New Systems for Document Public Art
from Witty's Blog: Wikipedia, History, Museum -

An interesting series of open-access projects that uses intangible digital media to bring attention to tangible public sculptures and art.  This not only generates more attention and awareness of the artworks, but can also be easily implemented in many, many other contexts.  Every city should have one or more of such projects running!

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My apologies for the long hiatus - a combination of crazy work-load and other distractions.

At this juncture between the new and the old, it is as good a time as any other instant to revive the effort that has started this blog.

So, just to wish one and all a great start to the year!

from KFSK Radio -
Conservator works on Alaska documents
go to web-page
go to audio (MP3)

When the museum or archives cannot come to the conservator, the (paper) conservator goes to the museum and archives. Maybe this could be the model to help smaller museums and heritage centres that cannot afford permanent in-house staff.
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from The New York Times -
Tile by Tile, a Mural Is Saved
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A paint-staking project in relocating a ceramic tile wall mural, prompting the insight:

"Anything artistic that goes in a subway should be put on some type of removable support."

A lesson in there somewhere for all urban transport authorities?
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from The New York Times -
A Rebel Form Gains Favor. Fights Ensue.
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It is indeed an ironic twist that performance art - the art form which resists commercialism by being stubbornly rendered as not collectible - is now facing questions about its core value as some artists insists on reperformance, sometimes using the guise of preservation to deflect criticism.
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from Getty Conservation Institute -
Art as Evidence:The Scientific Investigation of Works of Art
go to web-page and video

A good overview of issues and possibilities with current technological advances in the examination of artworks. Even as technology surpass our understanding, the primary question remains: "For what ends?"
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from The Guardian -
How the National Trust is finding its mojo
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"The perennial battle inside the trust has always been that between conservation and access, preservation and enjoyment. 'But really, it needn't be,' insists [Mark] Harold [, regional director at National Trust]. 'Not every room in every built property has precious textiles. We own lots of land; not all of it is equally sensitive.'"

Possibly a lesson for museums - not to operate solely on the basis of preempting damage as if all artefacts are masterpieces but to recognise that all preservation decisions are inherently biased. The point is to be open about what values guide those decisions - for better or for worse.
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from Tate Research -
Tate AXA Art Modern Paints Project (TAAMPP): 2006-2009 Research summary
go to Research Summary (PDF, 563 kB)

A summary of the extensive research into acrylic paints and how various conservation cleaning treatments affect the physical properties of acrylic paint films.
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from The New York Times -
Online, It’s the Mouse That Runs the Museum
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It is less about being populist than understanding that if it is the victorious that writes history, then authority is not winning people over as it has been before.
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from The Observer -
Enlightened age for the arts in Britain is cast into shadow
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And to end the year with an eye on what is happening in UK museums that could serve for all as a lesson (from the past) and a warning (from the future), perhaps:

"The culture shift began with free entry to museums and has developed down the years to force once standoffish institutions to engage with wider School trips, outreach and working with diverse communities have come to rank as highly as research and fundraising."

And,

"The fear is that a collapse in private philanthropy combined with a political arms race of expenditure cuts and quango-bashing could soon return our galleries and museums to the dark days of charges, closures and pandering to the familiar."