Maxwell L. Anderson, The Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art, today announced the appointment of Mark Leonard as the Museum’s first Chief Conservator, effective July 1, 2012. Leonard’s appointment signals the initial phase of the development of the DMA’s conservation program, which will include the addition of staff and the renovation of its onsite spaces to include a paintings conservation studio. Leonard, who stepped down in 2010 as the Head of the Paintings Conservation Department at the J. Paul Getty Museum to pursue his career as an artist, will work with Anderson and the DMA’s senior staff to establish the more comprehensive Conservation Department and further develop the Museum’s Collections and Exhibitions program, informed by his scholarship in the care and preservation of paintings from across the Museum’s encyclopedic collection.
Month: March 2012
An early exposure to the methods and materials of works of art
The Museums supplement to the March 15, 2012 issue of The New York Times contains an article (“Teaching Children the Value of Pre-Web Pages”, by Karen Jones) about a program run by the Morgan Library and Museum that gives New York City public school children in grades 3 – 7 a first-hand understanding of the materials and techniques of medieval illuminated manuscripts. The children construct their own manuscripts using authentic materials including cochineal, fish glue, gum arabic, saffron thread and gold. It will be interesting to see if any of these children will be inspired to study technical art history or art conservation when they are older.
Money for conservation research
In the March 2, 2012 “Inside Art” column of The New York Times (“Cracking the Curious Case of Picasso’s Ghost Subject”), Carol Vogel notes that one of the projects which has been awarded a Bank of America Art Conservation Project Grant is the Guggenheim Museum’s analysis and treatment of Picasso’s “Woman Ironing”, 1904. While it has long been known that another image lies beneath the suface of the painting, until now the Guggenheim has not had the resources to do more than x-ray the work.
Maybe Leonardo’s fresco is still there
According to the March 13, 2012 “Arts, Briefly” column of The New York Times, the first data obtained by probes sent through holes drilled in Vasari’s “Battle of Marciano” (Hall of the Five Hundred, Palazzo Vecchio) indicate the presence of a black pigment of the type found in the Mona Lisa. It will be interesting to see what further data is obtained that will corroborate Maurizio Seracini’s assertion that Leonardo’s “The Battle of Anghiari” still exists behind Vasari’s work.
Annual Meeting Opportunity for Emerging Conservators
Attention all emerging conservators:
Are you going to the AIC’s 40th Annual Meeting in Albuquerque ?
If so, we, the organizing committee of AIC’s newest network, the Collections Care Network (CCN) could use your help.
We need approximately 10 people to help us with the Outreach to Allies session we are presenting at this year’s AIC Annual Meeting.
The session is from 4:55 to 5:30 on Wednesday, May 9. It will start with a 10 minute introduction to the CCN and some of our goals. The audience will then be divided into small groups (8 or 10 around a table). Each group will watch a 2 minute video. Each video will present an individual discussing a conundrum or issue in an area of preventive conservation/collections care. The presenters will all be from allied organizations that work in the area of preventive care. After the video a member of the CCN will moderate a 15 or 20 minute discussion with each small group around the topic that was presented and how the CCN might work on programming, resources, etc. that would help with the issue.
We are hoping to find a note taker for each group. We hope you will see this as an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the discussion related to preventive care issues with which AIC will be grappling. It should also be an opportunity for you to network with a small group of conservation professionals. It would really help us out!
Ideally notes would be taken using your own computer. If you are willing to take notes but need a computer we can sort that out. If you really prefer to hand write we can work with that.
If you would like more details before agreeing or are ready and willing and just want the specific directions we will provide please contact Joelle Wickens, chair, CCN – jwicke [at] winterthur [dot] org
If you want a few more details about the CCN click here.
Participate in Scrimshaw Weekend at the New Bedford Whaling Museum
Dr. Stuart M. Frank, Senior Curator of the New Bedford Whaling Museum, has announced an open invitation for interested people to participate in a round-robin session during the May 11-13, 2012 Scrimshaw Weekend in Massachusetts. Dr. Frank would be pleased to hear from conservators. The dates of this event overlap with the end of AIC’s Annual Meeting, however it is possible to submit by April 4 a brief PowerPoint presentation on a CD or flash drive.
