Pub Date : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/19455224.2022.2161097
J. Townsend, Rosie Freemantle
Abstract Prior to an exhibition, one gouache (The Oise at Auvers 1890) and two drawings (Thatched Roofs 1884 and A Corner of the Garden of St Paul’s Hospital at St Rémy 1889) by Vincent van Gogh in the Tate collection were available for technical examination for the first time. Obvious colour changes in the papers and loss of colour in the inks and in pink/red pigments where display mounts have protected the edges prompted materials analysis, microfading and an investigation of their history. The decisions made for their display are discussed in the context of Tate’s lighting policy, currently being reviewed to cover all types of material in a growing collection of modern materials, and changing attitudes to the display or not of preserved colour beneath earlier mounts and frames. The materials van Gogh used were very typical of his known choices at the dates of making. The use of two formulations with geranium lakes based on Eosin Y, both sensitive to light, were identified in a gouache by this artist for the first time.
{"title":"Three works on paper by Vincent Van Gogh: technical study, display considerations and a conjectural colour reconstruction","authors":"J. Townsend, Rosie Freemantle","doi":"10.1080/19455224.2022.2161097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19455224.2022.2161097","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Prior to an exhibition, one gouache (The Oise at Auvers 1890) and two drawings (Thatched Roofs 1884 and A Corner of the Garden of St Paul’s Hospital at St Rémy 1889) by Vincent van Gogh in the Tate collection were available for technical examination for the first time. Obvious colour changes in the papers and loss of colour in the inks and in pink/red pigments where display mounts have protected the edges prompted materials analysis, microfading and an investigation of their history. The decisions made for their display are discussed in the context of Tate’s lighting policy, currently being reviewed to cover all types of material in a growing collection of modern materials, and changing attitudes to the display or not of preserved colour beneath earlier mounts and frames. The materials van Gogh used were very typical of his known choices at the dates of making. The use of two formulations with geranium lakes based on Eosin Y, both sensitive to light, were identified in a gouache by this artist for the first time.","PeriodicalId":43004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Institute of Conservation","volume":"46 1","pages":"3 - 22"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48732663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/19455224.2022.2157852
Mehdi Hooshyari
Abstract Modern conservation was formed under the influence of two approaches, ‘stylistic restoration’ and ‘conservation’ as pioneered by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and John Ruskin, respectively. In Iran, due to the prevalence of both modernity and nationalism at the beginning of the twentieth century, a period of extensive restoration of historic buildings was begun. The aim of this study is to identify the implicit principles of that restoration, and it is argued that it had its own characteristics due to the unfamiliarity in Iran with European approaches to conservation. Case studies were used to provide data for analysis to identify the principles and themes guiding the restoration. These included effecting the ‘perfection or completeness of the architectural work’, ‘decoration and beautification’, ‘harmony’, and restoration that exemplified ‘traditional art’ and ‘traditional proficiency’, all of which indicate a similarity with the characteristics of ‘stylistic restoration’, the purpose of which, according to Viollet-le-Duc, was to reinstate a building in a complete and ideal condition. This approach is interpreted as being in accordance with the prevalence of nationalism both in Europe and Iran, but where modern principles such as readability and minimal intervention were disregarded in the Iranian approach to such restorations.
