation Awards
Conservation Awards 2005

Looking ahead to the announcement of the winners of the UK Conservation Awards on 22 November, brief information of the various projects and candidates shortlisted can be viewed on the Awards web-page. There are various categories of the Awards, including the Award for Conservation, Award for Care of Collections, Student Conservator of the Year, Anna Plowden Award for Research and Innovation, and the Digital Preservation Award.

from Los Angeles Times
Treasure of an island cruises the rivers around Manhattan
go to article

How does one go about "preserving" an unrealised artwork? The (re)construction of Robert Smithson's Floating Island, which had remained as a sketch since the death of the artist, is an interesting take on preserving an artist's idea as against the final physical materials of the work. There is also a video of the project on Whitney Museum's web-page.

from MSNBC
Accidental invention could light up the future
go to article

An improvement of the technology driving LED lights (see previous post) will go towards making them unbiquitous (including in the museum) in the near future.

from The New York Times
Museums Set to Sell Art, and Some Experts Cringe
go to article

Some call it "renewal" while others have criticised it as "ill-informed". The de-accessioning of museums' collections for sale has consistently touched a raw nerve, reflecting the inability of museum professionals to agree on a common philosophical framework with regards to the ownership of cultural artefacts - are these historical materials that happen to have an economic value (and cost of maintenance) or are these the very evidence (and essence) of humanity's history. Or perhaps both, which, of course, doesn't help clarify the debate at all.

from UNESCO
2005 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award Winners
go to web-page

The recently announced winners for the conservation of built heritage in the Asia-Pacific region inculded a team from the National University of Singapore who did some highly commendable work in Lijiang, China (see NUS press release and more information).

from ICOM-CC 14th Triennial
Congress Newspaper
go to PDF

Summarising the recently concluded ICOM-CC conservation conference in the Hague in September 2005, a newspaper-format newsletter was produced at the close of the conference and distributed to the delegates, which is also online.

from Digital Preservation Mailing List
iPRES presentation

Just to pass on an update originally posted on the digital preservation mailing list.

----- Original Message -----

Dear colleagues,

the live recordings of the presentations at the
International Conference on Preservation of Digital Objects (iPRES)
15 – 16 September 2005 in Göttingen
as well as the respective pdf documents are now online and can be viewed at:

http://rdd.sub.uni-goettingen.de/conferences/ipres/programme

All the best,
Heike Neuroth

Dr. Heike Neuroth
Research & Development - DINI secretary
http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/ - http://www.dini.de/
Goettingen State and University Library (SUB)
Papendiek 14
37073 Göttingen

from International Herald Tribune
China is racing to get its art treasures back
go to article

An interesting take on further attempts to buy back historical Chinese artefacts, which was briefly highlighted here in a previous post. Only now, there is a strong whiff of ultra-nationalism and purposefulness, given the involvement of the military in China.

from The Guardian
How Britain helps China destroy Tibet
go to article

When museums get drawn into political agendas, perhaps unwittingly. It points to a larger but mistaken assumption that cultural and heritage matters somehow transcends the merely political (or everyday), which is never the case.

from the New York Times
Synchronizing the Present and Past in a Timeless Place
go to article

Another glimpse into the French world of heritage preservation at the Versailles Palace, previously posted here. The deliberate yet meticulous attention to technical details may seem out of place in an efficiency-driven world that is widely expected. However, it is also true that when something is worth doing, sometimes it is worth doing it slowly.

from BBC News
Original Alice work in 3D online
go to article

Highlighting the Turning the Page project at the British Library, which currently has 14 historically significant books (in the British context, at least) that can be browsed virtually. An acceptable compromise between preservation and access, surely.

Singapore Updates
A couple of updates, if you have not already come across them:

The Changi Museum Revamped
go to weblog posting
With the most recent renovation completed to coincided with the slew of programmes marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, the museum has added several new artefacts and storyboards.

Southeast Asian Archaeology
go to news page
An update of the site with additional pages of information in and around Singapore.

from GCI Newsletter
Conservation Science
go to online newsletter
go to PDF version

The latest newsletter from the Getty Conservation Institute features the development and role of conservation science in the larger professional framework of cultural heritage conservation and preservation.

from Guardian Unlimited
Taking the Tate into the future
go to article

An article highlighting the Tate's Director, Nicholas Serotas's vision and plans for the museum.

The vision include the idea that the museum in society should be "not a cathedral, but a meeting place, where you see and recognise other people in society; a place of debate and dialogue and exchange, not a place of worship".

