The 2013 Great Debate will take place on Saturday, June 1 from 4:00 to 5:00 pm as the final session in the General Session.  Now not only will  everyone have the opportunity to attend, but you’ll have a good reason to stay to the very end of the Annual Meeting!  And, as the ultimate way to promote dialogue, camaraderie, and, well, fun, we will have a cash bar in the room. Finally, I’m working on walk up music for the teams: hint all of the musicians were born in Indiana.

But, before I list this year’s debate topics and participants, I want to make a very important disclaimer: I created the AIC Great Debate as an intellectual exercise to demonstrate that conservators are clever enough to see a tough topic from both sides and discuss it openly.

With this in mind, in many cases I have personally invited participants to debate from a position that is contrary to their personal beliefs. This not only adds a fun twist it proves the point that the Debate is not meant to provide a forum so we can prove one side is right, but rather to engage in a public dialogue to surface all of this issues around difficult topics. And though I’m listing participant’s institutional affiliations (so you’ll get a chance to know them better), in no way am I suggesting that the participants are representing an institutional position in the Debate.

TOPIC 1:

The greatest act of preservation for inherently fragile or fugitive cultural property is exhibition, even if the duration goes far beyond what is currently recommended.

Affirmative Team

2012 Great Debate

• Rosa Lowinger (Rosa Lowinger & Associates)
• Patty Miller (2 Arts Conservation)
• Jodie Utter (Amon Carter Museum of American Art)

Negative Team

• John Campbell (Campbell Contemporary Sculpture Conservation)
• Fletcher Durant (New York Public Library)
• Jessica Ford (University of Delaware Art Conservation Graduate School)

TOPIC 2:

While volunteers used on preservation projects often allow us to accomplish more work, they undermine our capacity to regularly employ conservation and collections care professionals.

Affirmative Team

• Rose Cull (Kress Fellow in Sculpture Conservation at Tate)
• Kelly Keegan (Art Institute of Chicago)
• Dawn Walus (Boston Athenaeum)

Negative Team

• Will Hoffman (Mariners Museum)
• Michele Marincola (Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts/Metropolitan Museum)
• Beverly Perkins (Buffalo Bill Center of the West)

Like last year, I’d like to ask you for help to make the AIC Great Debate successful.  We need you!  We need you in the audience to be lively, interested, engaged, and fun.  And I don’t mean just to cheer on your favorite conservator or team; we need you to participate in the Great Debate at AIC!

There will be a significant amount of time in which the audience will get to ask each team questions to which they have to respond.

And, finally, we need you to decide who wins the debate.  The winning team for each topic will be the one who sways the most opinions in the audience.

If you’re interested in reading about how the AIC Great Debate went last year, there are reviews on this blog of each debate topic.

2012 TOPIC #1:  Publishing accurate and complete “how-to guides” for conservation and restoration treatments online is the best way for us to care for cultural heritage in the 21st century. Read the review here.

2012 TOPIC #2: Having conservators perform treatments in the gallery is the most successful way to generate funding for museums and raise awareness about the profession. Read the review here.

Speakers Abigail Quandt, Will Noel, Renee Wolcott, and Jim Hinz answered audience questions during the first day’s question and answer session. Laura Hortz Stanton (right) was the moderator. Photo credit: CCAHA

A question and answer session at “The Next Chapter” conference. Photo credit: CCAHA

“The Next Chapter:  Rare Books in Modern Times” conference had an ambitious goal, to offer talks of benefit to anyone with a professional interest in rare books. The conference was presented by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, and hosted by the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia.

One of the aspects I most appreciated about “The Next Chapter” was the collaborative spirit fostered by having speakers from a diversity of rare book-related professions. Librarians, preservation administrators, conservators, a curator, and a professor of book arts shared their expertise and insights with an audience of more than 100 rare book professionals and students. The presentations ranged from practical preservation basics to inspiring achievements in conservation, digitization, and exhibition methods.

Chela Metzger, Conservator of Library Collections at the Winterthur Museum, gave an overview of contemporary rare book conservation and a brief historical perspective of book conservation. She discussed collaborative digitization and public engagement projects involving conservators and other professionals.

Abigail Quandt, Senior Conservator of Manuscripts and Rare Books at the Walters Art Museum, presented the historical evolution of codex bindings from Coptic Egypt through the early European Renaissance, and some examples of later handwritten Eastern Mediterranean books.