摘要现代保护是在两种方法的影响下形成的，“风格修复”和“保护”，分别由Eugène Violet le Duc和John Ruskin开创。在伊朗，由于20世纪初现代性和民族主义的盛行，开始了一段大规模修复历史建筑的时期。这项研究的目的是确定修复的隐含原则，有人认为，由于伊朗不熟悉欧洲的保护方法，修复有其自身的特点。案例研究用于提供数据进行分析，以确定指导修复的原则和主题。其中包括实现“建筑作品的完美或完整性”、“装饰和美化”、“和谐”以及体现“传统艺术”和“传统熟练度”的修复，所有这些都表明与“风格修复”的特征相似，根据维奥莱特·勒杜克的说法，就是要把一座建筑恢复到一个完整而理想的状态。这种方法被解释为符合欧洲和伊朗普遍存在的民族主义，但在伊朗的修复方法中，可读性和最小干预等现代原则被忽视了。
{"title":"The Iranian approach to architectural restoration: a style derived from nationalism","authors":"Mehdi Hooshyari","doi":"10.1080/19455224.2022.2157852","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19455224.2022.2157852","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Modern conservation was formed under the influence of two approaches, ‘stylistic restoration’ and ‘conservation’ as pioneered by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and John Ruskin, respectively. In Iran, due to the prevalence of both modernity and nationalism at the beginning of the twentieth century, a period of extensive restoration of historic buildings was begun. The aim of this study is to identify the implicit principles of that restoration, and it is argued that it had its own characteristics due to the unfamiliarity in Iran with European approaches to conservation. Case studies were used to provide data for analysis to identify the principles and themes guiding the restoration. These included effecting the ‘perfection or completeness of the architectural work’, ‘decoration and beautification’, ‘harmony’, and restoration that exemplified ‘traditional art’ and ‘traditional proficiency’, all of which indicate a similarity with the characteristics of ‘stylistic restoration’, the purpose of which, according to Viollet-le-Duc, was to reinstate a building in a complete and ideal condition. This approach is interpreted as being in accordance with the prevalence of nationalism both in Europe and Iran, but where modern principles such as readability and minimal intervention were disregarded in the Iranian approach to such restorations.","PeriodicalId":43004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Institute of Conservation","volume":"46 1","pages":"37 - 49"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49495602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/19455224.2023.2167095
Julia Wiland, Rick Brown, Lizzie Fuller, Lea Havelock, Jack Johnson, Dorothy Kenn, Paulina Kralka, Marya Muzart, Jessica Pollard, Jenny Snowdon
Abstract The closure of the British Library during the 2020–2021 COVID-19 pandemic allowed the conservation department to undertake a treatment review of the conservation of palm leaf manuscripts in order to make better-informed decisions about the treatment of these complex objects. As part of the review a questionnaire was posted in 2020 to the Global Conservation Forum asking about the treatment of palm leaf manuscripts by others in the field. This two-part Literature Review uses the available literature and the survey results to address the wide range of issues inherent in the practical conservation of palm leaf materials. Part 1 began with an historic overview of palm leaf manuscripts and their production, leaf preparation methods, manuscript materials and media, palm leaf manuscripts at the British Library and the common types of damage found in such manuscripts. Part 2 details historic treatments and current conservation techniques as informed by our review and survey, as well as storage, religious and ethical issues. It concludes with two decision-making flowcharts, and our practical recommendations for conservators. The authors wish to share the collated information as widely as possible and help create greater continuity and consistency in palm leaf manuscript conservation by presenting recommendations for best practice for conservators who treat these amazing objects.