To do that, he plans to "unseat" painting and sculpture from their traditional position as "king and queen" of art and to showcase visual art forms in its entirety of richness and complexities. "The big idea," he said, "is that the old hierarchies between painting and sculpture and other forms of expression have evaporated."

In addition, it is important to note that the focus of his vision goes beyond the forms of visual art. By saying that the museum is not a "cathedral" but a place where you "see and recognise other people in society", he meant to create a Tate that "does not appear monocultural" but reflects a "broader British society, in all its richness". It is his ambition to represent the full depth of contemporary life, such as club culture.

I especially like the way he coolly took into account the Tate's deficiencies as compared to other world class museums and devised the Tate's unique identity from there.

from Tate Online
Media Matters
go to web-page

Dealing with time-based media art in museums' permanent collections would necessarily involve the close collaboration of "curators, conservators, registrars and media technical managers". Adding to Tate's latest initiative, there are 2 papers and a conference currently archived on Tate's web-site that is of related interest.

PIP LAURENSON
"Developing Strategies for the Conservation of Installations Incorporating Time-based Media: Gary Hill's Between Cinema and a Hard Place" (Tate Papers, Spring 2004)
go to online paper

PIP LAURENSON
"The Management of Display Equipment in Time-based Media Installations" (Tate Papers, Spring 2005)
go to online paper

Conference, 4 June 2005
"Curating, Immateriality, Systems: On Curating Digital Media"
go to archived conference

from Conservation, GCI Newsletter
Technical Art History
go to newsletter
PDF version

The latest newsletter from the Getty Conservation Institute is featuring the emerging cross-disciplinary field of technical art history.

from Art Museum Network News
Smithsonian Receives $10 Million for the Lunder Conservation Center
go to article

An update on the development of a visible conservation centre (see previous post) at the Smithsonian. The new centre, named Lunder Conservation Centre, will be housed in the American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. It is projected that the renovation work currently underway at the museums and centre will be completed by July 2006.

from The Art Newspaper
Travel vandals: the Grand Tour has gone sour
go to article

When the aim of sustaining cultural heritages is solely driven by commercial interests, inevitably, its becomes unsustainable. This is the dilemma facing listing (and also de-listing) cultural heritage monuments and sites from the World Heritage Sites list. Perhaps a more sensible approach, as one of the solutions proposed in the article, is to attend to the value and meaning of such experiences:

"[T]ourists should get better educated about where they are going so that they respect it more and get more out of it. Slower, better informed travel, with the readiness to put something back in the way of direct contribution to improving and protecting the experience is the way to be a tourist."

It could also be said that such a need for self-education and reciprocity extends to all cultural heritage "tourists", including visitors to museums and other cultural heritage institutions.

from The Telegraph
It knows where you are...
go to article

An update on a previous post on a location-based multi-media device which has been specifically designed for enhancing the visitor experience of outdoor heritage sites. The combination of right design and accessible yet challenging content would be quintessential.

from Open Source Energy Network
Cool Light on Hot Days: Fiber Optics Bring the Sun Indoors
go to article

Fibre optics has been recognised and used as a safe light source for the display of cultural heritage artefacts. However, it's performance has been found lacking in the area of general room lighting. Now comes the possibility of using fibre optics for lighting up an entire room. However, the new technology is dependent on there being a sunny day outside. Nevertheless, a combination of this technology and conventional lighting could save museums (or any building, for that matter) major utility payments and being environment-friendly at the same time.

from V&A
Conservation Journal
go to on-line journal

The long-awaited on-line version of the V&A Conservation Journal is finally available. I have added the Journal home page to the list of links on this web-log.

from The Telegraph
£600m sale ruffles the famed calm of Raffles
go to article

When does heritage ends and business begins - and vice versa?

from The New York Times
What Price Love? Museums Sell Out
go to article

Michael Kimmelman observed that museums (in the major US cities) appear to have moved into a sort of capitalist excess and feeding frenzy in order to meet funding targets and popular access, at the expense of core functions and values:

"But museums and libraries are not commercial enterprises. Growth is not necessarily good. Expansion is not always wise. Often it's the reverse. True success is measured by hard-to-quantify intangibles: the quality of research and education; the study, care and maintenance of the collections; the level of public trust."

