Inaugural FAIC/Tru Vue® International Professional Development Scholarships Awarded by the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Eric Pourchot
Phone: (202) 661-8061
Email: epourchot@conservation-us.org


Inaugural FAIC/Tru Vue® International Professional Development Scholarships
Awarded by the
Foundation of the 
American Institute for Conservation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC) announces two inaugural scholarships made possible by generous funding from Tru Vue® Inc. The FAIC/Tru Vue® International Professional Development Scholarships were created to help individual members of AIC defray costs for attending international professional development events, such as workshops, conferences, and symposia. Key criteria of the award include demonstration of the learning that would occur, its applicability to individual’s professional development goals, and dissemination of that learning to others.
Monetary awards were made to Stephanie Auffret, Associate Furniture Conservator at the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library and to Ingrid Neuman, Museum Conservator at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art.
Dr. Auffret will use this funding to attend the Stichting Ebenist 12th International Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation, to be held in Amsterdam, November 14-15, 2014 where she will be presenting a paper entitled “Seeing more clearly through opaque surfaces: a review of furniture finishes materials, their use and ethical considerations related to their preservation”.  Information will be disseminated in many ways as this conference will be the first time that Auffret will be able to publish her research on transparent coatings applied to furniture in English, making it available to a wide range of readers. Additionally, Auffret will share information gained through presentations to colleagues and Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation students.
The scholarship will supported Ingrid Neuman’s attendance of the masterclass, “Plastics: Identification, Degradation and Conservation of Plastics” from October 13-17 at the University of Amsterdam. This course, taught by two pre-eminent conservators well known in the emerging field of plastics in art conservation, included information about 3-D rapid prototyping, the manufacturing and conservation of bio-plastics, including green and biodegradable plastics, the consolidation of polyurethane foam, 3-D scanning and mold-making of plastics, as well as the latest technology and chemistry of cleaning and re-adhering plastics. From this course, Neuman will learn information that is crucial to her understanding as RISD’s as only sculpture conservator which she will also share with undergraduate and graduate students of the program.
“We are pleased to be partnering with the FAIC to offer these scholarships to professionals and students who might not otherwise have the opportunity to attend, and contribute towards their professional development goals,” said Patti Dumbaugh, Vice President for Tru Vue, Inc. “Our goals for the program include encouraging international exchange and dissemination of training and conference information. We look forward to their report out and sharing of key learning points, and hope conservators with a thirst to learn from all over the world will take advantage of this program and the knowledge it can bring to their communities.”
A companion FAIC/Tru Vue scholarship to assist with international travel to the AIC Annual Meeting will also begin soon. Priority will be given to individuals who have not previously attended an AIC Annual Meeting, and dissemination of the knowledge gained by attending will be required. AIC membership is not required. The maximum award is $1,500. The deadline for receipt of materials is February 15 of each year.
Guidelines and applications for both the FAIC/Tru Vue International Professional Development Scholarships and the FAIC/Tru Vue AIC Annual Meeting International Scholarships will be available soon on the AIC/FAIC website at www.conservation-us.org/grants.

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About FAIC
FAIC, the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works, supports conservation education, research, and outreach activities that increase understanding of our global cultural heritage. Learn more about FAIC at www.conservation-us.org/foundation.
About Tru Vue
Tru Vue is a manufacturer of high performance glazing products for the custom picture frame and museum markets and corporate supporter of the arts, partnering with art organizations worldwide.  Tru Vue is a leader in both UV protection, as well as anti-reflective and specialty glazing products for these markets.  The company is located in McCook, Illinois and Faribault, Minnesota and is a subsidiary of Apogee Enterprises, which is traded under “apog” on the NASDAQ.  For more information on Tru Vue, visit the company website at www.tru-vue.com.
 
 
>>> This press release can be found on our website  <<<

New online forum! Join the discussion and help us chart our digital landscape

Throughout 2014, FAIC has been investigating the digital landscape of our profession to chart and better define its features and complexity at present, and to develop a forecast of its future development. With this research, FAIC is evaluating digital resources as they are currently used in our field, as well as what we as conservators need from future digital tools, software, or networks. To date, this research has taken the form of a survey of online resources and series of live meetings.
FAIC wants to hear from you via our online forum to discuss the current and potential uses, strengths, and challenges of digital tools. This loosely moderated discussion is open to both AIC members and non-members.
Our initial set of discussion topics include:
– Do you use any collaboration software (e.g. Basecamp, GoToMeeting, etc.) within your institution or for joint projects with other institutions/professionals? Which do you prefer? What are the short-comings?
– What is your greatest concern in using digital or online resources?
– What forms of digital documentation and/or data instrumentation do you use in your practice? Which are must useful/problematic?
– What are your favorite programs/apps for conservation documentation and why?
Please join our discussion of invited peers and conservation professionals and help FAIC to evaluate and understand our digital environment.  For questions or to suggest a topic, email the FAIC Digital Landscape Project Assistant, Ayesha Fuentes, ayesha.fuentes[at]gmail[dot]com