For altered or damaged rare manuscripts, digitization methods may help to reveal the original text and page order. Will Noel, Director of the University of Pennsylvania’s  Special Collections Center and The Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, discussed the challenges of digitizing and conserving the Archimedes Palimpsest and three other Byzantine manuscripts.

Not all rare books were originally ornate or expensive. Renée Wolcott, Book Conservator at CCAHA, discussed the construction, history, and preservation challenges for the simple, inexpensive American scaleboard bindings of the mid-17th to early 19th centuries.

Jim Hinz, CCAHA’s Director of Book Conservation, spoke about projects that combined book conservation and digital imaging, including the preservation of Bruce Springstein’s original spiral-bound notebooks of lyrics.

For those seeking basic how-to information, Janet Gertz offered two talks on setting preservation priorities and selection for digitization. She is the director of the Columbia University Libraries Preservation and Digital Conversion Division.

Maria Fredericks, Drue Heinz Book Conservator at the Morgan Library & Museum, discussed her institution’s impressive state-of-the-art exhibition program.

Public outreach is an important focus for rare book collections. Christine Nelson, Drue Heinz Curator of Literary and Historical Manuscripts at the Morgan Library & Museum, presented digital strategies to engage the public, educate, and inspire dialogue about special collections.

Eric Pumroy, Director of Library Collections and Seymour Adelman Head of Special Collections for Bryn Mawr College, spoke about ways of promoting and preserving rare book collections, including the use of social media, adopt-a-book programs, exhibits about conservation, and recognition of donors.

In his talk about the University of Alabama’s hands-on MFA book arts classes in Cuba, Professor Steve Miller shared the joy of creation, and a welcome perspective from contemporary makers of hand-crafted, limited edition books.   Miller is the Coordinator of the MFA in the Book Arts Program, School of Library Sciences, for the University of Alabama.

Conference participants were invited to attend two optional events, an open house reception at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, and a rare books talk in the American Philosophical Society’s reading room by Roy Goodman, Assistant Librarian and Curator of Printed Materials. At the reception, CCAHA staff discussed their current conservation treatments and storage housing projects.

The diversity of subjects and perspectives presented during the talks ensured that there was something of interest for everyone. We learned from each other and gained a better understanding of other aspects of the field. “The Next Chapter “ was an inspiring and valuable conference.

Last summer I attended the new course, “Book Repair Techniques for Special Collections,” at the Campbell Center in Mount Carroll, Illinois. The four-day course provided me and the other four participants with an informative and practical immersion in the theory and ethics of rare books conservation, an overview of binding history and structures, and hands-on experience with rare books stabilization techniques.

Our instructor, Olivia Primanis, the senior book conservator at the University of Texas at Austin’s Humanities Research Center, presented the course as a combination of lectures, class discussions, technique demonstrations, and hands-on practice.

Each student filled out a condition report and treatment proposal for a damaged book they brought with them, then discussed it with the class so we could consider treatment options as a group.

Elise Calvi, conservator at the Indiana Historical Society, practiced joint tacketing to reattach a board. Photo credit: The Campbell Center

The hands-on portion of the course included opportunities to practice testing methods, paring leather, lifting leather and cloth covers, consolidating corners, rebacking, reattaching spines and boards, and repairing damaged sewing. The small class allowed Olivia to give each student plenty of individual attention.
I found Olivia to be a gifted and inspiring teacher who excelled at teaching treatment techniques and sharing the knowledge and insights she’d gained during her career as a bookbinder, conservator, and former library conservation program instructor.
An aspect of the class that I found especially valuable was Olivia’s emphasis on treatment decision-making and being aware of the factors that influence our decisions, such as time available for the treatment or the conservator’s knowledge of techniques. She spoke about how preferred treatment approaches have evolved over time, corresponding with changing bias in book conservation, and challenged us to consider how our current biases might be viewed by conservators in the future.

Olivia discussed the importance of determining the cause of the failure or damage before treating the book, considering whether the planned treatment would transfer the stress to a different location, and recognizing when repairing broken book structures might not be best for the book. Certain types of physical and bibliographic evidence may need to be preserved, such as wax in a liturgical book or a historical patina and fingerprints indicating use.

She reminded us that each step of the conservation treatment influenced the way the book moved. We had the opportunity to explore this for ourselves by handling an identical set of books she had treated using different techniques, and by trying the techniques during the hands-on practice.

