from The Art Newspaper
Come buy our palaces
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Oligarchs line up to buy listed buildings ...
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Two parallel developments from Europe on the "privatisation" of the preservation of heritage. In both instances, it is clearly recognised that preservation endeavours entail vast amount of resources - financial, expertise knowledge, time and other intangible contributions from the community at large. However, the sad decision made in both situations were to reduce the solution to one of approaching the problem from a narrow financial perspective - and mistaking that as the utmost priority. This will surely have unintended consequences in time to come, and most likely negative ones.

from The New York Times
A Computer That Has an Eye for Van Gogh
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Using a computer to compare sections of an artist's known works from a database of images, it is claimed that certain tell-tale signs in the use of materials or techniques can be determined, almost like "invisible signatures". All this for the purpose of authentication. It would be interesting to see how much of restoration or overpaints on a painting would return a "fake" result during analysis?

from Science @ NASA
Bacterial Integrated Circuits
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Indoor air pollution poses a real and harmful threat to heritage artefacts if left unchecked (see article by Morten Ryhl-Svendsen). The standard method of monitoring is to use the technique of sampling of the indoor air and having that sample analysed.

The new detection method being tested by NASA researchers would provide a real-time detection system, combining micro-biology and photo-electronics, called Bioluminescent Bioreporter Integrated Circuits (BBICs). Monitoring for pollutants would also be much cheaper and simpler than on-site chemical sampling methods that are currently possible.

These BBICs are useful on Earth, too. They can detect formaldehyde emitted by pressed wood furniture or hard-to-detect molds often implicated in sick building syndrome. "If this device works as planned, it could turn out to be a very inexpensive kind of monitoring system," says Sayler. "You could go to your corner drugstore, buy one of these, take it home and stick it up on your wall. It could tell you whether your carpets are degassing, or whether you've got problems like black mold."

The circuit chips can also be customised for the detection of different particulate, gaseous or biological pollutants - and even ultra-violet radiation! - depending on the type of microbe that is bio-engineered. The size of the chip is also extremely small and inconspicuous - 2 mm by 2mm - hence, perfect for museum display use.

from UNESCO: Culture
Cultural Pluralism
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12321&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Conservation can be controversial. Why do we do what we do? A decision may appear more acceptable to one but less appealing to another. Understanding a culture perhaps could be one good way in first learning to comprehend and empathise the whys.

"People invent, refine and embellish their cultures through contact with and by borrowing from other cultures. Cultures are ways of living together".

from BBC news
Eco glass cleans itself with Sun
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Imagine a world where there will be no more cleaning of window glass panes! This is achieved by depositing an extremely thin coating of titanium oxide on the glass surface, which will react with the surface dirt in the presence of ultra-violet radiation (plentiful in sunlight). With the subsequent arrival of rain, the surface dirt is easily washed away in a uniform manner. Now imagine if this technology can be applied to outdoor sculptures or heritage structures!

from The International Herald Tribune
Architecture: Saving a jewel of Shanghai
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and
from The New York Times
Salvaging Jewish Heritage in China, Block by Block
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Yet another story of urban development standing in the way of heritage preservation. Or is it the other way round - depending on whose side one is on?

from The Guardian
Down with this access pottiness
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When an argument is made in favour of "art-for-art's-sake" by a government minister, no less - no longer being merely justified as a social implement to enhance the quality of life of citizens; nor as a means of social inclusion or forging of a national identity; nor as an economic cash-cow, in the case of the Creative Industries - then it must be recognised as an unmistakable sign of a significant arts policy shift. Yet again, the UK has shown its leadership mantle in the arena of arts and culture.

It is a case of quality being of far, far greater importance than quantity, in the case of arts and culture. Quoting James Fenton in the Guardian article above:

What [Tessa] Jowell [Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport] says in her document, although not precisely in these words, is that there is no point in fetishising access, if access means access to crap. "Access to the substandard is access to disappointment which will translate into an unwillingness to keep paying. It will not inspire or raise levels of aspiration, and in the end is not worthwhile. That is why excellence has to be at the heart of cultural subsidy, and that is what we must insist on."

Hear, hear! Now politicians can go figure.

from Voice of America
American Philanthropists to Return 'Forbidden City' to Former Glamour
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go to audio report (RealAudio format)

A praiseworthy effort to reach across cultures by funding a large-scale preservation project, which otherwise might not materialise. However, one cannot help but wonder whether national pride would come into the picture? Or is the historic complex a mere curious cultural relic (and a tourist trap) in present-day China which has done away with dynastic monarchism?

Perhaps, what is most curious is the selection of the particular restoration site - a retirement lodge of the Emperor Qianlong, who had been credited in opening up the Middle Kingdom to the influx of Western (imperial) influences. The lodge had previously functioned as a private theatre pavilion and contained an admixture of Chinese ornate motifs and Italian paintings executed in the 18th century. It makes one wonder whether the decision to select the site for this worthy cause could have been an unconsciously (or consciously) "political" one?

from ARTNews Online
Moving Mountains, Walking on Water
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When the outdoor environment is the work of art - much of what has been termed as Earthworks or Land Art - it is perhaps an understatement to say that the conservation of such art is a daunting task, indeed. Perhaps, it is pertinent to clarify: "Why are we considering the conservation of such sites in the first place?" A previous New York Times article discussing Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty raised the particularly vexing question of whether conservation or restoration is even necessary at all, although the work is indeed "deteriorating":

But the idea of doing anything to this artwork worries some people. And the intentions of the artist, who died in a plane crash at 35 in 1973, are not clear.

"When refurbishing earthworks, you don't want to create a Tussaud's wax sculpture," said Robert Storr, a former senior curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and a professor at the New York University Institute of Fine Arts. "Earthworks were not made to last forever. There is a danger when restoring them to make a more perfect thing than was originally done."

from Xinhua Online
Digital tech in use to preserve Dunhuang
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This is yet another use of digital imaging technology to re-create a heritage site in order to "preserve" it. This recall similar attempts here, here and here. The need to re-create a virtual replica, however imperfection that solution might be, throws into sharp relief the 2 conflicting trends which plague most, if not all, successful historic and heritage sites.

On the one hand, with the spread of information about the site, visitors would arrive in increasing numbers. And in tandem, accelerated deterioration of the site would usually accompany this increase. Limiting access appears to be the preferred compromise. And with the help of present-day digital imaging technology, much can be achieved in terms of providing an accurate visual representation.

Although much welcomed, in terms of slowing deterioration, this digital act of copying also appears to contrast sharply with the way the act of copying is understood in the Chinese context in achieving a good level of "restoration". In particular:

"But copying is also learning. During the process of copying, one has to give inputs of research, grasp the laws and rhythms of the painting in question and perfect the technique. Only then can the reproduction capture the spirit of the original. Therefore the copiers should have a rich knowledge of the tradition as well as profound expertise and skill; otherwise the reproduction will not transpose both the visual and spiritual excellence of the originals." [see reference article here]

And with limited access, it remains unclear what ramifications that will have on such an approach to restoration work.

Another recent news item also confirms this trend towards restricted access (even for personnel working to conserve the site) as a means to slow deterioration of the Dunhuang site, especially the Mogao grottos or caves. Working together with the Getty Conservation Institute, the University of California has developed very tiny and inexpensive sensor chips - otherwise known as Smart Dust Motes - that can be scattered within the grottos. Using wireless technology, data from all the sensors are then be collected, thus providing a viable means of remote-sensing the real-time environment conditions of the entire space without having to step foot in it.