Art conservation

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Art conservation is a profession devoted to the preservation of cultural heritage for the future. Conservation activities include examination, documentation, treatment, and preventive care. All of this work is supported by research and education.

Contents

[edit] Narrow Definition

The traditional definition of the role of the conservator involves the examination, conservation, and preservation of material culture using "any methods that prove effective in keeping that property in as close to its original condition as possible for as long as possible.” [1]

[edit] Broad Definition

Today the definition of the role of conservation has widened and would more accurately be described as that of ethical stewardship.

The conservator applies some simple ethical guidelines, such as:

  • Minimal intervention.
  • Appropriate materials and methods that aim to be reversible to reduce possible problems with future treatment, investigation, and use.
  • Full documentation of all work undertaken.

The conservator aims to take into account the views of the stakeholder and to apply their professional expertise accordingly.

[edit] Conservation Ethics

The conservator's work is guided by ethical standards. These take the form of applied ethics. Ethical standards have been established across the world, and national and international ethical guidelines have been written. One such example is:

Conservation OnLine's Ethical issues in conservation provides a number of articles on ethical issues in conservation; example of codes of ethics and guidelines for professional conduct in conservation and allied fields; and charters and treaties pertaining to ethical issues involving the preservation of cultural property.

[edit] Specialization within the profession

The profession of art conservation is broad and encomposses many areas of speciality.

[edit] Caring for cultural works in a museum setting

[edit] Preventive Conservation

Many cultural works are sensitive to environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and exposure to light and ultraviolet light. They must be protected in a controlled environment where such variables are maintained within a range of damage-limiting levels. Shielding from sunlight of artifacts such as watercolour paintings for example is usually necessary to prevent fading of pigments.

Preventive conservation is an important element of museum policy and collections care. It is an essential responsibility of members of the museum profession to create and maintain a protective environment for the collections in their care, whether in store, on display, or in transit. A museum should carefully monitor the condition of collections to determine when an artifact requires conservation work and the services of a qualified conservator.

Work of preventive conservation in a rock wall with prehistoric paintings at the Serra da Capivara National Park. The work consists of filling the cracks to prevent the fragmentation of the wall.
Work of preventive conservation in a rock wall with prehistoric paintings at the Serra da Capivara National Park. The work consists of filling the cracks to prevent the fragmentation of the wall.

[edit] Interventive Conservation

Interventive Conservation refers to any act by a conservator that involves a direct interaction between the conservator and the cultural material. These interventive treatments could involve the cleaning, stabilizing, repair, or replacement of parts of the cultural material. It is essential that the conservator fully justify any such work, as well as fully documenting the work both before, during, and after the treatment.

The principal goal should be the stabilisation of the object or specimen. All conservation procedures should be documented and as reversible as possible, and all alterations should be clearly distinguishable from the original object or specimen.[2]

[edit] A Country by Country Look

[edit] The United States of America

Heritage Preservation, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a U.S. federal agency, produced The Heritage Health Index. The results of this work was the report A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America’s Collections, which was published in December 2005 and concluded that immediate action is needed to prevent the loss of 190 million artifacts that are in need of conservation treatment. The report made four recommendations:

  • Institutions must give priority to providing safe conditions for the collections they hold in trust.
  • Every collecting institution must develop an emergency plan to protect its collections and train staff to carry it out.
  • Every institution must assign responsibility for caring for collections to members of its staff.
  • Individuals at all levels of government and in the private sector must assume responsibility for providing the support that will allow these collections to survive [3]

[edit] Training

Training in conservation for many years took the form of an apprenticeship, whereby an apprentice slowly developed the necessary skills to undertake their job. For some specializations within conservation this is still the case. However, it is more common in the field of conservation today that the training required to become a practicing conservator comes from a recognized university course in conservation.

