from Technology Research News
Chemical fuse makes cheap sensors
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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
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from The Guardian
Rift over museum funding change
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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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
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(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!
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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
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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?
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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
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from UNESCO World Heritage Centre
World Heritage sites in regions hit by the recent earthquake and tsunami
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from Daily News (Sri Lanka)
UNESCO to help restore libraries in tsunami affected regions
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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
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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
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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'
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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
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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
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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
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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.