The Campbell Center’s remote yet charming small town location could have been a disadvantage, but the staff and instructors worked hard to build community among concurrent classes through optional trips in the evenings to area restaurants and the Raven’s Grin, the town’s unique haunted house. The course fee included housing in the Campbell Center campus dormitory, communal breakfasts and lunches, and access to the library’s computers and wireless internet.

The informal, collaborative environment encouraged students and instructors from different classes to share and learn from each other. Our class was treated to an excellent guest lecture on leather and parchment when Dr. Sheila Fairbrass-Siegler, a conservator and chemist who taught the concurrent “Introduction to Organic and Inorganic Materials” course, offered to present the talk for us one afternoon.

Olivia’s course gave me the opportunity to learn and practice new treatment techniques, and to focus deeply on why and how we treat rare books, including the consequences of our treatment decisions.

“Book Repair Techniques for Special Collections” will benefit general collections conservators, conservation technicians, library bookbinders, and conservators of paper and photographs who wish to expand their skills.

The workshop will be offered again on July 24 to 27, 2013 at the Campbell Center. In addition, Dr. Fairbrass-Siegler will teach a new “Parchment Conservation” workshop at the center from July 17 to 20, 2013. A limited number of $300 FAIC scholarships are available. For more information, visit www.campbellcenter.org.

Maine’s Hancock and Sullivan Counties, with their rocky shorelines and inland hills, are rich with lichen species and biofilms.  Buildings and structures made with granite from local quarries host lichens and biofilms.  Imported grave markers of granite, marble, slate, and sandstone from other New England states and foreign countries are found in cemeteries, and these markers also host lichens and biofilms.  This seminar, will study the physical, chemical, ecological, and aesthetic relationships between lichens, biofilms, and stone.

Different lichen species grow on different stone types in different environments.  Lichen growth is influenced by a stone’s mineralogy and condition, and by the microclimates created by plant cover, open-air exposure, proximity to water, stone orientation, and surface topography.  Biofilms also show diversity with their presence on different stone types and in different environments. The interactions between lichens and biofilms and to what extent lichens and biofilms protect or harm stone surfaces from weathering are questions that will be discussed.

Lectures will cover basic lichen morphology and species identification; biofilm “morphology;” the role of lichens and biofilms in the environment; basic geology; the history of stone quarrying, finishing, and construction; and the history and contemporary practices of preservation “treatments” for stone.  Field trips are planned for forest and shore environments, a granite quarry, a gravel pit, and several cemeteries.  Examination and identification of lichens, biofilms, and stones will be undertaken in the field and in the laboratory.  The impact of surface manipulation of stone (cutting, polishing, and chemical “treatments”) and how these impacts may influence (or not) the growth of lichens and biofilms will also be examined.  As a class project, participants will compile a checklist of the lichen species found during the field trips.

Participants are expected to represent a wide variety of disciplines and avocations; the pursuit of individual interests will be encouraged.  While prior knowledge of lichens, biofilms, or stone will be useful for this seminar, it is not necessary.

Judy Jacob is a Senior Conservator with the National Park Service, Northeast Region, in the New York City Field Office.  She works primarily on stone monuments and masonry buildings: evaluating conditions, preparing preservation plans, and executing stabilization and repair treatments.  judithmjacob@yahoo.com

Michaela Schmull, PhD., is a lichenologist and the Research and Curatorial Associate at the Farlow Herbarium, Harvard University.  Her research interests include lichen ecology, biodiversity, and systematics.  She has taught classes in plant microscopy, plant identification, and lichens and air pollution.  mschmull@oeb.harvard.edu

Class limit – 16 students

Daily meeting times – generally from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM (lunch is at 12:30), 1:30 to 5:30 (dinner is at 7:00), from 8:00 onwards is optional, though most participants spend a few hours in the classroom after dinner for assignments and/or independent studies.