{"title":"A literature review of palm leaf manuscript conservation—Part 2: historic and current conservation treatments, boxing and storage, religious and ethical issues, recommendations for best practice","authors":"Julia Wiland, Rick Brown, Lizzie Fuller, Lea Havelock, Jack Johnson, Dorothy Kenn, Paulina Kralka, Marya Muzart, Jessica Pollard, Jenny Snowdon","doi":"10.1080/19455224.2023.2167095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19455224.2023.2167095","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The closure of the British Library during the 2020–2021 COVID-19 pandemic allowed the conservation department to undertake a treatment review of the conservation of palm leaf manuscripts in order to make better-informed decisions about the treatment of these complex objects. As part of the review a questionnaire was posted in 2020 to the Global Conservation Forum asking about the treatment of palm leaf manuscripts by others in the field. This two-part Literature Review uses the available literature and the survey results to address the wide range of issues inherent in the practical conservation of palm leaf materials. Part 1 began with an historic overview of palm leaf manuscripts and their production, leaf preparation methods, manuscript materials and media, palm leaf manuscripts at the British Library and the common types of damage found in such manuscripts. Part 2 details historic treatments and current conservation techniques as informed by our review and survey, as well as storage, religious and ethical issues. It concludes with two decision-making flowcharts, and our practical recommendations for conservators. The authors wish to share the collated information as widely as possible and help create greater continuity and consistency in palm leaf manuscript conservation by presenting recommendations for best practice for conservators who treat these amazing objects.","PeriodicalId":43004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Institute of Conservation","volume":"46 1","pages":"64 - 91"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45089704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-02DOI: 10.1080/19455224.2022.2118142
Emmanuel Manu, S. Kquofi, Mustapha Issah
Abstract The Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, Ghana is popular for its outstanding exhibition of authentic cultural artefacts. However, these artefacts have always been associated with the beliefs, spirituality and philosophy of the Ashanti people and they are numinous or sacred objects venerated by both the museum's staff and its visitors. This article explores the phenomenon of numinosity surrounding selected objects in the collections and the impact this has on their preservation. It uses qualitative tools to explore case studies, including their detailed study, and interviews with people knowledgeable about their use and sacred status. A major finding the authors report is that numinous artefacts in the museum were not created as aesthetic objects but primarily for religious and utilitarian purposes that correlate with the devotion of the people involved. Their numinosity was also found to contribute to their preservation by protecting them from handling and use by visitors and museum personnel. The article is offered as a contribution to the literature both to stimulate similar research and widen the interests of those involved in the care of cultural heritage by situating such artefacts in cultural traditions that are arguably left largely outside the field of museology and yet are still to be fully explored in most parts of Africa.
{"title":"The impact of numinosity on the preservation of selected artefacts in the Manhyia Palace Museum, Ghana","authors":"Emmanuel Manu, S. Kquofi, Mustapha Issah","doi":"10.1080/19455224.2022.2118142","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19455224.2022.2118142","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract\u0000 The Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, Ghana is popular for its outstanding exhibition of authentic cultural artefacts. However, these artefacts have always been associated with the beliefs, spirituality and philosophy of the Ashanti people and they are numinous or sacred objects venerated by both the museum's staff and its visitors. This article explores the phenomenon of numinosity surrounding selected objects in the collections and the impact this has on their preservation. It uses qualitative tools to explore case studies, including their detailed study, and interviews with people knowledgeable about their use and sacred status. A major finding the authors report is that numinous artefacts in the museum were not created as aesthetic objects but primarily for religious and utilitarian purposes that correlate with the devotion of the people involved. Their numinosity was also found to contribute to their preservation by protecting them from handling and use by visitors and museum personnel. The article is offered as a contribution to the literature both to stimulate similar research and widen the interests of those involved in the care of cultural heritage by situating such artefacts in cultural traditions that are arguably left largely outside the field of museology and yet are still to be fully explored in most parts of Africa.","PeriodicalId":43004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Institute of Conservation","volume":"45 1","pages":"223 - 235"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45615576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-02DOI: 10.1080/19455224.2022.2112968
R. Sloggett
Abstract The term ‘conservation skills’ is a generic, and somewhat free-floating term, that is often used interchangeably with ‘manual skills’, ‘practical skills’, ‘hands-on skills’ and ‘treatment skills’. Giving weight to the term ‘treatment skills’, this article acknowledges the function of conservation treatment skills as a core conservation competency. It examines the nature of commentary that has sought to demonstrate that this competency has been reduced by a lack of focus on treatment skills in conservation education and, in turn, that this affects student skills and employability. It assesses the evidence on which this discourse has been developed, and in doing so considers the provocative and consequential nature of the discourse as it relates to conservation students and recent graduates. The article concludes that conservation, as a maturing discipline and profession, is defined by a technical, social and intellectual pluralism, and that this is more realistically the challenge for conservation education to advance in the twenty-first century.
