from The Guardian -
David gets a wash in public
go to article

Yet another high-profile cleaning project - recalling the earlier attempt to Michaelangelo's David (see earlier posts, here and here). However, this time, a laser cleaning technique will be used.

Weblog tweaking

For the curious:
As I had to redo a substantial chunk of the links on the side-bar, I thought that I might as well refresh the look of the weblog - although I just did that about 6 months ago. The image used in the title bar is a snapshot of the Singapore River waterfront, with colours adjusted and stretched.

Weblog Migration

For all readers: I'll be migrating the current blog over to blogspot as I have hit the webpage limit of my internet account. Disruption will probably occur over the next few days. So do bookmark the new link - apertum.blogspot.com - and continue browsing. For those who grab posts via a feed reader, do check the new link to get the correct feed URL. Cheers!

from The New York Times -
Report Faults Oversight by Smithsonian Regents
go to article

An update on the re-organisation of the Smithsonian Institution, after the departure of the chief executive (see earlier post here).

from The Guardian -
National Gallery takes to the streets
go to article
go to pictures

Definitely an attention-grabbing way in museum publicity - and (almost) literally taking the art to the public ... in public spaces:

It's not often that you come across a Caravaggio or Van Gogh while walking around London's Soho, but for the next 12 weeks, the National Gallery is taking its masterpieces to the streets. In a bid to give the public a taste of the collection, the gallery has hung life-sized reproductions around the capital. Each painting is framed and accompanied by an information plaque, and passersby can phone a number for an audio guide of the works.

What a wonderful idea - brightening the urban-scape and promoting the museum in one fell swoop!
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from Institute of Conservation (UK) -
Conservation Awards 2007
go to short-lists

Once again, the annual awards given out for outstanding conservation and digital preservation projects in the UK. Results will be announced on 27th September at the British Museum.
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from Conservation DistList -
British Library Centre for Conservation Microsite
go to web-site

An additional web resource for heritage conservation. You can also watch videosof conservators at work ! (Thanks to Conservation DistList for the prior alert).
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from Radio Singapore International -
Heritage Conservation Centre
go to programme notes
go to MP3 (2.29 Mb)

A nice (audio) overview of the work that goes on behind the scene.
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from Sydney Morning Herald -
Don't shoot the Texta messengers
go to article

Steve Grody's new illustrated book Graffiti L.A. is out now.

I confess - I have a thing for graffiti. It all began when my to-die-for lecturer talked about graffiti in one of my urban geography classes. From there, street arts and graffiti have always been on my outlook lens. Living in clean, (almost)utopian suburbia of Singapore, there aren't many chances to meet street arts so much often. In fact, before uni, I didn't know how "graffiti" look like. Maybe there was some underground making of provocative street art going on but they weren't unlikely to make friendly headlines in the mainstream media in Singapore. We are simply taught that tagging on public properties is strictly unlawful. And in whole wide world, graffiti is labeled as an anti-social activity in the orthodox urban planning dictionary.

While in Sydney, i witnessed many impressive graffiti works whose forms transcended into "bold, colourful designs as beautification of locations that will normally considered urban blight." Those expressions tales a whole lots of social problems which many cities are facing - poverty, social marginalisation, political struggle, self-identity, masculinity etc. Behind each mural carries significant tales, as much as John Denver missed his countrytown while singing his "Country Road"!

"Surf or Die" , 2006
- undying passion of surfing culture in Australia






"I've a dream", 2006
-the aboringinals' longing for peace while struggling with the present urbanity.







The role of "place" put graffiti in another debate. I don't know any museums that have housed graffiti works but its art identity has been always been contested under a spatial art-political regime. I ask:
- Is graffiti an art creation? Is this "out-of place" form simply not an art?
- Will its status quo be redefined as an "art" only if it enters into the "sacred spaces" of a art gallery? from out-of-ghetto image to the high-end art....?
- will its meaning change under a process of displacement from its street ghetto to the art gallery?

I await comments, responses and those who already have a read on the new book. Peace.
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from Washington Post -
Saving Our Digital Heritage
go to article

This article asks - which also can be taken as as a sort of counterpoint to the earlier post on the on-going effort by the British Library to archive a snap-shot of e-mails, although not directly related in any way:

"Responsible preservation of our most valued digital data requires answers to key questions: Which data should we keep and how should we keep it? How can we ensure that we can access it in five years, 100 years or 1,000 years? And, who will pay for it?"

These are also questions that museum collections must face up to, albeit phrased slightly differently.
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from People's Daily Online -
China establishes initial database for intangible cultural heritage
go to article

Another effort in the Herculean challenge of preserving cultural expressions. Documentation and database lists are but an initial aspect of the overall effort. The long-term goal is for such cultural expressions to find contemporary relevance. And this daunting task can be a bit less so if we see such cultural expressions as a kind of "commons" which must entail the responsible use and preservation by everyone.

This long-term goal of preservation might run counter to current notions of intellectual property, which hinges on legislative measures to facilitate commercial exploitation in the first instance (see related links on WIPO site on "Traditional Knowledge" and "Traditional Cultural Expressions"). The dilemma could arise, say in a hypothetical situation, when an original ethnic group could not continue its intangible cultural expressions, but another public institution or non-profit organisation wishes to, then would this mean that the effort would have to be cleared through an endless series of legislative measures and commercial licenses? This sounds like a death knell for intangible heritage preservation efforts.
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