Further on in the article, Kimmelman warned that:"museums, having devalued their principles for short term gains, may earn the public's contempt in the long run." This would indeed be an extremely pertinent observation, which can also easily describe the situation elsewhere. If one were to look closely enough and under the flashy surface, could our local museums hold up to scrutiny as well?

from The Telegraph
A breath of fresh air at the V&A
go to article

With all these talks about re-presenting museums as an attractive lifestyle option for younger audiences, a re-evaluation and reconstruction of all the spaces, particularly the garden in this case, seems a clever move. I for one, thinks that it is a creditable change when I reflect that I've always gone to parks/gardens after every sojourn in a museum. The museum experience, irregardless of whether it is positive or negative, is best "digested" after a breath of fresh air in the greens and blues of a wide open space.

from The New York Times
Museums Use New Tools to Fix Old Works
go to article

The article talks about the various techniques conservation scientists and conservators use to analyse and treat works in museum collections. One particular highlight interest me. Through Raman spectroscopy, the investigation of the "eruption" of tiny, almost microscopic bumps on "Madam X" painted by John Singer Sargent yields an interesting question about materials and technique... is it caused by the ratio of lead to linseed oil in the paint or the thickness of the paint?

from The Guardian
Show it or offload it, museums told
go to article

from The Telegraph
Shiny museums are not enough
go to article

from Museums Association (UK)
Collections for the Future
go to report

from The Guardian
Culture club
go to article

Proving yet again that a brutally honest reflection of one's current situation is the best way forward to improve it. As reported in the above articles, the heritage sector in the UK has managed to confront its problems head on and in the process came up with some remarkable yet honest ideas.

from The Wall Street Journal
Guggenheim Tests the Limits of Generosity
go to article

If and when (yet another) Guggenhiem satellite museum hits Singapore, one question which would stand out from everything else would be: "For whom?"

from ABC news
Microbes Show Exquisite Taste in Art
go to article

The observed growth of microbes and fungi on Degas' wax models has been attributed in part to the stable environment found in the museum display and storage areas. Perhaps, having a fluctuating environment could be beneficial in terms of management of pest levels as they are disallowed to have an uninterrupted period of growth.

from The New York Times
With Irreverence and an iPod, Recreating the Museum Tour
go to article

We are used to seeing people holding official audio guides wandering round the museums. How about getting an unofficial guide to the same museum exhibitions which, instead of a sonorous voice giving you facts which may be somewhat dry, you listen to a recorded exchange of a group of people discussing the art piece with pop music blaring in the background?

Dr David Gilbert and a group of his students have come up with an unauthorised audio guide to some artists' works in MoMA as a way to "hack the gallery experience" or "remix MoMa". They have also invited anyone interested to submit his or her own tour for inclusion on the project's Web site.

Interestingly, Dr. Gilbert said his larger point was to try to teach his students to stop being passive information consumers - whether through television, radio or an official audio guide - and to take more control. This goal of encouraging active information consumers seems a worthy one and it may be interesting to hear what intelligent remarks (hopefully) other museum-goers have to say about art but one can't help wondering, by encouraging people to listen to these podcasts, aren't the creators perpetuating passive information customers as well?

from The New York Times
Commission Preserves the Past at the Cost of the Future
go to article

A critique of the Landmarks Preservation Commission in New York when its decision effect a compromised design for the expansion of the Whitney Museum of American Art. The reason for the Commission's decision seems to be a concern over the razing of one Madison Avenue brownstone if the original expansion plan is approved. As is evident from the title, the author finds the decision 'weak- kneed' as he felt that the Commission's charge is not only to preserve history but to decide when exceptions ought to be made, thus ensuring development for the benefit of the cultural well-being of the city.

from The Art Newspaper
What happens when Flavin’s lights go out?
go to article

In the case of Dan Flavin, the crucial role of the artist's estate as a "final authority" on the preservation the artworks becomes a potentially problematic one. Then again, it does point to an underlying universal that perhaps all preservation decisions are essentially subjective decisions, influenced by a host of factors such as context, material, condition and function.

Also see an earlier post pointing to a New York Times article which highlighted the divergent views between the artist, who saw his art as being temporary, and the collectors of his art.

from Guardian
Power point
go to article

Tate Modern in London has, in the 5 years since its inception, consistently build a museum going culture - witnessed by its ever increasing visitorship numbers - and taking its claim as "the world's most visited museum of contemporary art".

This lofty goal is achieved by making the right decisions in a few critical areas:

(a) Recognising the need for expansion as a result of organic and intrinsic growth (not one imposed due to financial or franchising expediency);

(b) Understanding the need to be cosmopolitan and acting on it;

(c) Be at a highly accessible locale;

(d) Have an iconic architecture (whether built or refurbished does not really matter);

(e) Intelligent art programming (that does not dumb-down but purposefully lead to greater understanding); and

(f) A director that critically value and put into practice the art of keeping touch with artists and audiences.

