from Technology Review -
Ultrasound to Go
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A promising miniaturised technology used for medical diagnosis that could also be applied to the documentation and condition assessment of the building fabric of historic sites.
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from Archaeology -
The Past in High-Def
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A nice overview of surface imaging technique, with an eye towards documentation of sites, monuments and ancient structures for preservation purposes.
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from Scientific American 60-Second Science Blog -
Have scientists discovered Spider-Man's secret to superstrong silk?
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go to scientific paper abstract
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Reinforcing an already naturally strong material could have multiple uses, including "invisible" repair in some conservation treatments - if the threads last.
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from Slate -
Robert Altman Made a Movie About a Lunar Landing?
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Continuing the earlier thread of documenting unrealised works as an important (but overlooked) aspect of preservation. Being able to order a single copy of previously released movie, without having to play hostage to larger marketing issues and distribution, is now a reality - a boon for both scholars and archivists. All thanks to technology.

Go to the Warner Archive Collection.
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from New York Times -
Mapping the Cultural Buzz: How Cool Is That?
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Someone is taking Richard Florida seriously. Where are the next hip places, where are the elite classes agglomerating, what is the next big thing? Somebody has made use of Getty Images to map out the clusters of the creative sectors in US and has suggested that a new geography of creativity is emerging. You want to be cool and get paid, you jolly well be there??
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from The New York Times -
Yes, It’s Beautiful, the Italians All Say, but Is It a Michelangelo?
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In times of dwindling funds, the question of responsible acquisition becomes more acute:

"The government would better serve future generations by preserving Italy’s vast patrimony rather than investing in isolated works of art."

And the price-tag? A cool 3.3 million euros (or almost S$6.5 million).
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Graphics Atlas
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A new initiative by the Image Permanence Institute at the Rochester Institute of Technology, which incorporate a module to aid visual identification of photographic prints and sections on the history and technology of the photographic printing process.

The content in several sections are still being added. So will be good to revisit later. A link to the web-site will be added to the side-bar of this blog. A promising resource, all in all.

Link via Cons DistList.
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from The Guardian -
Henry Moore Foundation to showcase public art proposals that never made it
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An interesting archive of what could have been commissioned to grace various public spaces in the UK:

"The archive covers a crucial period in British art, and maps the shift from monuments which may be quite contemporary in style but are made in very traditional materials like stone and bronze, to ideas which may not impact on their surroundings in any permanent way - such as Anya Gallaccio's proposal for beds of white flowers at King's Cross."

Much could also be learn from what-was-not and not just from conventional heritage artefacts of what-has-been.

from The Guardian -
New digital library to display world on a website
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go to images

Launched by UNESCO, the World Digital Library is already facing an uphill task in terms of securing long-term funding and making decisions as to what would be included in the library.

"For the WDL to fulfil its potential, observers say it must not allow itself to be drowned out amid competition from other online cultural projects. Its aim is to focus on the very best of what each country has to offer."

Perhaps elitist in tone, but necessarily practical.

from The Guardian -
Italy earthquake has caused 'incalculable' damage to cultural heritage
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A reminder that human history and heritage is of no interest, whatsoever, to Nature.
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from New York Times -
ArtBabble Site Opens Window to World of Museums
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go to ArtBabble site



Keeping up with the YouTube generation - and not necessarily a bad thing.
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from New York Times
Keeping Art, and Climate, Controlled
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More acquisitions, more galleries, more storage spaces, it has been a high price to keep the museums and the conservation centres substainable these days. Before the price of keeping the collection continues to soar, the musuems and conservation centres are forced to re-think of creative solutions to keep the maintenance fees low.

from Science News -
Long Live Plastics
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Addressing the need for further collaborative research on the deterioration and preservation of plastics, an international project, called POPART - short for Preservation of Plastic Artefacts in Museum Collection - was set up last year with funding from the European Commission.

The web-site is rather sparse at the moment but hopefully, there will be a range of useful information coming out of this project. A link to the web-site has also been added to the side-bar of this blog, under "Conservation and Museum Web-Sites & Weblogs" for future access.
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from The Washington Post -
Ralph Appelbaum's Transformation of The Museum World Is Clearly Evident
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An intriguing take on the museum designer as being complicit in that drive towards museum as "message" - and less as material content.
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