from The Guardian -

Global touring takes its toll on Picasso picture
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Oops! There goes another Warhol - the art that can't be moved
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from CultureGrrl -
Guernica's Condition: Robust or Fragile?
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The limits placed on the protection of artwork during travel and transfer have always been issues of resources and contestation of wills. Using scientific methods and studies to justify the refusal of a loan may in turn engender the use of advances and innovation in technology to counter objections to the loan. This cycle of ever-increasing elaborate technical solutions does nothing to address the imbalance and complexity of power relations between institutions whenever a loan is initiated.
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from The New York Times -

In Ancient Alleys, Modern Comforts
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Lost in the New Beijing: The Old Neighborhood
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Preservation of the historic urban fabric has a new "threat" - gentrification. This new problem points to the necessity (or dilemma) of integrating the preservation of both the tangible and intangible aspects of heritage.

"As more and more money is poured into elaborate renovations, the phenomenon is not only draining these neighborhoods of their character but also threatening to erase an entire way of life. "

Is preserving something better than loosing everything?
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from The Guardian -
Cherish our museums. They see the bigger, civic picture
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"[I]nstitutions' identities go deeper even than their collections, their buildings and their directors - they encompass the very principles on which the museums were founded."

The difference may come down to public funding versus private money. Nevertheless, the larger issue is that patronage determines outcome - regardless of the age we live in.
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from The New York Times -
Behind Walls of Warehouses, a Trove of Artwork
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This could be the future of techncial museum services ...
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from Bloomberg -
Berlin's Weimar-Era Housing Joins Pyramids as UN Heritage Site
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Perhaps serious heritage preservation has its limits in terms of accommodating day-to-day living:

"Living in a monument has its disadvantages, Walter said. He is skeptical that UNESCO world-heritage status will be a boon for residents. And he'd love to exchange his heritage-protected wooden windows for synthetic ones less liable to rot."

Then, again:

"'On the positive side, the value of the house might rise,' he said."

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from The Independent -
'Six months to save Lascaux'
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An extreme situation calls for extreme measure - and though the loss of a "World Heritage Site" status may be a blow of sorts in tourism terms, but it pales in comparison to the actual loss of the historic site due to uncontrolled environmental conditions - both natural and man-made.

Also see earlier post here.
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from The Art Newspaper -
Archaeological sites in south Iraq have not been looted, say experts
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from The New Scientist -
Archaeologists to refuse help over possible Iran strike
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Two contrasting perspectives - but the larger issue may be that in all conflicts, heritage preservation takes a beating.

In the report from Art Newspaper, although no evidence of further looting was found since the Iraq invasion, the report did note that damage did occur as a direct result of the invasion (carried out by the armed forces of both sides of the conflict). The seeming "callousness" of the archaeologists cited in the second report in New Scientist is perhaps more understandable in light of this.

In any case, the problem is not with the archaeologists but with politicians behaving as tyrants.
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from Yahoo! News -
Music lovers rediscover the timbre of turntable
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When there is such a group as "Vinyl Preservation Society of Idaho", it must be a sure sign that vinyl discs are on their way back for sure! Also see earlier post here.
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from The New York Times -
Buddha’s Caves
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Over the years, progress on the preservation of the once sacred caves can only be termed as patient - thanks in part to the largess of the Getty Foundation, the work of the Getty Conservation Institute and commitment of the Chinese government. But the singular, and in no way unique, problem persists:

"The question of access versus preservation is a poignant one and is by no means confined to Mogaoku. It applies to many fragile monuments."

and

"The impact has been significant. The risk of direct contact with art is somewhat reduced by the installation of transparent screens, but the physical degradation caused by fluctuating atmospheric conditions — humid to dry to humid again — is acute. Although no one is saying so, it is possible that without major change, all the caves will eventually have to be closed to the public."

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from The Art Newspaper -
Can past nuclear explosions help detect forgeries?
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It seems like a poetic inversion to determine present-day forgeries using an indelible historic mistake of the modern era - that of the nuclear mushroom cloud. Picking up minute radioactive traces could indicate a post Second World War provenance. However, would the reverse be true - i.e. the absence of such radioactive traces be deterministic of a provenance that predates World War Two?
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from The Guardian -
Greenaway's hi-tech gadgetry highlights da Vinci for the laptop generation
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In a surprising but triumphant reversal of an earlier decision to stop the show (see earlier post), this must surely go down in (art) history as a definitive moment of our times.
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from The Guardian -
Radio-carbon tests reveal true age of Rome's she-wolf - and she's a relative youngster
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Perhaps an embarrassment for the discipline of art history - but it took the combined eye and mind of an art historian and restorer, Anna Maria Carruba, to make a case against the attribution of such an iconic statue which is now proven by scientific means.
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from CultureGrrl -
Towards a Ceasefire in the Antiquities Wars: The Next Step
go to part 1
go to part 2

A clear-headed set of suggestions to mitigate the issue of repatriation of illicitly obtained cultural artefacts - even for those that fall outside of recent guidelines. This is in contrast to proclamations of universal history and responsible custodianship, often proffered as a "right" to hold onto cultural artefacts indefinitely.
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