Now, beat that!

Even the famed "Bilbao Effect" does not come close to sustaining such a level of deep-rooted and fundamental achievement.

from The Telegraph
Scandal of the sheikh and his £1bn shopping spree
go to article

From an earlier post, the mind-boggling museum building and collecting dazzle in Qatar has come to an abrupt halt - with the (usual) accusations of wrong-doing and impropriety.

from Channel News Asia
Asian Film Archive aims to preserve regional films
go to article

from Today
Group to archive Singapore films
go to article

Further update on the launch of the Reel Emergency Project initiative by the Asian Film Archive. The privately-funded initiative to archive made-in-Singapore and Asian films was previously noted in an earlier post here. Now, the National Archives of Singapore has come on board with help in film restoration and preservation expertise.

from The Business Times
S'pore, HK in running for US$250m
Guggenheim
go to article

from The New York Times
A Museum Visionary Envisions More
go to article

from The Business Times
IR bidder offers S'pore redux
go to article (PDF format)

from Today
museums, ad nauseum?
go to article

Piecing together a few seemingly unrelated recent news articles and a less than rosy picture emerges regarding the state of museum development here in Singapore. When the likes of the Guggenheim juggernaut is being touted as a key player in the proposed integrated resort concept in presenting a (Asian) cultural face, something must be amissed.

Have our cultural and heritage institutions been totally ineffective or lacking in ambition (and vision) in creating world-class museums - and not only that - but that which Singaporeans would be decidedly proud of? The (possible) coming of Singapore's own version of the "Bilbao effect" - and the tacit admission that home-grown efforts in cultural heritage in Singapore is still pretty much considered a backwater - can only serve as a wake-up call, if nothing else.

from Reason
Ancient Treasures for Sale
go to article

It has often being opined that the instinct to collect is a selfish one. And the thin line separating the selfish from the greedy can often lead to the wanton destruction and dispersion of heritage artefacts. Perhaps, it may not be too far away that we begin to see a new breed of museums which do not own artefacts from another culture, but will instead seek to borrow.

from The Guardian
Goodbye to all that?
go to article

In the equation between urban development and preservation, a lack of political will and patronage (in terms of funding allocation) is a sure-fire way to tilt the balance away from preservation. This is borne out by the conclusion of the article, which does not appear to bode well for the situation in the UK:

"Not only is conservation unpopular with the government - and English Heritage is losing the argument on the key planning debates - but the organisation senses that the wider climate of opinion has turned against the heritage lobby. It is well aware that even its name is a handicap in its attempts to influence the metropolitan establishment which finds the word 'heritage' deeply off-putting. If they could, they would change it to something less dated."

from BBC News
Killing Fields deal sparks anger
go to article
and
Killing Fields deal hits delay
go to article

When national memories become fair game for foreign commercial exploits, it could signify one of 2 underlying trends - abject poverty or abject callousness. Either way, it does not excuse such a highly idiotic decision in the first instance.

from Archive Awareness Campaign, UK
"Impact Assessment and Evaluation Report" for AAC 2004
go to report (PDF format, 1.52 MB)

A report on the Archive Awareness Campaign 2004 in the UK, previously posted here, has been released. A few interesting points to note in the findings, bearing in mind the UK context:

- Most archives users are above 55 years; and
- Archive users are primarily repeat-users.

With the campaign, there was some very minor success in encouraging younger users. However, the real paid-off seems to be in terms of encourage new users, although repeat-users still predominate.

from IIC Nordic Section
Museum Storage Buildings : Physics and Function

Following Morten Ryhl-Svendsen's original e-mail announcement on the IAQ-Museum list, attached are the 3 English extracts from the postprints:

- "Designing a museum store" by Tim Padfield
(PDF format, 155 kb)

- "Managing collections in store" by Suzanne Keene
(PDF format, 278 kb)

- "Storing objects for future use" by Jonathan Ashley-Smith
(PDF format, 471 kb)

from CNN news
Visible storage catches on in museums
go to article

With the move towards greater access and display of museums' collections, museum displays have adopted what is known as visible storage. Besides the North American museums mentioned in the article, European museums have also long been incorporating such display methods in the overall museum presentation - such as the Victoria and Albert museum, the British Museum and the Pitt Rivers museum (in Oxford). It is also not surprising that museums in Europe have adopted visible storage display methods even before it became "fashionable", if we understand the origin of museums as "curosity cabinets".