JAIC Editor-in-Chief Position Announcement

JAIC coversThe American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works (AIC) is seeking an Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation (JAIC).

The position of Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation (JAIC) primarily involves reviewing new submissions to the Journal, assigning each submission to an appropriate Lead Editor and Associate Editor (AE) in conjunction with the Senior Editor, and making final decisions based on Associate Editor and reviewer comments. Both EIC and the Senior Editor review final proofs. The EIC also requests proposals for special issue topics, writes a bimonthly column for AIC News in coordination with AIC’s Communications Director, and selects new AEs as needed. The EIC also makes final decisions about book reviews, the order of articles, and cover images for each issue. The EIC works with the AIC Communications Director, who serves an administrative role with JAIC.

JAIC publishes four issues annually, with an average of 50 submissions per year. Submissions are made via Editorial Manager and the EIC will be expected to use that program; training and assistance will be provided.

The Editor-in-Chief serves as an independent contractor to the AIC and is given an annual stipend of $8,000. Reimbursable expenses include travel, hotel, and per diem to the November IAG meeting in Washington, DC, and travel and one hotel night only to the AIC Annual Meeting. The expectation is that the EIC will attend both of these meetings as the JAIC representative.

The Editor-in-Chief reports to the AIC Executive Director and works in cooperation with the AIC Communications Director and the Board Director of Communications. Please submit a resume and cover letter describing related skills and interests to Eryl Wentworth, at ewentworth [at] conservation-us.org.

Mailing lists and listservs not reaching Yahoo, Hotmail users

Subscribers to listservs and distribution lists, including AIC listservs, have been running into problems. The culprit is a new layer of security added by certain mail providers, primarily Yahoo Mail, Comcast, and Hotmail.
Many people using these email accounts have noticed that messages are not coming in or the listserv’s automated “mailman” is disabling their accounts. Reactivating the account will not work, since the new security settings are not allowing any messages through. If this issue affects you, the best solution is to switch your listserv subscription to a different email—perhaps a work email address or a Gmail account. Another solution is to log in and read the archives on a regular basis, since access to the archives should not be restricted.
Members who are affected by this will be getting weekly emails from AIC with any important announcements related to the annual meeting. We are working on a long-term solution to be enacted after the annual meeting. Please contact your Specialty Group chair(s) with any issues.
Subscribers to the Conservation Dist-List should not be affected by this problem.