For the full text of Dr. Frank’s invitation please read below or visit www.whalingmuseum.org and click on Programs.
A SPECIAL INVITATION
for participants in the Scrimshaw Weekend at the New Bedford Whaling Museum
May 11-13, 2012
Collectors, curators, enthusiasts, onlookers, and others attending this year’s Scrimshaw Weekend are invited to participate in one or both of two round-robin sessions planned for Saturday, May 12:
FAVORITE SCRIMSHAW
and
SCRIMSHAW FAKES AND FORGERIES
“Favorite” scrimshaw can be of any type — whale teeth, swifts, crimpers, busks, boxes, tools, canes, watch hutches, sewing implements, whatever. They can be favorite pieces in your own collection or in a museum or other public-access repository, or a combination of both. It’s very important, of course, that you provide for each piece whatever information you may know about it — who made it, who brought it home from a voyage and when, what voyage, and any names and provenance associated with it. And even if you don’t know the answers to those questions, you can certainly tell us when, where, and how you got it, your opinion about its historical significance (if any), and why it’s one of your favorites.
By “fake” scrimshaw we mean art fraud — forgeries — pieces that were produced deliberately or inadvertently to deceive: scrimshaw made entirely or partly of genuine whale ivory, walrus ivory, whale skeletal bone, or baleen; or out of some other material(s) made to resemble authentic whale ivory, walrus ivory, skeletal bone, or baleen; and falsely made to look antique — to masquerade as authentic antique whalemen’s work. We are NOT interested in fakeshaw (machine-manufactured pieces made of polymer resin, petrochemical plastic, or other synthetics); or in honest modern “revival” art. We ARE interested in anything that could be mistaken for genuine antique whalemen’s work, especially in intentional fakes and forgeries, which are to be presented as a caution to collectors; and in obvious howlers, for their amusement value.
Your participation can take either one of two forms:
- By letting us know in advance, we can allocate you 15 minutes at the podium to do a PowerPoint presentation, using your own pictures, organized any way you choose. The best means to do this would be to bring your PowerPoint presentation(s) on a CD or flash drive (“stick”) to be downloaded in advance onto our PC. You can sign up for 15 minutes to show either “Favorite Scrimshaw” or “Scrimshaw Fakes,” or 15 minutes on each. Applications will be accepted on the basis of merit, on a first-come-first-served basis, until the schedule is full. The deadline for the application is Wednesday, April 18th. OR…
- You can send us a CD or flash drive (“stick”) with PowerPoint pictures of your favorite scrimshaw and/or your nominees for interesting fakes, in each case including a Microsoft Word document or PDF containing the required background information; and we’ll do the presentation for you. In this case you would have the option of making the whole thing anonymous. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, April 4th (which should allow us enough time to put the presentation together while simultaneously installing our new exhibition of scrimshaw). Please note that no submission will be honored without the aforementioned key background info.
As part of the process, we — that is, I and some of the members of the Scrimshaw Forensics Group who meet each week at the Scrimshaw Forensics Laboratory® at the Whaling Museum — will present a selection of notable fakes, forgeries, mistakes, and follies from the museum collection, and a few howlers that have been brought to us for vetting. It should be instructive and fun, provided that at least a few of our attendees are willing to participate.
CSCP luncheon at the AIC’s 40th Annual Meeting
Linking the Environment and Heritage Conservation: Presentations, Discussions, & Tips
Wednesday May 9th 2012
Noon-2PM
Buffet lunch is included in the ticket price
Tickets: $8.00 each
The AIC Committee on Sustainable Conservation Practice has organized a lunch session at AIC’s annual meeting with two keynote speakers in environmental conservation and four tips on art and heritage conservation. The keynote speakers will give an overview of current essential issues in environmental conservation and how they relate to the conservation field. They will also address practical issues concerning materials and solvent use, and will discuss green chemistry. There is ample time aside for an engaged, educational discussion session.