{"title":"Conservation skills","authors":"R. Sloggett","doi":"10.1080/19455224.2022.2112968","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19455224.2022.2112968","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The term ‘conservation skills’ is a generic, and somewhat free-floating term, that is often used interchangeably with ‘manual skills’, ‘practical skills’, ‘hands-on skills’ and ‘treatment skills’. Giving weight to the term ‘treatment skills’, this article acknowledges the function of conservation treatment skills as a core conservation competency. It examines the nature of commentary that has sought to demonstrate that this competency has been reduced by a lack of focus on treatment skills in conservation education and, in turn, that this affects student skills and employability. It assesses the evidence on which this discourse has been developed, and in doing so considers the provocative and consequential nature of the discourse as it relates to conservation students and recent graduates. The article concludes that conservation, as a maturing discipline and profession, is defined by a technical, social and intellectual pluralism, and that this is more realistically the challenge for conservation education to advance in the twenty-first century.","PeriodicalId":43004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Institute of Conservation","volume":"45 1","pages":"157 - 172"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60417663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-02DOI: 10.1080/19455224.2022.2115093
Julia Wiland, Rick Brown, Lizzie Fuller, Lea Havelock, Jack Johnson, Dorothy Kenn, Paulina Kralka, Marya Muzart, Jessica Pollard, Jenny Snowdon
Abstract The closure of the British Library during the 2020–2021 Covid-19 pandemic allowed the conservation department to undertake a treatment review of the conservation of palm leaf manuscripts in order to make better-informed decisions about the treatment of these complex objects. As part of the review a questionnaire was posted in 2020 to the Global Conservation Forum asking about the treatment of palm leaf manuscripts by others in the field. This two-part Literature Review uses the available literature and the survey results to address the wide range of issues inherent in the practical conservation of palm leaf materials. Part 1 includes an historic overview of palm leaf manuscripts and their production, leaf preparation methods, manuscript materials and media, palm leaf manuscripts at the British Library and the common types of damage found in such manuscripts. Part 2 details historic treatments and current conservation techniques as informed by our review and survey, as well as storage, religious and ethical issues, before concluding with our practical recommendations. The authors wish to share the collated information as widely as possible and help create greater continuity and consistency in palm leaf manuscript conservation by presenting our recommendations for best practice for conservators who treat these amazing objects.
{"title":"A literature review of palm leaf manuscript conservation—Part 1: a historic overview, leaf preparation, materials and media, palm leaf manuscripts at the British Library and the common types of damage","authors":"Julia Wiland, Rick Brown, Lizzie Fuller, Lea Havelock, Jack Johnson, Dorothy Kenn, Paulina Kralka, Marya Muzart, Jessica Pollard, Jenny Snowdon","doi":"10.1080/19455224.2022.2115093","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19455224.2022.2115093","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The closure of the British Library during the 2020–2021 Covid-19 pandemic allowed the conservation department to undertake a treatment review of the conservation of palm leaf manuscripts in order to make better-informed decisions about the treatment of these complex objects. As part of the review a questionnaire was posted in 2020 to the Global Conservation Forum asking about the treatment of palm leaf manuscripts by others in the field. This two-part Literature Review uses the available literature and the survey results to address the wide range of issues inherent in the practical conservation of palm leaf materials. Part 1 includes an historic overview of palm leaf manuscripts and their production, leaf preparation methods, manuscript materials and media, palm leaf manuscripts at the British Library and the common types of damage found in such manuscripts. Part 2 details historic treatments and current conservation techniques as informed by our review and survey, as well as storage, religious and ethical issues, before concluding with our practical recommendations. The authors wish to share the collated information as widely as possible and help create greater continuity and consistency in palm leaf manuscript conservation by presenting our recommendations for best practice for conservators who treat these amazing objects.","PeriodicalId":43004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Institute of Conservation","volume":"45 1","pages":"236 - 259"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45417168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-02DOI: 10.1080/19455224.2022.2117220
Grace Barrand, M. Scott
Abstract The research presented here investigates the use of Work-Integrated Learning approaches to target areas of specialist skills within the cultural materials conservation sector. A case study of a 12-month pre-graduate position in frames conservation at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) is used to centre the study. The motivations, structure and outcomes of the position are analysed using semi-structured interviews by the post-holder with key members of the AGNSW staff. Using a process of self-reflection consideration is given to understanding what skills have been learnt, including the development of cognitive skills such as muscle memory and pattern recognition, and how this learning is championed by close mentorship that led to the stronger development of professional competencies. The results support a positive argument for Work-Integrated Learning as a mutually beneficial, forward-looking and industry-relevant training model to address areas of specialist conservation skills gaps and shortages in the cultural materials conservation sector.