Activities during the week generally combine intensive field studies and follow-up work in the lab with lectures, discussions, and a review of the current literature. Evenings are free for independent studies, presentations, and follow-up discussions.

http://www.eaglehill.us/

Date: Thursday, June 27, 2013

http://www.archives.gov/preservation/conferences/2013/

A program schedule will be posted when speakers have been confirmed.
Cost: TBA

Location:
National Archives at St. Louis
One Archives Drive
St. Louis, MO 63138

About the Conference
The National Archives will commemorate the 1973 fire that occurred at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) with its 2013 Preservation Conference, Hot Trends in Response and Recovery: 40 Years After the Fire. The conference will be held at the new National Archives in St. Louis facility, dedicated in October, 2011, to mark the 40th anniversary of that devestating event. The June 27th one-day conference is the first time the popular conference has moved outside of the Washington, DC metro area. Sponsored by Preservation Programs at the National Archives, the annual conference attracts a national audience of archivists, librarians, facilities managers and administrators, conservators, preservation specialists and reformatting experts.

The immense 1973 fire and its long-lasting impact on our nation’s records and veterans provide the context for the conference. Speakers will discuss the latest approaches in risk assessment, fire prevention and building design to protect archives and cultural heritage. New trends that enhance emergency response will be explored: models of community collaboration, the impact of social media, and the psychology of disasters. National Archives staff will also describe ongoing efforts to preserve fire-damaged records and join with other experts to share the latest tools and technologies in image recovery.

A complete list of speakers and registration information will be posted in the coming weeks.

Contact
For information please contact the Conference Coordinator: Richard Schneider, 301-837-3617

The American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) is a non-profit 501 (c)3 organization that supports and encourages the study of the peoples and cultures of the Near East, from the earliest times to the present. The 2013 ASOR Annual Meeting will be held in Baltimore, MD, from November 20th to 23rd. The Annual Meeting is the yearly coming-together of ASOR’s vibrant academic community. The conference attracts over 900 scholars and enthusiasts of archaeology, linguistics, geography, epigraphy, anthropology, and other fields related to the study of the ancient Near East.

2013 Call for Papers

II. Abstract Submissions

An individual may submit an abstract/paper proposal to deliver a paper in one of the sessions detailed in the List of 2013 Sessions. Deadline for submission of abstracts for individual papers is February 15, 2013.

A. General Instructions for Individual Submissions

Session chairs will accept papers for presentation strictly on the basis of the quality of the abstract and its conformity to the following guidelines regarding content and format (see below). To be considered by session chairs, abstracts also must be submitted by the deadline (February 15, 2013), and proposers must be preregistered for the meeting (see Rules for Participation). Standards for acceptance will be the same for all abstracts submitted.

1. Abstracts for papers that fit into the sessions described in the List of 2013 Sessions should be submitted via the online abstract submission database on the ASOR website. The abstract will be forwarded to the correct Session Chair based on the session(s) noted on the form. For further information regarding the theme or other specific requirements of the session, we strongly suggest that you email the Session Chair in advance of the submission deadline.

2. Abstracts for papers that do NOT fit into established sessions or new Member-Organized sessions (available online by January 15, 2013) are also invited. For such papers, please select “Individual Submissions” on the online database.

3. If your interests are not met by an existing session, we suggest that you contact people with interests similar to yours and that you propose a new Member-Organized Session (deadline: December 15, 2012).

Proposers will be notified of acceptance or rejection of their papers by the ASOR office by April 30, 2013. Any questions concerning the status of papers should be addressed to the ASOR office (asorad [at] bu [dot] edu) (not to the Session Chair or to members of the Program Committee).

Further questions regarding academic sessions should be addressed to the co-chairs of the Program Committee: Andrew M. Smith II (amsii [at] gwu [dot] edu) and Elise A. Friedland (efried [at] gwu [dot]edu).

B. Content of Abstracts

The content of the paper should focus on the significance of the material or on proposed solutions to specific problems rather than on a descriptive narrative.

The SIGNIFICANCE of the author’s work should be stated explicitly.
CONCLUSIONS, as well as the evidence for them, should be presented clearly.
The TITLE should be precise and give sufficient information to allow for bibliographic indexing.
Bibliographic references should be kept to a minimum. PREVIOUS SCHOLARSHIP on the subject may be cited, if particularly relevant as a point of departure for clarifying the advances made in the author’s own work. See below for bibliographic format.
It is understood that excavators and others engaged in research in the field during the summer cannot provide conclusions by the February 15 deadline. Preliminary submission for reports on excavations and surveys, however, is required; submissions should be detailed and specific, and should include information on the precise objective of the project and its research design.
Time limits on all papers will be enforced.