Keynote Speakers
Braden Allenby, PhD
Sustainability and conservation of the human past
Sustainability Scientist, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University. Lincoln Professor of Engineering and Ethics, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Director, Center for Earth Systems Engineering and Management
Matt Eckelmann, PhD
Environmental considerations in art conservation
Assistant Professor, Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University
Tips Session
Jia-sun Tang
Retrofit of existing exhibition cases to conservation standards: a close collaboration between conservators and fabricators at the Smithsonian Institution
Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution
Christian Hernandez
Thinking and acting green: a case study of the rehousing of a collection of footwear from the Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)
Patty Silence
How we reduced energy costs and maintained an excellent collections environment
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Eliza Gilligan
Electrodeionization as a sustainable and practical option for treatment water
University of Virginia
Discussion Panel
Led by Michael Henry, PE, AIA, Watson & Henry Associates, Preservation Architects & Engineers
_________________________________________________________
This session is coordinated by AIC’s Committee on Sustainable Conservation Practice. For more information, visit www.conservation-us.org/sustainability
CIPP events at the AIC 2012 Annual Meeting
Conservators In Private Practice (CIPP) has finalized the arrangements for the AIC 2012 annual meeting activities in Albuquerque. These events are open to all conference registrants and present opportunities for networking as well as chances to learn more about the advantages of CIPP whether you operate your own studio presently or work for an institution.
Conservators In Private Practice (CIPP) 2012 AIC Annual Meeting events
Albuquerque, NM, Tuesday, May 8th
CIPP Seminar: The Art of Using Outreach to Grow Your Business
1:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M
CIPP Members $50 – Non-Members $75 (Includes 1 year membership in CIPP)
CIPP Business Meeting “Levity and Brevity”
8:00 P.M to 10.00 P..M.
CIPP Members Free
Continue reading “CIPP events at the AIC 2012 Annual Meeting”
AIC Member Jennifer Mass Featured in NY Times Article
From “A Genuine Motherwell? Make Sure Before Buying”
“TALES about art forgeries are almost always intriguing. Maybe that’s because of the big amounts paid by unwitting buyers. Or that the people involved invariably emerge as characters worthy of a thriller.
The latest tale is no exception. It involves the Knoedler Gallery, the oldest art gallery in New York, which just closed under the weight of accusations that it had sold forged paintings by modern luminaries like Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell and Willem de Kooning. In retrospect, the details of the sales seemed suspect from the start — a little-known dealer selling formerly unknown modern masterpieces on behalf of an owner who requested anonymity to a gallery with major connections.
I know enough about the art world to know that is a secretive, clubby place with more than its fair share of eccentrics. Still, how does something like this happen and what recourse is there for the owners of forged art? ”
ECPN Committee Seeks Communications Officer
The Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) is soliciting applications for the Communications Coordinator position. The Communications Coordinator will serve a one-year term beginning just after the 2012 AIC Annual Meeting, with the option of renewal for a second year.
ECPN works to address the needs of conservation professionals with fewer than 7 years of experience, including pre-program students, graduate students, and recent graduates. The committee seeks to enhance the dialogue among emerging conservators and experienced conservators and between AIC and the conservation training programs and to increase emerging conservator participation in AIC.
The Communications Coordinator acts as the secretary for ECPN; works to raise awareness of the group and to attract new, active members; encourages involvement of emerging conservators in AIC communications and publications, including JAIC and Wikis; keeps the broader AIC membership apprised of ECPN activities by writing or soliciting columns, blog posts, and articles as appropriate; and works with the Outreach coordinators to investigate and encourage the use of social media, including recruitment of authors and solicitation of content for the blog.
The time commitment is roughly 6-9 hours per month, consisting of approximately 2-3 hours for monthly meetings and minutes, 1-2 hours writing for the blog and communicating with other AIC committee members, and 3-4 hours for other research, writing, and occasional graphic design.
The ECPN committee communicates primarily via email correspondence and monthly conference calls. The committee meets in-person annually at AIC’s Annual Meeting.
To apply, please submit a brief statement of interest and your resume by April 6 to Molly Gleeson, Chair, AIC-ECPN: mcgleeson [at] yahoo [dot] com.
Questions about committee activities can be directed to Molly, or ECPN’s current Communications Coordinator, Amy Brost: amybrost [at] yahoo [dot] com. The full position description can be requested from either Molly or Amy.