{"title":"Targeting specialist skills through Work-Integrated Learning: a case study in frames conservation at the Art Gallery of New South Wales","authors":"Grace Barrand, M. Scott","doi":"10.1080/19455224.2022.2117220","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19455224.2022.2117220","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The research presented here investigates the use of Work-Integrated Learning approaches to target areas of specialist skills within the cultural materials conservation sector. A case study of a 12-month pre-graduate position in frames conservation at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) is used to centre the study. The motivations, structure and outcomes of the position are analysed using semi-structured interviews by the post-holder with key members of the AGNSW staff. Using a process of self-reflection consideration is given to understanding what skills have been learnt, including the development of cognitive skills such as muscle memory and pattern recognition, and how this learning is championed by close mentorship that led to the stronger development of professional competencies. The results support a positive argument for Work-Integrated Learning as a mutually beneficial, forward-looking and industry-relevant training model to address areas of specialist conservation skills gaps and shortages in the cultural materials conservation sector.","PeriodicalId":43004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Institute of Conservation","volume":"45 1","pages":"190 - 203"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48167298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-02DOI: 10.1080/19455224.2022.2130548
J. Kemp
The final issue of the 2022 volume of the journal begins with three articles that in their own ways address the perennial question of what kinds of skills educators should emphasise in their curricula for teaching conservation. Robyn Sloggett’s article, ‘Conservation skills’, takes the bull by the horns to wrangle out the differences between what educational institutions can and do provide and what employers and other agencies involved in conservation might be expected to contribute towards. Against the notion that graduates somehow lack core competencies in ‘treatment skills’—as has variously been suggested in recent years—Sloggett argues that contemporary conservation skills have been reconfigured by a technical, social and intellectual pluralism, and embedding this in the curriculum is the real challenge for conservation education to advance in the twenty-first century. Sloggett’s argument is followed by Salvador Muñoz Viñas’, ‘Conservation science, conservation practice and the conservator’s knowledge: a naïve exploration’, in which he suggests that in making decisions about treatments conservators draw on a reservoir of tacit knowledge which can only be developed in the workplace rather than in an educational setting. He argues that even where conservation is made more ‘factual’ through science such an approach is always redundant in the decisionmaking that conservators typically execute when caring for something. To illustrate this he presents a case study and navigates 42 treatmentrelated questions to demonstrate how science proves insufficient in answering any of them. He concludes that it is the tacit build up of experience, primed in training but developed in the workplace, that allows the conservator to answer such questions and concomitantly moves the individual along the novice-to-expert axis. That skills and know-how are best developed in the workplace is further corroborated by Grace Barrand and Marcelle Scott’s contribution, ‘Targeting specialist skills through Work-Integrated Learning: a case study in frames conservation at the Art Gallery of New South Wales’. Progression along the novice-to-expert axis is played out across Barrand’s structured mentorship at AGNSW where her skills were actively developed in a series of tasks designed by staff in the frames conservation department. Using a Work-Integrated Learning approach over 12 months they targeted developing Barrand’s cognitive skills such as muscle memory and pattern recognition to consolidate and improve her professional competencies. The positive results suggest support for Sloggett’s argument for more structured input from industry and offer an industry relevant training model for others to adapt to address any gaps they see in the skillset of their new employees. The fourth article, Cancy Chu, Sarah Bunn, Melanie Barrett and Petronella Nel’s ‘Investigating the efficacy of interleaving materials in the preservation of plasticised PVC slip-cover notebooks in Yang Zhichao’s
