from New York Times
Should Art Museums Always Be Free? There's Room for Debate
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If the argument for access to museums' collections is taken from a humanistic point of view, then charging for entry would be indefensible. Especially, as pointed out in this article:

"Museums speak of wanting to attract larger, more democratic audiences. They cannot even begin to know this audience, much less accommodate it, until they lower the barriers, at least to their permanent collections."

Roberta Smith goes on in the article to list, surprisingly, a number of American museums which stand by the principle of free access. This echoed the earlier attempt across in the UK to do away with entrance fees which saw a corresponding rise in visitorship numbers by as much as 72% in the first year (see earlier post here).

Putting it another way, mission must not be diluted in the pursuit of the bottomline. In fact, Smith argues that:

"If museums were to broadcast unequivocally that their first priority is art and the public's contact with art, their public image would improve and sharpen. And other things about them would start to change, from the people who sit on their boards, to the buildings they build."

It would be most prudent that museums not forget their social mission, even as they woo the evermore "sophisticated audience" (see earlier related post here).

from Los Angeles Times
Call the tech squad
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The problem of preserving new-media and contemporary is not a new issue. However, what may be a turning point (for the better, I think) is the increasing profile given to this area of art conservation. This is due, in no small part, to a convergence of the interests of collectors and museums, who have both the clout and wealth to ensure that attention is paid to the long-term (physical, as well as economic) well-being of their collections. This may not be a bad thing in itself.

from Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Textile Fiber Atlas
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download PDF (6.4 Mb)

The classic 1942 work, Textile Fiber Atlas: A Collection of Photomicrographs of Common Textile Fibers, by Werner Von Bergen and Walter Krauss is now available in scanned PDF format from the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. Thanks to the efforts of Mary Ballard, Senior Textile Conservator at the Museum Conservation Institute (formerly CAL and SCMRE).

[ also see initial announcement on the Conservation DistList mailing list here. ]

from Guardian
Road plans put Stonehenge status at risk
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An update on the effort to rollback an ill-conceived plan for a traffic tunnel in the vicinity of the World Heritage site, which besides threatening the actual site, might also damage archaeological evidences in the area (see earlier BBC report).

from BBC News
Guggenheim expands into Emirates
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from Guardian Culture Vulture Blog
The Guggenheim effect
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This latest attempt by the Guggenheim to build yet another branch follows from earlier unsuccessful attempts in Asia (see earlier posts here and here). Isn't it time to stop this madness?

Seletar Airbase Project
go to weblog

A highly commendable project to document a historic part of Singapore that has to make way for "progress". Perhaps loosing physical markers of one's past and memories is the price one pays for growing up in Singapore - or does it have to be that way?

[ Thanks to yesterday.sg for the link ]

from The Natural History Museum
Antarctic heritage and conservation
go to project web-page
go to Antarctic conservation blog

If there is such a thing as extreme conservation, then this must be it! Braving freezing winter weather, 3 conservators go about the task of carrying out in situ conservation work at the South Pole, and living to tell the world via the project weblog. The project is supported by the Antarctic Heritage Trust.

[ Thanks to MuseumBlogs.org for the heads-up. ]

from The Art Newspaper
Damien Hirst in talks to replace rotting shark
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An update on the problem of the deteriorating shark that made Damien Hirst famous. It might be "replaced" after all. And at the end of the article:

"If Hirst does replace his iconic shark with a new specimen, will it compromise the integrity of his original? Art history will be the judge."

There is also a sense of (poetic?) irony that Hirst's work is entitled The physical impossibility of death in the mind of someone living. (Also see previous post.)

from Wired News
'Print Clock' Dates Antique Books
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Working with the principle of physical deterioration of materials, a new technique of "dating" printed materials has been developed and tested on 16th- and 17th-century printed maps and books. What is interesting is the working assumption that the printing plates - either made of wood or copper - deteriorated at a relatively constant rate even if not used, resulting in subsequent print runs with increasing "line breaks" and discrepancies. And it took a biology professor to figure that out!

from The Guardian
History has the edge over football, poll reveals
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go to History Matters web-site

It would seem that for the appreciation of history to surpass that of popular sports, a deep-seated tolerance for a diversity of understanding and experience of history is a pre-requisite. And the British seems to have charted their direction well, following on from the earlier campaign in raising the awareness of archives in the UK (see previous posts here and here).

Save Our Chinese Heritage
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A recently launched initiative to document historic Chinese architecture in Singapore by means of digital images.

[Thanks to the Singapore Heritage Mailing List and yesterday.sg for the heads-up!]

from The New York Times
Giving the Artists a Voice in Preserving Their Work
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Yet another glimpse into the perplexing world of contemporary art and its preservation, made all the more complex and bewildering because of the sheer diversity of approaches and materials.