Conservation Physics
go to web-site

Tim Padfield, previously retired from the National Museum of Denmark, had put together a revamped web-site / online book looking at physics as applied in the field of conservation of cultural heritage. Topics covered include:

- basic concepts in climate;
- light and photochemistry;
- properties of material;
- air-conditioning and building physics;
- microclimate; and
- sensors and measurement.

from The Guardian
Preserving listed buildings - on computer
go to article

If a building is seen as a bloated artefact, then perhaps a digitised image may sometimes suffice for structures with lesser significance. However, it must surely be understood that a building will not adequately exist outside of its immediate physical context in terms of context and the human scale.

from The New York Times
Sending the F.B.I. to Art School
go to article (PDF format)

It might be that conservation students could well be looking forward to a career as a special agent investigating stolen art:

"When the agency set up the art crime team, it decided to train agents in art styles and conservation." (emphasis added)

from Science News online
Venetian Grinds: The secret behind Italian Renaissance painters' brilliant palettes
go to article

The discovery of an ancient inventory from a Venetian seller of artist's pigments throws new light on the palette of Italian Renaissance painters and address the question that has always baffled conservation scientists. How did Venetian Renaissance painters create the strong, clear, and bright colors that make objects and figures in their paintings appear to glow?

Prompted by this inventory lead, a re-examination of Venetian paintings yielded an answer -- glass. Artists such as Lorenzo Lotto and Tintoretto used it extensively in their paintings. Not only did the artists use glass to fill gaps in their palettes, but the materials' optical effects—intentionally or not—also brought their paintings to life in unprecedented ways. The article then proceeds to highlight the aesthetic and material significance this finding yields for the field of conservation.

The Search for Kota Purba Linggiu (Old City of Linggiu)
go to compilation of articles (PDF format)

Following the recent news in The Star of claims by a researcher that the ruins of a "lost city" is very likely located in Johor, there had been developments and interest generated right up to the Cabinet of the Malaysian Government. Three exploration teams have been given the task of searching for the "lost city" starting in March 2005 and a report is expected by August 2005. The above links to a compilation of various news articles since.

from Deutsche Welle
Mending Modern Masters
go to article

Making reference to a recently concluded conference held in Cologne, on the conservation of contemporary art. Yet more examples of how a better understanding contemporary art in a more holistic manner by conservators (in terms of materials, production, theory and presentation, amongst others) will go a long way to enable better decision-making in the conservation treatment of such artworks.

from SCMRE
Efficient New Methods for Embedding Paint and Varnish Samples for Microscopy
go to article (PDF format)

A recent article written by Melvin Wachowiak, Senior Furniture Conservator at SCMRE, for the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation (issue number 43), which looks at some possible new methods and materials for use in embedding samples for microscopy analysis.

from Tehran Times
Researchers to document ancient Iranian architecture
go to article (PDF format)

A timely project, if recent developments in the geopolitics of the region (and the possible ensuing devastation to be expected) is anything to go by.

from Guardian Unlimited
Art for shuffling's sake
go to article

An amusing article that makes me laugh. The writer started off with how Richard Wollheim, a well known British philosopher of art, used to regularly spent 4 hours in front of a single painting in his museum visits "for stray associations or motivated misperceptions to settle down...that the picture could be relied upon to disclose itself as it was." Then, he proceeded to show how, at the other end of the spectrum, the "herd instinct" the modern blockbuster show produces neither do the greatest paintings justice nor encourage meaningful museum experiences.

He muses "We are doing this art appreciation thing all wrong. We pay large sums of money to see beautiful paintings and then see them in conditions that are about as conducive to aesthetic pleasure as rush-hour strap-hanging on London's Victoria Line. At the end of the article, he concluded firmly that "if we were really serious about art appreciation, we would choose to see paintings in more rewarding ways than we do at present.

The state of visitorship at blockbuster shows in the Singapore museums have not reach the point whereby visitors have to book in advance or be limited to timed-ticket entry, so to me, beseides raising the general consciousness of problems associated with blockbuster shows, this article more importantly triggers us to think about how we can take the initiative to construct a more positive museum experience for ourselves despite circumstances.

from Southeast Asian Archaeology
Fort Tanjong Katong
go to website

With the end of the first phase of the archaeological dig at Tanjong Katong Park for the remnants of a demolished fort, a progress report (PDF format) had been posted. There is also a photo gallery besides other online resources.

from GCI Newsletter
Partnerships: A Joint Issue with UNESCO
go to newsletter (HTML version) or (PDF version, 3Mb)