{"title":"Editorial","authors":"J. Kemp","doi":"10.1080/19455224.2022.2130548","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19455224.2022.2130548","url":null,"abstract":"The final issue of the 2022 volume of the journal begins with three articles that in their own ways address the perennial question of what kinds of skills educators should emphasise in their curricula for teaching conservation. Robyn Sloggett’s article, ‘Conservation skills’, takes the bull by the horns to wrangle out the differences between what educational institutions can and do provide and what employers and other agencies involved in conservation might be expected to contribute towards. Against the notion that graduates somehow lack core competencies in ‘treatment skills’—as has variously been suggested in recent years—Sloggett argues that contemporary conservation skills have been reconfigured by a technical, social and intellectual pluralism, and embedding this in the curriculum is the real challenge for conservation education to advance in the twenty-first century. Sloggett’s argument is followed by Salvador Muñoz Viñas’, ‘Conservation science, conservation practice and the conservator’s knowledge: a naïve exploration’, in which he suggests that in making decisions about treatments conservators draw on a reservoir of tacit knowledge which can only be developed in the workplace rather than in an educational setting. He argues that even where conservation is made more ‘factual’ through science such an approach is always redundant in the decisionmaking that conservators typically execute when caring for something. To illustrate this he presents a case study and navigates 42 treatmentrelated questions to demonstrate how science proves insufficient in answering any of them. He concludes that it is the tacit build up of experience, primed in training but developed in the workplace, that allows the conservator to answer such questions and concomitantly moves the individual along the novice-to-expert axis. That skills and know-how are best developed in the workplace is further corroborated by Grace Barrand and Marcelle Scott’s contribution, ‘Targeting specialist skills through Work-Integrated Learning: a case study in frames conservation at the Art Gallery of New South Wales’. Progression along the novice-to-expert axis is played out across Barrand’s structured mentorship at AGNSW where her skills were actively developed in a series of tasks designed by staff in the frames conservation department. Using a Work-Integrated Learning approach over 12 months they targeted developing Barrand’s cognitive skills such as muscle memory and pattern recognition to consolidate and improve her professional competencies. The positive results suggest support for Sloggett’s argument for more structured input from industry and offer an industry relevant training model for others to adapt to address any gaps they see in the skillset of their new employees. The fourth article, Cancy Chu, Sarah Bunn, Melanie Barrett and Petronella Nel’s ‘Investigating the efficacy of interleaving materials in the preservation of plasticised PVC slip-cover notebooks in Yang Zhichao’s ","PeriodicalId":43004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Institute of Conservation","volume":"45 1","pages":"155 - 156"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42302609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-02DOI: 10.1080/19455224.2022.2112405
Chen Chau Chu, S. Bunn, M. Barrett, P. Nel
Abstract Plasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC-P) is known to degrade rapidly and emit acidic gases and, as such, it is ideally stored separately from other materials. However, due to historic or aesthetic value, PVC-P book covers in paper-based collections cannot always be removed or replaced. There is currently a gap in the literature addressing strategies for storing PVC-P associated with paper materials. Prompted by a case study of the Chinese artist Yang Zhichao’s Chinese Bible (2009)—a performance installation artwork of 3000 notebooks including approximately 1000 notebooks with PVC-P covers—three potential interleaving materials (Mylar®, Hollytex® and buffered tissue) were tested to simulate use during long-term storage. Notebooks and PVC-P book covers were purchased and assembled to model stacked storage conditions, and thermally aged at 70°C and 50% relative humidity for 130 days. Before and after ageing, samples were analysed using visual examination techniques, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, colourimetry and weighing. It was found that all three interleaving materials lowered the probability of ink offsetting. However, cover deformation and a blotchy surface haze were more commonly observed in interleaved samples compared to non-interleaved samples. More research is necessary to identify a suitable strategy to manage PVC-P degradation in close contact storage with paper materials. This study contributes to a better understanding of the storage of plastic-covered books that may be found in libraries and archives, highlighting the complexity of conserving plastic and paper composite materials.
