Tagging posts

Just to let readers know that I'll be tagging all past blog posts (about 300 odd of these) via the new Blogger interface. So for those who grab the feed from this blog, advance apologies for any duplicates that might result from this. Appreciate your understanding. Thanks!

from ICON, The Institute of Conservation, UK
UK's cultural heritage under threat - Peers warn
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Our present understanding of a whole range of conservation and heritage problems has been helped tremendously by a more rigorous scientific approach that was pioneered by a few far-sighted individuals and institutions - both in Europe, UK and USA - around the mid of the 20th-century.

And now with the recent publication of an in-depth report (published by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee) on the state of conservation and heritage science research in the UK, it won't be long before we see a surge of concerted effort in this area of fundamental and essential work, despite the ominous tone of the published report. Or perhaps, because of it.

For the full report, there is an online version, as well as a PDF version (warning: PDF, 3.6MB).

[ Thanks to the Conservation DistList for the prior alert. ]

from North Carolina Museum of Art
Revolution in Paint
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In conjunction with an exhibition of paintings by Monet, the North Carolina Museum of Art has put together a concurrent exhibition - Revolution in Paint - which attempts to map the break with traditional academy-style painting at the end of the 19th-century onto contemporaneous developments in pigment and paint technology. Quoting from the exhibition guide:

"Revolution is based on a simple premise: A radical change in artist’s pigments during the 19th century enabled a revolution in painting. The exhibition explores the innovations of the impressionists—with special emphasis on their choice of pigments—as well the academic traditions against which the impressionist rebelled."

What may be of interest is that the exhibition is curated by Perry Hurt, who is a conservator at the museum. Links here to the online exhibition supplement (warning : PDF, 12MB) and a short news article write-up (The News & Observer)

[ Thanks to the Conservation DistList for the prior alert. ]

from The New York Times
Rare Glimpses of China's Long-Hidden Treasures
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With the end of a 4-year long refurbishment, the National Palace Museum in Taiwan is now re-opening its doors to the public, and interestingly, to an all-too-common refrain:

"While the museum’s collection has an international reputation among art connoisseurs, it has been distinctly less popular in Taiwan, and especially among young Taiwanese who feel little connection to the mainland. Slightly more than half the museum’s two million visitors a year come from outside Taiwan, mainly from Japan, Korea and other countries in Asia."

Creative Commons
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I'm taking an unusual step in this off-topic post to ask readers of this blog to spare a few moments and support the work of Creative Commons. This blog is also published using one of the Creative Common licenses which seek to balance the need for some form of copyright protection but not in the highly restrictive, and potentially crippling, form that we have today.

Find out more about the work and legal concepts of the Creative Commons here.

from The Guardian
Shame on these sophisticated barbarians
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What makes a 'world class' city?
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from The New York Times
Rodin Show Visits Home of Artist’s Muses
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from The Straits Times
Is the museum too 'Disney'?
go to article (PDF)

Just catching up on various museum-related news and behold the sheer coincidence of commentary. Starting with Jonathan Jones' criticism of the tendency of museums to be geared towards the gimmicky - or the "experiential" - at the expense of the "collection", such that exhibitions are often conceived to titillate (intellectually) instead of being engaging. This is reflected in the growing trend of (art) museums being built outside of Europe and North America, all trying to out-emulate each other, prompting Claire Hsu to wonder:

"How [...] is the 19th century European museum becoming a default model for modern art museums in certain parts of Asia?"

And two instances closer to home to pin down the point that museums cannot afford to be uncritical about the intellectual impact that it carries, willingly or otherwise. One, the story in the New York Times on a very bad case of colonial hang-over - although the one good thing to come out of this episode may be a badly needed infrastructure refurbishment at the National Museum in Phnom Penh. The other, a poignant plead to reconsider the "theme-park" make-over of our very own National Museum - and pointing back to Jone's article to close our circular reference.

from PhysicsWeb
Water pores reveal age of paper
go to article
go to abstract

Yet another scientific analytical tool in estimating the age of paper-based materials (also see earlier post on the "print-clock"). This new technique looks at the molecular structure of cellulose fibres present in paper and measuring the size of pores which holds water in the cellulose molecule, which increases over time. In the abstract, there is a mention of the protective effect of gelatine sizing on paper.

from Tate Papers
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The Tate has collected together various academic papers related to their collection accessible from the above web-site. In particular, several papers related to art conservation:

Issue 1: Spring 2004

"Developing Strategies for the Conservation of Installations Incorporating Time-based Media: Gary Hill's Between Cinema and a Hard Place"
Pip Laurenson
Go to paper

Issue 2: Autumn 2004

"Paintings on Canvas: Lining and Alternatives"
Stephen Hackney
Go to paper

"Conservation Concerns for Acrylic Emulsion Paints: A Literature Review"
Elizabeth Jablonski, Tom Learner, James Hayes & Mark Golden
Go to paper

"The Materials Used by British Oil Painters in the Nineteenth Century"
Joyce H Townsend
Go to paper

Issue 3: Spring 2005

"Glazing Over: A Review of Glazing Options for Works of Art on Paper"
Rosie Freemantle
Go to paper

"The Management of Display Equipment in Time-based Media Installations"
Pip Laurenson
Go to paper

Issue 4: Autumn 2005

"Beuys is Dead: Long Live Beuys! Characterising Volition, Longevity, and Decision-Making in the Work of Joseph Beuys"
Rachel Barker & Alison Bracker
Go to paper

Issue 6: Autumn 2006

"The Effects of Surface Cleaning on Acrylic Emulsion Paintings: A Preliminary Investigation"
Bronwyn Ormsky, Tom Learner, Michael Schilling, Jim Druzik, Herant Khanjian, Dave Carson, Gary Foster & Mike Sloan
Go to paper

"Authenticity, Change and Loss in the Conservation of Time-Based Media Installations"
Pip Laurenson
Go to paper