C. Format of Abstracts

Abstracts should not exceed 250 words.
In the case of multiple authors, list the name of the person who will read the paper first. Each member may submit only ONE paper for which he/she is the reader.
Submitters/first authors/presenters MUST list ALL co-authors in the fields provided by the online abstract submission system at the time of submission and by the February 15 deadline.
If bibliographic references are included, these must follow the BASOR style as set forth in BASOR 294 (1994):16.
Abstracts should be submitted electronically as part of the online submission process.
Abstracts should be submitted electronically using ASOR’s online abstract submission system powered by Oxford Abstracts.

The students of the UCLA/Getty Master’s Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials invite you to the first annual Graduate Symposium for Students of Conservation and Preservation (GSSCP). This is a FREE, half-day, student-run symposium for graduate students of conservation, preservation, heritage studies, and related fields to be held on the UCLA Campus in Los Angeles, CA on April 27, 2013.*  This symposium aims to encourage a conference of ideas, experiences, and observations between different fields engaged in the promotion and management of cultural properties, sites, materials, and values. The deadline for paper submissions has been extended to February 1st. Please follow this link for more details.

*The timing of the symposium coincides with the final day of the Association of North American Graduate Programs in Conservation (ANAGPIC) Annual Meeting, held at the Getty Villa and UCLA from April 25- 27, 2013.

http://www.wellington2013photographicmaterials.org.nz/

The impressive roster of speakers and their topics is now on the website as well. We had a great response to the call for posters, so this first poster session for each group promises to be successful. This meeting will be the first time either group has met in the southern hemisphere.

The meeting will be held 11-15 February 2013 at the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand.

We hope to see you in Wellington!

Warm regards,

Marc Harnly
ICOM-CC PMWG Coordinator

Barbara Brown
PMG Chair

Last January I attended a two-week preventive conservation workshop along with five other participants on Ossabaw Island, a wilderness barrier island off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, to try to tackle these questions.  As a pre-program conservation student, this workshop offered me a chance to consider conservation outside of traditional contexts, to engage in preventive conservation, and to experience a truly unforgettable adventure.

The island, whose earliest settlements date to 2000 BCE, was occupied by the Guale and Creek Indians, Spanish and English explorers, and plantation owners until its eventual purchase in 1924 by Dr. Henry Norton Torrey of Michigan.  Dr. Torrey’s daughter, Eleanor Torrey West, inherited the family’s home in addition to the entire island where she fostered a creative retreat, The Ossabaw Island Project, attended by writers, artists, and scientific researchers. Mrs. West (99) continues to live on Ossabaw today, but has since sold the island to the State of Georgia under the condition that it be kept as a nature preserve for academic pursuits. The island offered a meditative and isolated setting for our preventive conservation study; ancient shell middens, Spanish moss draped palmetto and live oak trees, tidal marshes, untouched beaches, wild pigs, and the ruins of tabby slave quarters comprised the island’s lush landscape.

The primary focus of the workshop was to discuss and employ preventive conservation strategies, including monitoring the temperature, relative humidity, light, and pests, while following and revising a housekeeping manual for the 1924 Spanish colonial revival style Torrey-West house. The workshop, taught by Peebles Island Resource Center conservators David Bayne, Kristin O’Connell, Abby Zoldowski, Michele Phillips, and private practice conservator Rose Cull, also included dedicated sessions on the care of the house’s textiles, books and works on paper, furniture, and outdoor iron structures. Several preventive sessions were continuations of the 2010 campaign, including the recording of pest activity, temperature, and climate within the house.  We identified insects found in traps, discussed data reconnaissance techniques, recorded light and ultraviolet readings, and selected two rooms on the ground floor to be lightly cleaned using housekeeping methods appropriate to historic houses.

In the object-based workshop sessions, the group learned about ideal conditions and care for different objects within the house’s collection. We selectively intervened based on the house’s two main limitations: the climate could not be kept constant, and most importantly, the house was inhabited. During the two weeks, we examined textiles damaged by insects and conducted a freezing cycle on two infested pillows, we learned about the basic mechanism of iron corrosion and treated a corroded window grate, we constructed protective enclosures for books, and took part in lectures and demonstrations on conservation tools and proper handling techniques.

This workshop provided me with an invaluable and thorough introduction to preventive conservation and historic housekeeping. The artifacts in the Torrey-West house presented challenging scenarios for proposing care or treatment; many objects were in daily use, such as the rugs, furniture, and stove, or had potential to be used, such as a book on a shelf.  The need for interpretation also arose when choosing which rooms to monitor or clean, and which damaged objects ought to be stabilized.