Exploring the FAIC Oral History Project in Light of the "Monuments Men" Film

By Rebecca Rushfield, for a Google Art panel that was organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Feb. 7, 2014
The FAIC oral history interviews contain material on a wide variety of subjects some of which are of interest primarily to conservation professionals while others will have a much wider audience. The recent opening of the film “Monuments Men” gave Rebecca Rushfield a chance to explain what the archive of interviews held on the subject of the preservation of Western cultural heritage before and during World War II.
The Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives program under the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections of the Allied armies was just one aspect of the effort to protect Western cultural heritage during World War II. Each nation put in motion plans for protecting its monuments be it by encasing historic buildings in scaffolding, supporting walls, and sandbags or by moving its most important artifacts far from the line of fire. Information about these efforts is available in archival documents and publications, but the events are most vividly and personally captured in the reminiscences of their participants.
The Oral History Project of the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation was established in 1974. Its first interview was a five-person discussion held in Mexico City on September 4, 1974. That interview touched upon the subject of conservation efforts during World War II and included as a participant George Stout, one of the “Monuments Men.” Using excerpts from interviews in the FAIC archives, I will present several individuals’ stories of the art and monuments protection efforts leading up to and during World War II.
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In 1941, George Stout was the head of the Harvard University Fogg Art Museum conservation department. He recalled the preparations for the coming war that took place at Harvard University. ” I was asked to sit with the American Defence Harvard Group – they were interested in public opinion and cultivating attitudes. When Pearl Harbor came and everyone got the wind up. Francis Taylor had a meeting of mostly museum directors and a few technical people … there were half a dozen of us – discussing what are we going to do about evacuating our museums – getting things out where they won’t be bombed, all that kind of thing.”
A conference on the emergency protection of works of art was planned. Stout recalled, “It was planned after December of ’41 – and held … March, ’42.”
Well, actually, we had it almost demanded of us really, by kind of a general pressure of public opinion – what are you doing? Are you getting ready? Everybody thought we were going to be bombed any moment the way London had been. There was all that pressure of public alarm that was quite current in those early months of our entry into the Second World War.”
In1941, Craig Hugh Smyth was a senior research assistant at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. When the decision was made to move the Gallery’s treasures away from Washington, D.C. to a location less likely to be bombed, he was put in charge of the move. He said, “In December of ’41 came Pearl Harbor and the National Gallery had to evacuate its pictures and I was sent with them, to take care of the collection of the country. So I had the experience of nothing to do, except look at pictures and sculpture. I was there for about 6 weeks to 2 months, I think. With my wife—we had just gotten married that year. It was a great start—I must say—to have our own collection. “ … “[The paintings] were in the Biltmore House at Asheville, N.C. The National Gallery never did things by halves…if it was going to have a house in the country, it would have the best house in the country—so to speak.”… “It was great. But it was far in the country and nobody was supposed to know that National Gallery pictures were there. But the National Gallery wasn’t very wise and they shipped these things down with great labels on the outside…that said precisely what was in them! So the whole countryside knew and we had a guard—a force of guards there—my first administrative post. And one of the guards decided that the Germans would attack and come up the river—which was so small that no one could come up it.”
Harold Plenderleith, head of the Scientific Laboratory at the British Museum remembered that in the 1930s, “I was once asked about giving lectures to the Portuguese army by our foreign office. Well, I happened to know something about the war, you see. I was asked to go and give them a talk about preservation of the cultural property in the event of armed conflict. About a fortnight before, the foreign office telephoned to say, “Was everything all right for my lecture?” “Oh, yes,” I said. “Oh, that’s all right then you will be lecturing in French, of course.” “Not on your life,” said I. “Oh yes but we want you to do it in French. What I did was to write out the lecture in detail in English and get it to a professional to put it into French. Then learn the thing off by heart in French which was a terrific effort. I first of all had to give this lecture in Madrid. Half the audience was in uniform-brass hats and so on. I did my little histories and showed them some frightful war time slides that I had drawn and painted specially to horrify them and they were tremendously impressed! I was immediately invited to go and do it again in Oporto.”
He recalled that “A few years later, in 1938 a year or so before the outbreak of the Second World War, we realized that we were heading for possible disaster if war should break out. [Ian] Rawlins and I wrote a little booklet about first aid treatment of museum material. I forget what it was called–our text was never published. It was diverted to the protection of museum objects in war-time. This got to the attention of the directors of museums in London, particularly the British Museum. They asked if they could see it and later on said they would take it over and they published it. That was fine. We were involved by this means. We had gotten most of the practical information disseminated and urgently needed before we were involved in war in 1939. For example, how to make standard boxes to be stored in minimum space so that they could be speedily made up into containers in emergency. Lists of stuff we should get together while the going was good and could have standing by. We had all that planned and they published the thing so that it was ready in good time. Then the Ministry of Works purchased large quantities of essential materials and made them available to museums and picture galleries for use in protecting the collections in war time.”
