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."

from The Guardian -
China loses thousands of historic sites
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"The last 20 years have been the worst time for cultural heritage site protection with the rapid development. It is even worse than in the Cultural Revolution"

Intense urban development finishing what misguided ideology could not ... and, then some.
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from The New York Times -
An Italian City Shaken to Its Cultural Core
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go to images

"Shortages of money, political will, architectural good sense and international attention — along with a distinctly Italian predilection for a kind of magical thinking — threaten to finish what the quake started."

This is yet another case-in-point for national efforts in setting aside funds and identifying expertise before crisis happens.
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from The Art Newspaper -
Heritage marketing: Love is not enough
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Heralding the rise of a new breed "museum worker" - the interpretation expert - whose job is to make historical information more tasteful and digestible for the (imaginary?) general public. What a load of condescending bung!
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from The Royal Academy of Arts -
Conservation: Principles, Dilemmas and Uncomfortable Truths
go to web-page
download talks and discussions

"Conservation today is as much about conserving intangible values as it is about conserving material culture, yet the Codes of Ethics for conservators fail to guide them in understanding and prioritising such values."

Still no answers to be had, but this is a first step in opening up a space for honest discussions within the profession - rather than hiding behind "mantras" derived uncritically from such "codes of ethics".
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from The New York Observer -
Copy That! Wait, Don't. Whitney Ponders Problem of Replication in Modern Art
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Yet another take on the issues surrounding the preservation of contemporary art. Perhaps, it is more useful to see such diverse preservation efforts not in a monolithic or unified way but as pragmatic measures in the race against time. Let's argue less about (impossible) philosophical ideals and think more about setting acceptable standards beyond which all manner of approach is (to be) welcomed.

See earlier link to various papers published online on the 2007 conference held at the Tate mentioned in the article
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from New York Times -
Digging Into the Science of That Old-Book Smell
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A non-destructive method of detecting elevated levels of harmful chemicals inherent in the paper. If proved consistent, this could be potentially useful in prioritising and targeting efforts in the preservation of paper-based artefacts.
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from Getty Conservation Institute Newsletter -
Conservation of Modern and Contemporary Art
go to contents
go to PDF (6.7 MB)

A timely overview of some of the latest research directions and thinking in the preservation of contemporary art and materials.
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from The New York Times -
When Ancient Artifacts Become Political Pawns
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"But the larger truth is that all patrimony arguments ultimately live or die in the morally murky realm of global relations, meaning that modern governments like Egypt’s and Iraq’s may win sympathy today by counting on Western guilt about colonialism when asking for the return of art from ancient sites within their current borders. At the same time there’s no international clamor for Russia to return storerooms of treasures it stole from Germany at the end of the war, or, for that matter, for Sweden to fork over the spoils of a war 350 years ago with Denmark. It’s about emotion, not airtight logic and consistent policy."

Perhaps, the way to take all these twists and turns of events is to realise that when a field of professional work becomes sufficiently mature, petty politics moves right in. Welcome to the world ...
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from The Art Newspaper -
Disposing of cultural artefacts in university collections
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Treating all artefacts in a collection as "equally valuable" would seem like an enlightened approach - but in fact it is a mask to hide unthinking wasteful practices and a deep reluctance to make (and live with) subjective decisions.
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from Art21 Blog -
Concepts Around Interviewing Artists: a Discussion with Glenn Wharton
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A good and clear overview of the issues pertaining to the use of artist interviews as a strategy in the preservation of contemporary art. In the final analysis, such interview should be treated less as documentation (which is a 1-way process akin to trying to uncover the artist intent, whatever that might mean) and more as an exercise in building understanding (as a 2-way interactive and collaborative process).
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