Not only did the instructors teach us practical skills and concepts, but they encouraged the students to explore ideas about value, and balancing treatment ideals with real-world limitations.  The landscape, the lessons learned, and the networking prospects (two of the participants, myself included, continued on to intern at the Peebles Island Resource Center) at Ossabaw Island made it well worth the trip! The FAIC generously awarded the participants a travel stipend to attend, and housing was provided by the Ossabaw Island Foundation in the restored “Clubhouse” building.

Applications for the next workshop (1/18- 2/1) are due November 12!  For more information, visit www.conservation-us.org/education.

Conservation Workshop ASOR 2012

We (LeeAnn Barnes Gordon and Suzanne Davis) are pleased to announce a new conservation workshop session at the annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR). This year’s session will be held on Friday, Nov. 16^th from 4:20 – 6:25 pm at the Chicago Marriot Downtown Magnificent Mile, and we would like to encourage Chicago-area conservators to join us for what promises to be an interesting and constructive afternoon.

The workshop, Archaeological Conservation Strategies in the Near East, aims to foster collaboration and promote information sharing among conservators and archaeologists working in the Near East. Contributors will present multi-disciplinary projects and research on archaeological heritage from Egypt, Israel, Turkey, and Iraq. Topics examined will include regional trends in conservation, balancing preservation and access, site management, treatments of challenging materials, and collaborations with local conservation and archaeological communities. A moderated discussion will engage the contributors as well as the audience, creating an ongoing dialogue that we hope will ultimately improve preservation for archaeological materials and sites in the Near East.

The first two presentations of the session will focus on site work. Hiroko Kariya will discuss the Luxor Temple Fragment Conservation Project, which includes the documentation, treatment, and monitoring of tens of thousands of sandstone fragments.  Kariya’s presentation will address two particularly challenging aspects of the project: the protection of a massive number of semi-portable, inscribed fragments and providing accessibility to the collection on site for a high volume of visitors. In the following presentation, “Getting What You Came For: Conservation and Research at Tel Kedesh, Israel,” Suzanne Davis will demonstrate how on-site conservation activities can successfully contribute to archaeological research. This talk will also introduce the important discussion topic of how to balance the expectations of local conservation and archaeological authorities with the on-the-ground realities and priorities of international project teams.

Case studies presented by Krysia Spirydowicz and Catherine Foster will discuss the challenges of preserving two exceptional and fragile archaeological collections. Spirydowicz will outline the methods used to conserve ornate, wooden furniture from the royal tombs at Gordion. This presentation will highlight the difficulties of preserving ancient wooden objects, while addressing the particular conservation problems posed by the charred and fragmentary Gordion furniture. The focus of Foster’s talk will be the preservation of the Nimrud ivories, which resulted from a joint Iraq-U.S. project undertaken at the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage in Erbil (the Institute). The project initiated a program of conservation and improved display of the famous ivories, as well as provided training to Iraqi conservation professionals. The final presentation by Vicki Cassman will elaborate on the history and goals of the Iraqi Institute. Institute participants receive training by international conservation experts, as part of an effort to build a sustainable conservation community that will serve preservation needs at sites and museums throughout Iraq.

This workshop session will be held at the 2012 ASOR Annual Meeting on Friday, Nov. 16^th from 4:20 – 6:25 pm.

To learn more about ASOR and/or to register for the 2012 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, please visit the ASOR website at www.asor.org.

Conservation Workshop ASOR 2012

Hosted by Tomar Polytechnic Institute
Tomar, Portugal
28-29 May 2013

This two day symposium will focus on artistic tradition within the field of polychrome sculpture relating to decorative practice. After two symposiums on construction techniques (Maastricht 2010 and Glasgow 2012), the main focus will now be on decorative practices, from painting materials, to varnishes or metal leaf applications, etc.

The meeting will be hosted by the Polytechnic Institute, Tomar (Portugal). Tomar is well known for the Convent of the Order of Christ (12th century),–originally a Templar stronghold–and one of Portugal’s most important historical and artistic monuments, classified as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1983. The Polytechnic Institute provides training for conservators in the form of a Master degree course in Conservation and Restoration.