In the latest GCI newsletter, the exploration of the theme of partnerships is timely. As the awareness of heritage broadens in the larger society, partnerships across different social sectors become critical in achieving an enduring impact for heritage conservation / preservation efforts. No longer can we assume the innate "goodness" of heritage conservation or preservation efforts. Indeed, an active engagement with all aspects of society is important in ensuring the sustainability and relevance of conservation / preservation projects.

from The New York Times
The Gates Project for Central Park
go to compilation

With the largest ever public art installation in New York City drawing closer to reality, the New York Times has collected articles and web-based resources together to trace the project as it takes shape. It is also worth noting that, as with Christo and Jean-Claude's previous outdoor interventions, this project will be "preserved" through multiple and dispersed channels such as photographs, artists' sketches, commentaries, articles and material remnants etc.

from BBC Radio 4 - Material World
One Man's Materials
go to programme notes
go to audio programme (RealPlayer format; segment starts at 13m:26s mark)

With the proliferation of new materials, it won't be long before artists become interested and incorporate them into artworks. It is also interesting to note that a materials science lecturer will be showcasing his collection of unusual materials at the Tate Modern!

Hence, the development of new materials is of import on 2 fronts. First, is that understanding how these new materials are made and behave over time, will better prepared us for their eventual preservation. Second, such materials, with never-before-possible-properties, could be of tremendous usefulness in devising better tools or techniques in heritage conservation.

And to kick start the process, one could also refer to an online compilation of a whole array of such unusual materials. Next stop: Mark Miodownik's "Library of Unusual Materials" at King's College, London.

from DigiCULT Thematic Issues
The Future Digital Heritage Space
go to publication (HTML format) or (PDF format - 10.1 Mb)

This is the final issue of a series of thematic reports which surveyed technological trends with potential direct impact on heritage institutions. Although articulated within the (funding) context of the European Union, the findings do have larger implication in our rapidly globalised and inter-connected world. For the concluding report, the emphasis is centered on near-future technological trends - both hardware gadgetry and software application - that cultural heritage organisations would need to grapple with, if the mission is to stay relevant in a changing world.

Of particular interest is the (foregone) observation that:

"Consumers today take service for granted. What they are seeking are unique, meaningful and memorable experiences. This is not an argument for turning cultural heritage services into entertainment but a warning that services that do not invite, inspire, engage or immerse will not find a wider use."

In short, the museum display can no longer pride itself on being didactic. It must instead seek to be engaging, without trivalising.

Within the older paradigm of museology, cultural heritage conservation had evolved into specific sets of function which supports the system of museum exhibitions, acquisitions and collections management. However, with the advent of a shift in technology use and impact on cultural heritage institutions, the focus will now turn to "persistent and perpetual access" as a strategy of preservation (primarily of digital content, even if based on actual concrete cultural heritage materials). This will surely have untold impact on how conservation functions and even the very identity of the conservation profession itself.

Are we ready for the future, yet?

from SEPIA (Safeguarding European Photographic Images for Access)
Care of Photographs
by Susie Clarke & Franziska Frey
go to publication (PDF format)

A comprehensive overview of the various factors affecting the deterioration of photographs and their long-term care, including considerations for digitisation and access. Other online resources relating to photographic materials, in terms of collections management and digitisation, can also be downloaded from SEPIA's publications web-page.

from The Bonefolder (volume 1, number 1, Fall 2004)
Conservation and Tools: An Inquiry into Nature and Meaning
go to article (PDF format)

Jeffrey Peachey, a bookbinder and book-conservator, argues interesting towards the end of his article that a way to improve conservation skills is to horne one's knowledge about and interaction with tools in conservation use.

from The Art Newspaper
The Hirst shark: to conserve or not to conserve?
go to article

When an artist decides NOT to follow time-tested techniques, especially when such techniques fall outside his field of competency, do we accept that as artistic license or irresponsible behaviour?

from The Star Online
Lost city believed found in Johor
go to article

Museum hopes Johor will assist in lost city quest
go to article

Manuscript leads to lost city
go to article

As the region braces itself for the exploration and possible opening up of a "lost city", it would surely have tremendous historical impact if the conjuncture proves correct. And not least of the future worries would be the detrimental effects of touristic encroachment, if indeed an ancient site is eventually found.

from The Journal Gazette
Nothing golden about silencing of some sounds
go to article

With the increasing rate of obsolescence in the useful life of present day equipment and machinery, the sounds that such contraption makes would become increasingly rare - to the point of disappearing forever. This makes the "preservation" of everyday sounds a perfectly worthy endeavour.

from Technology Research News
Chemical fuse makes cheap sensors
go to article

Using a modified ink-jet printer and some fancy chemistry hacking, a potentially low-cost and ubiquitous method of producing chemical sensors could become a reality. This would definitely make monitoring of indoor air quality and air-tight enclosures (such as showcases and frames) much more effective and as easy as having a light goes on whenever specific chemicals are detected above a pre-determined level.

from BBC News
Minister warns 'hoarding' museums
go to article

from The Guardian
Rift over museum funding change
go to article

The latest British government consultation paper "Understanding the Future: Museums and 21st Century Life" (PDF document here) has highlighted several possible changes to how museums and galleries in the UK would be expected to be funded and managed.