{"title":"Investigating the efficacy of interleaving materials in the preservation of plasticised PVC slip-cover notebooks in Yang Zhichao’s artwork Chinese Bible","authors":"Chen Chau Chu, S. Bunn, M. Barrett, P. Nel","doi":"10.1080/19455224.2022.2112405","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19455224.2022.2112405","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Plasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC-P) is known to degrade rapidly and emit acidic gases and, as such, it is ideally stored separately from other materials. However, due to historic or aesthetic value, PVC-P book covers in paper-based collections cannot always be removed or replaced. There is currently a gap in the literature addressing strategies for storing PVC-P associated with paper materials. Prompted by a case study of the Chinese artist Yang Zhichao’s Chinese Bible (2009)—a performance installation artwork of 3000 notebooks including approximately 1000 notebooks with PVC-P covers—three potential interleaving materials (Mylar®, Hollytex® and buffered tissue) were tested to simulate use during long-term storage. Notebooks and PVC-P book covers were purchased and assembled to model stacked storage conditions, and thermally aged at 70°C and 50% relative humidity for 130 days. Before and after ageing, samples were analysed using visual examination techniques, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, colourimetry and weighing. It was found that all three interleaving materials lowered the probability of ink offsetting. However, cover deformation and a blotchy surface haze were more commonly observed in interleaved samples compared to non-interleaved samples. More research is necessary to identify a suitable strategy to manage PVC-P degradation in close contact storage with paper materials. This study contributes to a better understanding of the storage of plastic-covered books that may be found in libraries and archives, highlighting the complexity of conserving plastic and paper composite materials.","PeriodicalId":43004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Institute of Conservation","volume":"45 1","pages":"204 - 222"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44280214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-02DOI: 10.1080/19455224.2022.2112407
Salvador Muñoz Viñas
Abstract Science has contributed to improving and transforming conservation in many different ways such that conservation might be understood as a scientific activity in itself, or at least as a science-driven activity. However, there are both theoretical and practical problems with any such belief including things like the limits of inductive knowledge, the unrepresentativeness of samples and the disjunction of reality inherent to the scientific paradigm. Perhaps more importantly, there are many areas in conservation practice that fall beyond the purview of science as they can only be successfully approached by resorting to a kind of knowledge (or intuition, or skill) that is unique to conservators. The relevance of this knowledge can be demonstrated by carefully examining the questions that a practising conservator needs to answer when performing a conservation treatment.
{"title":"Conservation science, conservation practice and the conservator’s knowledge: a naïve exploration","authors":"Salvador Muñoz Viñas","doi":"10.1080/19455224.2022.2112407","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19455224.2022.2112407","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Science has contributed to improving and transforming conservation in many different ways such that conservation might be understood as a scientific activity in itself, or at least as a science-driven activity. However, there are both theoretical and practical problems with any such belief including things like the limits of inductive knowledge, the unrepresentativeness of samples and the disjunction of reality inherent to the scientific paradigm. Perhaps more importantly, there are many areas in conservation practice that fall beyond the purview of science as they can only be successfully approached by resorting to a kind of knowledge (or intuition, or skill) that is unique to conservators. The relevance of this knowledge can be demonstrated by carefully examining the questions that a practising conservator needs to answer when performing a conservation treatment.","PeriodicalId":43004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Institute of Conservation","volume":"45 1","pages":"173 - 189"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2022-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44303317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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