The organizing committee and the ICOM-CC working group Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decoration invites papers and posters related to decorative practices within the field of polychrome sculpture and the conservation treatment of these objects. Several decorative techniques will be addressed such as painting techniques from different regions, gilding, estofado , use of incised and punched patterns, varnishes, lacquers, applications, etc.

The meeting will provide a forum for discussion between conservators, conservation scientists, researchers, educators and curators to discuss artistic practice within the field of polychrome sculpture. The symposium aims to bring together  international experts on polychrome decorative practice and to provide an opportunity for the worldwide conservation community to exchange new research, experiences and expertise within this field.

Original papers are invited for submission to focus on case studies and advances in research and treatment of polychrome sculpture. Authors interested in presenting a paper or poster should submit an abstract (400 – 600 words) by 31 December, 2012 to icomccspadtomar2013 [at] gmail__com

Work should be original and not have been published previously. Contributions of work-in-progress are also welcome. Abstracts should be in English and include the contact information for the author(s) (affiliation, address, telephone, fax and e-mail). The abstracts will be reviewed by the Conference Organizing Committee, and authors will be informed by 31 January 2013. Full papers are to be delivered by 30 April 2013. It is the intention of the organisers to publish all accepted papers in English.

Further details regarding this conference will be posted on the home page of the ICOM-CC Working Group: Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decoration, which is at www.icom-cc.org/38/working-groups/sculpture,-polychromy,-and-architectural-decoration

The Conference Organizing Committee:

Ana Bidarra
ICOM-CC Working Group Assistant Coordinator: Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decoration
Private Conservator-Restorer
Rua Almirante Candido dos Reis No. 28 3T
3800-096 Aveiro
Portugal
+351 966590968
bidarra.ana [at] gmail__com

Kate Seymour
ICOM-CC Working Group Coordinator: Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decoration
Head of Education
Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (SRAL)
Avenue Ceramique 224
6221 KX Maastricht
The Netherlands
+31 43 321 8444
k.seymour [at] sral__nl

Wood, Furniture, and Lacquer
Scientific Research
Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decoration

National Museum in Warsaw, Poland
28-30 October, 2013

Hosted in collaboration with the National Museum in Warsaw, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw

The conference entitled “Heritage Wood: Research and Conservation in the 21st Century ” will focus on novel scientific methods and applied research into heritage wooden structures, as well as furniture, wooden sculpture, painted wood, gilded wood, varnished wood, lacquered wood, paintings on wooden supports, and all other heritage wooden objects.

Themes will include:

• Advances in scientific research applied to heritage wood for analysis and conservation
• The study and elucidation of mechanisms of wood damage and wood deterioration associated with environmental and physical conditions
• The interrelation between the wood and various finishing layers
• Novel conservation methods applied to unvarnished, varnished, polychrome, or gilded wood (sculptures, paintings on wooden supports, furnishings and furniture, architectural structures and decorations)
• Case studies highlighting problems associated with heritage wood conservation, novel solutions and appropriate treatments
• Case studies emphasizing complex research of artworks on wooden supports linking technical investigations with historical context and subsequent conservation treatment

The meeting will provide a forum for discussion between conservation scientists, researchers, educators and practising conservators. The conference aims to bring together international experts on heritage wood research and to provide a great opportunity for the worldwide conservation community to exchange new research, experiences and expertise.

It is the intention of the organizers to publish all accepted papers in English, however oral presentations at the conference will be allowed in both official languages of the meeting, Polish and English, and simultaneous translation will be provided.

Call for Papers deadline: February 28, 2013

Original papers are invited for submission to focus on case studies and advances in heritage wood research. Authors interested in presenting a paper or poster should submit an abstract (400 – 600 words) by February 28, 2013, to     heritagewoodconservation2013 [at] gmail__com

Work should be original and not have been published previously. Contributions of work-in-progress are also welcome. Abstracts should be in English or Polish and include the contact information for the author(s) (affiliation, address, telephone, fax and e-mail). The abstracts will be reviewed by the Conference Organizing Committee and invited experts, and authors will be informed by April 30, 2013.