One immediate concern would be a tighter competition amongst museums and galleries for funding from a central pool rather than individually, as is the case now. Government funding decisions would be done through an intermediary agency (much like an arts council).

The other implication which surfaced from the consultation paper was the explicit expectation for greater access to collections as in having more and more of collections currently in storage to be placed on display. This could well morph into a kind of "performance measure" for museums and galleries in time to come. Museums would be under increasing pressure to lend their collections and package more touring exhibitions to smaller (regional) museums.

from Contemporary Art from the Islamic World
Modernity, Islam and Tradition
go to article

For those who missed the earlier exhibition on traditional woodcarving in Malaysia shown at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore, this online article reviews some of the concerns in sustaining a traditional cultural practice in an ever-changing world. It is also an example in which the preservation of heritage must attend to both intangible and tangible aspects in tandem.

from China Daily
Can hi-tech save Peking Opera?
go to article

Yet another example of the usefulness of information technology in dealing with the practicalities of preserving intangible heritage. However, it is also important to note that besides the use of technology, it is the active participation from the "grassroots" that would help determine the success or failure of such a vast undertaking. Preservation by central decree will most definitely be a surefire way to fail.

from The Business Times
Balancing Singapore's diverse urban planning needs
go to article (PDF version)

An overview on the underlying premise of urban development policy in Singapore. Midway in the article in discussing urban conservation, it is interesting to read that:

"We take a more pragmatic approach. Conservation isn't necessarily just about keeping the old buildings and old trades. I think conservation is recognising the built heritage that you have. But it's also about recognising that the world changes and you need to adapt, you need to allow adaptive re-use of these buildings for good economic uses and good social uses. Things cannot freeze in time,"

Mitigating the needs of urban expansion and renewal on the one hand, and that of preservation of the urban fabric on the other, would not normally be considered an easy task, and rightly so. However, it should also be pointed out that conflating two such divergent and opposing functions under the same authority would appear to set the stage (unintentionally, perhaps) for a potential conflict of interests.

from The Straits Times
Heritage roads
go to article (PDF format)

Introducing a sub-discipline in heritage conservation - for the conservator with green fingers, or for the horticulturalist with a historic bend.

from Today
Film buffs to the rescue
go to article
(PDF version here and here)

Definitely a noteworthy development within the larger picture of heritage preservation in Singapore. It is always an encouraging sign when preservation efforts moved beyond the walls and confines of museums. For the yet-to-be-set-up Asian Film Archive - which is to be a private enterprise - the government agencies identified as being critical to its mission (perhaps from a funding perspective) are the Media Development Authority (MDA) and the Film Commission.

from Iconoduel weblog
Flash Bulbs and Artifact Preservation: Myth Debunked!
go to post

The restricted use of flash photography in museums and art galleries can be said to be fairly commonplace. The reason behind such a restriction has at times been attributed to conservation concern in terms of excessive exposure for light-sensitive artefacts.

However, as the above weblog posting set out to show, there is not a shred of scientific basis for such a concern. In fact, the post quotes Stefan Michalski (from the Canadian Conservation Institute) from an earlier Conservation DistList post in which he argues that actual increase in light exposure from photography flashes (using actual measured figures) would be rather insignificant:

"Assuming the gallery lighting is the lowest most museums can tolerate, 50 lux (5 foot candles) then each flash adds the equivalent of one second of normal gallery exposure. So, 300 amateur flashes a day is equivalent to adding five minutes to the display day."

In fact, Michalski cited more defensible reasons for restricting flash photography as : "copyright, or as a disturbance to the act of contemplation (my personal vote) but there is no preservation reason."

The other posts in the original Conservation DistList discussion thread could be viewed here.

from WorldChanging
Dehumidification
go to weblog post

Some interesting takes on how building energy consumption can be reduced through the use of proper dehumidification as part of the air-conditioning system. This would also impact on the long-term cost and management of controlling a building's internal environment for the purpose of heritage artefact storage. Also see a previous post which highlighted other innovative ways of cooling buildings that might have relevance in the heritage sector.

from The Art Newspaper
How much difference does Unesco make?
go to article

On the occasion of the announcement of 3 additional sites located on the Indian sub-continent being added to UNESCO's World Heritage list, the article delves into the conflicting motivations and competing concerns of having a historical area listed.