[edit] Canada

  • Algonquin College
    • Applied Museum Studies (3 Year Diploma) which "provides students with a sound background in museum work and the technical areas common to all museums. These include: collection management, exhibit preparation, conservation, educational programming, and museum management". [4]
  • Fleming College previously known as Sir Sandford Fleming College.
    • Collections Conservation and Management Diploma [5]

[edit] United Kingdom

There are numerous training facilities for conservators in the UK, whereas training in the United States tends towards an overview of the conservation profession as a whole, in the UK each institution tends towards their own area of specialism.

  • Cardiff University [10]
    • BSc Conservation of Objects in Museums and Archaeology
    • MSc Care of Collections
    • MSc Conservation
  • University of Lincoln [15]
    • BA (Hons) Conservation & Restoration
    • MA Conservation of Historic Objects
    • Graduate Diploma Conservation Studies
  • West Dean College [19]
    • MA Conservation Studies

West Dean also offers a series of Diplomas & Professional Development Courses

[edit] United States of America

[edit] Conservation Associations and Professional Organizations

[edit] Australia

  • Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material Inc. [2]

[edit] Canada

  • Canadian Association for Conservation [3]
  • Canadian Association of Professional Conservators[4]
  • Canadian Conservation Institute [5]
  • Canadian Association of Emerging Conservators - Association canadienne des restaurateurs émergents [6]

[edit] European

  • European Confederation of Conservator-Restorers' Organisations A.I.S.B.L. / Confederation Européenne des Organisations de Conservateurs-Restaurateurs A.I.S.B.L. [7]
  • A.R.I. Italian C-Restores' Organisation (IT Professional Body) [8]
  • Istituto Centrale per il Restauro I.C.R.Rome-Italy [9]

[edit] United Kingdom

[edit] United States

[edit] International

  • International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works [17]
  • International Council Of Museums - Committee for Conservation [18]
  • The Society for the protection of Natural History Collections [19]
  • International Center for the study of preservation of Cultural Property ICCROM[20]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Walston, S. 1978. p.9 The Preservation and Conservation of Aboriginal and Pacfic Cultural Material in Australian Museums. ICCM Bulletin Vol 4 no. 1. December 1978. Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials (Inc).
  2. ^ ICOM-CC International Council of Museums Committee for Conservation]
  3. ^ http://www.heritagepreservation.org/HHI/
  4. ^ http://extraweb.algonquincollege.com/fulltime_programs/programOverview.aspx?id=0446C01FWO&
  5. ^ http://www.flemingc.on.ca/index.cfm/go/programs/sub/display/code/CCM.cfm
  6. ^ http://www.queensu.ca/art/programs_artc.html
  7. ^ http://www.imagearts.ryerson.ca/photopreservation/
  8. ^ http://www.camberwell.arts.ac.uk/courses/26719.htm
  9. ^ http://www-hki.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/courses.html
  10. ^ http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/hisar/index.html
  11. ^ http://www.cityandguildsartschool.ac.uk/docs/dept/cons.html
  12. ^ http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/degreeprogrammes/postgraduate/taughtdegrees.shtml
  13. ^ http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/masters/summary/ma-conservation.htm
  14. ^ http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/masters/summary/msc-conservation.htm
  15. ^ http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/lsad/
  16. ^ http://northumbria.ac.uk/sd/academic/sass/ahd/cu/
  17. ^ http://www.rca.ac.uk/pages/study/ma_conservation_155.html
  18. ^ http://www.textileconservationcentre.soton.ac.uk/conservationcourses/index.html
  19. ^ http://www.westdean.org.uk/site/conservation/index.htm
  20. ^ http://www.buffalostate.edu/depts/artconservation/
  21. ^ http://www.arch.columbia.edu/hp/conservationofhisarch.html
  22. ^ http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/fineart/ifa/curriculum/conservation.htm
  23. ^ http://www.artcons.udel.edu/

[edit] External links

[edit] Resources for Conservation Professionals

[edit] Scholarly Journals

[edit] Conservation and the Public