As war came nearer, “My job was to assist the director whose name was Sir John Fordyce. He planned the actual siteing of the objects when it became necessary to decentralize and I used to trudge around to help him in selecting sites and in deploying caretaker staff. [The objects] were taken to about 15 of the sort of major house in England – country houses. Decentralization we called it. Then after that there came what we called, “The Baedeker bombing.” The Germans started bombing these bigger houses. (for the coming war Baedeker is a well known guidebook.). That became a great source of worry and we couldn’t by this time get any of the good bomb-proof sites for they had all been acquired already by others. We were quite stumped. Someone went to Churchill for advice and he said, ‘Well, you might like to have a look at an underground limestone quarry near Bath. I’ll allocate a quarry and you can see that.’ “
When war came, Plenderleith was too old to be commissioned, so he was put in charge of the safety of the Museum. He said, “I had no staff. You see everyone who was there was in the army or engaged in war work. I had had my “whack” in the army in the First World War. Of course, I was now over age and of course much more useful at the museum than anywhere else. I knew the museum. It was a very complicated structure; acres of rooms. I had to train staff from other departments who didn’t know the museum. Where were the places you could get out if you were trapped? Where were the places where the most valuable things were kept? Where were the keys? … I used to arrange training emergencies you see on Sundays for example, a wooden hoop covered with paper like a drum and marked as an incendiary bomb – 500 pounds bomb, I would stick that somewhere in the museum and then I would blow off the alarm. These trainees were the salvage people, it was their job to find the so called bomb and take appropriate action. They were timed, you see. They had to report what action they had taken. Where was the nearest hydrant, because we had our own pressure hydrants all over the museum? They had to act as firemen too. We used to have that sort of emergency training and it served to be very valuable… I lived at the museum all the time. I was asked to go in and do this by Sir John Fordyce the Director to come in on the weekend that the war was declared, September 1939.”
When the U.S. entered the War, Craig Smyth was young and was commissioned in the Navy. He recalled how he became part of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives unit. “Well at the end of the war, the Allies knew that they were going to have to deal with the art objects in Germany. That A: which Germany owned, that which was stored off in various repositories and B: the works of art that the Nazis had taken from occupied countries. There was already a Monuments Art and Archives section of the United States army, but as the war drew to a close, I knew they were going to have more people in it. So they looked for people already in the armed services, who had some experience. And I was suddenly ordered to—in France and then into Germany, and then assigned there to establish a collecting point in Munich for works of art in that—in the Southern section of Germany, which had to be taken in from repositories. And above all, the Hitlerian loot, which was in the salt mines in Austria especially—but in other places too—so for a year, I was the head of this establishment and ran the Collecting Point and began repatriation of works of art to the countries that they were stolen from. And obviously—yet again—it was a question of taking emergency care of objects that were in bad condition. So I learned something about that in the process, but I also learned how hearty works of art can be. Some of them had been through an awful lot.”
A laboratory was established and staffed. Smyth recalled, “This was a thing that required in the end, a staff of—well, first and last—over a hundred people, which had to be Germans. We had to find people whom we thought we could trust. Which was not hard to do in fact. There were people who came out of the walls, who had stayed away from the Nazis. And among them, some really good people…. So yes, I was the one who made decisions, but very often there was somebody else who said, this has to be done. It was an odd thing that the amount of responsibility that came to the head of a Collecting Point like that, because the Allies were supposed to have a great international committee to decide about all such things and decide about what works of art went back to the countries from which they had been taken. And in the end, the head of the Collecting Point was the person to ask—so it was all very odd.”
While Smyth’s recollections were of the work that took place at the end of the war, Caroline Keck recalled her husband Sheldon Keck’s participation in an earlier, more dangerous event. She said, “In England by D-Day and in France a few weeks later, he [Sheldon] was almost lost during the debacle in the Heurtgen Forest. At long last he was assigned to the Arts Unit as a technical sergeant.” Sheldon and Walter Huchthausen, another member of the MFAA unit were together and accidently drove their jeep into a battle line of the Ruhr Pocket. “Walter’s body saved Sheldon’s life. Both fell from the jeep into foxholes. Later, our advancing troops found Sheldon. Walter had been killed instantly.”
Caught up in the glamour of our talk about great art, we sometimes forget that the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives personnel were part of the military and as such were exposed to all of the dangers of war.
MFAA_Officer_James_Rorimer_supervises_U.S._soldiers_recovering_looted_paintings_from_Neuschwanstein_Castle