First and foremost would be the boost to the local tourism industry versus preservation needs. Next up would be long-terms sustainability versus greater access. It would be mistaken to assume that there is some golden (or pre-determined) standard by which such contradictions would be magically and effortlessly resolved. At best, it would be a continual search and dialogue of workable solutions at the local level.

It is also critical to note that being listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List affords no legal protection or financial support. Perhaps, it points to a larger problem of funding (or more precisely, under-funding) of the heritage sector on a global scale.

ICOM Relief for Museums
go to web-portal

from UNESCO World Heritage Centre
World Heritage sites in regions hit by the recent earthquake and tsunami
go to press release

from Daily News (Sri Lanka)
UNESCO to help restore libraries in tsunami affected regions
go to article

As the world takes stock of the immense devastation to human lives caused by the 26 December earthquake and resultant tsunami, reports are beginning to trickle in on the damage to heritage institutions and sites.

Determining and verifying the extent of such damage would naturally be difficult. It is only appropriate that humanitarian relief efforts take precedent over heritage preservation. However, it is also pertinent to be reminded in UNESCO's press release that:

"It is [also] crucial to include heritage in the reconstruction efforts, as heritage contributes to communities’ sense of identity and continuity and is a vital resource for future sustainable development in this region."

A link to ICOM's web-portal which updates on the situation in South and Southeast Asia is also included in the Link section of this web-log.

from The New York Times
Works, the Whole Works and Nothing but the Works
go to article

As museums face increasing pressure to open up their collections to greater ease of access, one strategy is to revisit the idea of open storage display. But having seen a turn towards selective but interpretative displays from an earlier all-encompassing encyclopaedic one, the discovery could be that the average museum-goer exists only as an abstraction for marketing (and possibly political) purposes. Different groups of museum-goers would be best catered for by employing different modes of presentation. There are no inherently better or worse methods of display - only more appropriate ones given the function or message of the presentation and the intended audience group.

from The Guardian
Babylon wrecked by war
go to article

A somewhat late confirmation of what had been previously reported - that the invasion of Iraq endangered unique and significant heritage sites. Will this latest report make any difference in terms of safe-guarding these sites from further destruction? Only time will tell.

from BBC News
Air to 'guard Michelangelo David'
go to article

It does seems like an over-reaction to what would otherwise be considered as a natural and fairly harmless surface dirt deposit. Extreme measures such as this certainly exemplifies the "darker" side of conservation concerns - fears built on partial information.

from The Guardian
Celebratory demolition? The whole idea stinks
go to article

A belated rejoinder to an earlier announcement of this unorthodox television programme in which a popularly voted architectural structure will be demolished and broadcasted live. A popular backlash against this programme would certainly be good news for preservation efforts.

from The New York Times
The Dark Side of Success
go to article

An interesting take on the collecting Minimalist art with reference to Dan Flavin's famed works using common fluorescent light-tubes and off-the shelf components. Contrasting 2 divergent attitudes of the artist and the collector:

In a 1982 interview, he [the artist] declared, "I believe in temporary art wholeheartedly." To another interviewer, he said, "These 'monuments' only survive as long as the light system is useful, 2,100 hours." Yet here they were, being pored over and coddled, praised for their authentic patinas, and lovingly restored, like rare old Baltimore silver

How does one collect a piece of temporary art, let alone preserve it? Not especially helpful when the artist would contradict himself as such:

"One has no choice but to accept the fact of temporary art. Permanence just defies everything. I used to say that I did my certificates on a pulp paper because therefore I knew they would disintegrate. I would like to leave a will and testament to declare everything void at my death, and it's not unrealistic. I mean it, because only I know the work as it ought to be. All posthumous interpretations are less. I know this. So I would rather see it all disappear into the wind. Take it all away. It's electric current with a switch - dubious." Of course, in the 14 years after he said that, Flavin worked - often with Dia [Art Foundation] - to ensure that his art and legacy would continue into the future.

from The New York Times
Techniques That Might Smile Upon Mona Lisa
go to article

A short feature on the research interests of Dr. Marion Mecklenburg from the Smithsonian Institution's SCMRE. In particular, the contentious issue of fluctuating relative humidity and the (perceived and real) damage to artefacts.