The Conference Organizing Committee:

Kate Seymour
Coordinator, ICOM-CC Sculpture, Polychromy, and Architectural Decoration Working Group
k.seymour [at] sral__nl

Austin Nevin
Coordinator, ICOM-CC Scientific Research Working Group,
austin.nevin [at] ifn__cnr__it

Dr Malgorzata Sawicki
Coordinator, ICOM-CC Wood, Furniture, and Lacquer Working Group
margaret.sawicki [at] ag__nsw__gov__au

Marcin Draniak
Coordinator–contacts with the Director, Head of Laboratory, National Museum in Warsaw
mdraniak [at] mnw__art__pl

Dr Elzbieta Pietrusinska-Pilecka
Art Science and Conservation Specialist
National Museum in Warsaw
epilecka [at] mnw__art__pl

Dorota Ignatowicz-Wozniakowska
Head of Conservation Department,
National Museum in Warsaw
dignatowicz [at] mnw__art__pl

Prof. Iwona Szmelter
Faculty of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
badania [at] asp__waw__pl

Magdalene College
University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
2-4 September 2013

The Islamic Manuscript Association is pleased to announce that the Ninth Islamic Manuscript Conference will be held at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, 2-4 September 2013. The Conference will be hosted in cooperation with the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation and the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge.

The Association invites the submission of abstracts on topics related to the study of Islamic manuscripts, particularly codicology, and the care and management of Islamic manuscript collections. Preference will be shown to submissions pertaining to the Conference’s theme: “Manuscripts of the Mamluk Sultanate and its Contemporaries”.

The Conference seeks to explore the full range of manuscript production that occurred from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries

CE: from books produced under royal patronage, such as the Mamluk and Ilkhanid Qur’an manuscripts that are almost unmatched for splendour, opulence, and size in the history of the Islamic arts of the book, to simpler, less lavish manuscripts that are no less essential to increasing our understanding of Islamic codicology and palaeography.

The Conference will be organised around the Association’s four key working areas: cataloguing, conservation, digitisation, and research and publishing; and papers falling into these broad categories will be included in the relevant panel. The Association will also consider submissions on topics that do not fall directly under the purviews of these areas but are yet concerned with scholarship on Islamic manuscripts or the care and management of Islamic manuscript collections.

This invitation is open to members and non-members of the Association. The languages of the Conference will be Arabic and English, and submissions will be accepted in both languages. The deadline for submissions is 0900 GMT on Monday, 22 October 2012.

Late submissions will not be considered. The duration of each conference paper is 30 minutes inclusive of 10 minutes of questions and answers. Please note that preference will be given to speakers who have not presented papers at the Association’s previous conferences. All authors’ research and analysis should be sufficiently advanced that they can include concrete findings in their abstracts.

The Association will pay for round-trip economy class travel to Cambridge, accommodation in Magdalene College, and College-based meals for authors whose papers are accepted. Please send an abstract of 250 words, a 250 word biographical statement, and a cover sheet, available at www.islamicmanuscript.org/conferences/2013Conference/CallForPapers.html

to the Association’s executive committee at

The Islamic Manuscript Association Ltd
c/o 33 Trumpington Street
Cambridge CB2 1QY
United Kingdom

Fax: +44 1223 302 218
admin [at] islamicmanuscript__org

The Association’s selection committee will inform applicants of its decision by mid-November. 2012.

Charlie Walker-Arnott
Bilingual Events and Membership Coordinator
The Islamic Manuscript Association c/o The Lotus Gallery
33 Trumpington Street
Cambridge CB2 1QY
UK

+44 1223 303177
Fax: +44 1223 302218
Mobile: +44 7711 391 940

www.archives.gov/preservation/conferences/2012

Date: The conference will be held on Friday, October 19, 2012

Cost: $125.00 standard and $75.00 for students

Location:
National Archives Building
William McGowan Theater
7thStreet and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20504

About the Conference

2012 A Preservation Odyssey: Paths to the Future

The conference will address how new challenges and opportunities are shaping preservation strategies. Within this framework, speakers will focus on conservation, reformatting, storage technology, and the ways in which these program activities are evolving toward new solutions. A session on education and outreach will highlight innovative methods to share information and engage users through social media and training.

We expect the conference to draw attendees from diverse fields including collections care and preservation management, administration of archives, historical collections, libraries and museums; archivists, curators and librarians; and conservators and preservation specialists and students in all these areas.

NARA’s 26th Annual Preservation Conference, 2012 A Preservation Odyssey will explore:

Environment and Storage Technology

Conservation: Big and Small

Reformatting

Outreach
Please visit the Program Schedule web page for the speaker’s list and exhibitors that will be participating.

For further information please contact the Conference Coordinator:

Richard Schneider
301-837-3617
richard.schneider@nara.gov