JAIC is Journal of the Month, visit now!

JAIC
The Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, or JAIC, has been selected by Maney Publication as its “Journal of the Month” for January 2014. This showcase position is used to give all Maney’s readers an in-depth preview of the organization and its journal, and also offers 3 years’ worth of content available free to all for the duration of the month. The page is now available at www.maneyonline.com/page/jotm/jac.
The featured link on Maney’s new publishing platform clicks through to the JotM page containing information about AIC and JAIC, including:

  • Commentaries on the conservation of textilesarchaeological artifacts, electronic media as well as sustainability and a review of the archive
  • Video interviews with Michele Derrick (Editor-in-Chief) and Pamela Hatchfield (President of the Board of Directors, AIC)
  • ‘Best of the archive’: 10 articles hand-picked by the Editor are free to download
  • 20% discount on institutional subscriptions

This is a great opportunity to share the Journal with your colleagues, show your friends and family a little more about what you do, promote the benefits of AIC membership to nonmembers, and encourage your library or institution to subscribe. Remember, all of this content is only available until February 15th, so make the most of it while you can! And please spread the word to friends and colleagues who may be interested.

Platinum and Palladium Photography Workshop

One-day session, repeated October 21 and October 24, 2014 National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
A one-day, hands-on workshop will explore the chemistry of platinum and palladium photographs and consider how variations in processing affect the appearance and permanence of the prints. The workshop will be held twice and will be led by Christopher Maines, Conservation Scientist, Scientific Research Department, NGA, and Mike Ware, Photographic Materials Chemistry Consultant to the NGA. Includes box lunch.

PlatinumPalladiumLoC
Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952), In Mut Too Yah Lat Lat or Chief Joseph (Nez Perce, 1840-1904), c1903. Platinum print. Gift of Citigroup Foundation. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution (P28574).

Workshop Registration Fee: $220 AIC members; $320 non-members
This workshop program is designed for practicing photograph conservators and photograph conservation students. Participants will be selected to achieve a balance of senior and emerging professionals and institutional and private practice. Experience, demonstrated need, geographic reach, and opportunity to disseminate information gained will be considered. With the exception of places for student and emerging professionals, preference will be given to AIC Professional Associate and Fellow members.
Applications are due February 15, 2014, with notifications expected by March 20. Later applications will be considered, if space is available.
To apply for a space in the workshop, please fill out the platinum-palladium-workshop-application, and send the form along with a copy of your resume or CV and statement of interest to courses@conservation-us.org.
This workshop is part of an event surrounding the symposium “Platinum and Palladium Photographs” which also includes this workshop  and tours. The event is presented by the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
This program is supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Additional funding comes from the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artist Works Endowment for Professional Development, which was created by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and donations from members of the American Institute for Conservation and its friends.

Read the November issue of AIC News now!

AIC-News-Online-Nov
What contains…

  • An article discussing the many online resources for conservation research?
  • A description of a Socratic Dialogue session conducted at the 2013 AIC Annual Meeting?
  • Important updates about the MSDS and chemical safety?
  • Links to many new conservation webinars?
  • A list of eight publications of interest to conservators?
  • Notification of the latest student research?
  • And three new position and fellowship announcements?

The November 2013 issue of AIC News! It’s one of the many great benefits of AIC membership.
This issue is now available online and as a pdf. Members should check their email for the information, or visit www.conservation-us.org/aicnews to get access to the latest issue (members must log in first). Note that the conferences, call for papers, and workshop listings are updated as they come in, and may contain more in-depth information than is included in the PDF version.
Submissions for the January issue should be sent by December 1st to me or Lisa Goldberg. Happy reading!
–Bonnie
www.conservation-us.org/contact

AIC News September issue online

Sept13_AICNews-cvrThe September 2013 issue of AIC News is now available online and as a pdf. Members should check their email for the information, and please let me know if a message didn’t appear in your in-box. Visit www.conservation-us.org/aicnews to get access to the latest issue — members must log into the site first.
Visitors to the online AIC News site should bookmark the URL, as the conferences call for papers, and workshop listings are updated as they come in, and may contain more in-depth information than is included in the PDF version.
Look for articles by the Health & Safety and Sustainability committees; updates about museum environmental guidelines; a summary of new publications; and much more.
Submissions for the November issue should be sent by October 1st to me or Lisa Goldberg.
Happy reading!
–Bonnie
www.conservation-us.org/contact

The online edition of AIC News is available now

The first online edition of AIC News is now available! On May 6th, an email announcement was sent out to all members with the link to the AIC News site.
The May 2013 issue features the article “ASG, Past, Present and Future: Architectural Specialty Group at 25,” as well as annual meeting announcements, excellent Health & Safety and Sustainable Conservation Practice articles, and an interesting new cleaning method in the New Materials & Research column. FAIC thanks all the AIC-CERT volunteers and announces new grant and scholarship recipients in the FAIC News column. As always, Specialty Group and Network columns provide timely updates for their members.
Please remember to check the Calendar Listings for interesting conferences and workshops to attend, and for possible venues to present your next paper. This section will be updated continually as new events are announced, so check back often.
I hope you enjoy this new feature of AIC membership!
To access the AIC News, log into the AIC website and navigate to www.conservation-us.org/aicnews. The link is under the Current Issue heading, as well as in the email members received on May 6th.