BROMEC 34, the Bulletin of Research on Metal Conservation’s April 2013 issue, is now available online at the following websites:

• www.warwick.ac.uk/bromec
• tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Metals-Conservation-Discussion-Group
• www.icom-cc.org/10/documents?catId=13&subId=127

Eight research abstracts and 8 announcements are presented, together with the usual lists of contacts and informative metal research/conservation websites and discussion groups. The issue includes articles on:

Calls for collaboration:

• Survey on the stabilization of marine iron-organic composite artefacts

New research projects:

• New approaches and applications of electrochemical techniques and corrosion inhibitors for in situ monitoring of shipwrecks and treatment of recovered marine metal-organic composite artefacts
• MAIA: Microbes for Archaeological Iron Artefacts
• Fabrication, corrosion and conservation of the silver jewellery from Lumbe’s Garden, Prague Castle

Ongoing research projects:

• The MIFAC-Metal project: a methodology for studying and analyzing microstructures and corrosion profiles of heritage metals; application to metallographic samples from Swiss collections
• The St Maurice project: development of an electrolytic pen for cleaning tarnished gilt silverware with wooden cores

Finalized research projects

• Conservation of a fluvial deposit of bronzes from Agde-La-Motte

English, French and Spanish language versions are available for downloading as PDF documents.

To subscribe for email updates about BROMEC: www.warwick.ac.uk/bromec-subscription

BROMEC Editorial Team

Anglophone Editor & Translator:

·      James Crawford

Francophone Coeditor:

·      Michel Bouchard

Hispanophone Coeditor:

·      Emilio Cano

Francophone Translators:

·      Nathalie Richard

·      Elodie Guilminot

·      Marc Voisot

Hispanophone Translators:

·      Diana Lafuente

·      Inmaculada Traver

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

If you’re struggling to locate a specific material or piece of equipment and want to know where other conservators go shopping, just ask.

Or if you know about job opportunities, student placements or internships that you feel would be interesting to the members feel

free to share them here.

iconcgg.proboards.com/index.cgi

When conservators took on The Black Paintings they were met with a host of interesting challenges.  The first set of issues had to do with the materials.  Neoprene is a stable synthetic rubber that maintains its flexibility over time and wide temperature variations.  It is not an ideal substrate for painting because of its flexibility and the size and weight of each panel exacerbated that problem.  The artist was aware of those issues and used spray paint and vinyl paint under the assumption that the spray paint would crack while the vinyl paint would remain flexible.  Unfortunately, the expected interactions of the materials proved false as the entire painted surface cracked and flaked with the stretch of the neoprene.  The cracking and losses were compounded by the handling required to deinstall and reinstall the panels each time they were exhibited.

The physical incompatibility of the neoprene and paint media was not the only problem.  Neoprene is often coated with a talcum-based release agent to keep it from being sticky.  The application of the talc leaves a hazy gray surface that the artist liked so he painted on it without removing the coating or preparing the surface with another material.  Therefore, the release agent that kept the neoprene from being sticky also acted as a release agent for the paint media.

Conservators were also faced with challenges that went beyond the materials.  Izhar Patkin is a living, working artist so conservators were able to consult him during the assessment and planning stages of the project.  This may sound like a blessing if we consider all the times we’ve wished for input on a complicated project from its creator.  However, it can be a double-edged sword and that was the case with The Black Paintings.

As previously mentioned, Patkin was aware that the painted surfaces would deteriorate and enjoyed the nonstatic idea it presented.  He chose his materials to encourage that deterioration and scratched into the paint to initiate the process.  He also appreciated how the heat of the installation space intensified the smell of the neoprene.  Perhaps it was serendipitous that such heat adds to the risk of instability in paint films.  Conversations with the artist allowed conservators to understand where he’d intended damage and deterioration, which guided their treatment decisions.  At the same time they ran into complications during their discussions.  For example, the artist and conservators used the word “craquelure” to describe different phenomena and the conservators had to contend with impractical suggestions from the artist.

In the end the treatment of The Black Paintings was limited to triage with the understanding that maintenance treatment will be required each time the panels are unrolled.  Conservators designed a cleaning system that accounted for the sensitivities of the solvent based paints and avoided heat, which could have compromised the rubber.  The panels were hung and then gradually lowered to a table for access, at which point they were cautiously dry cleaned and a very time consuming consolidation was undertaken using an acrylic emulsion adhesive.  An old interleaving was replaced with finely woven undyed cotton and permanent cleats were secured to the tops of each panel.  At that point the panels were rerolled and stored.  A manual was prepared to instruct all individuals on the proper handling during all future installations and deinstallations.

This was a very complicated project that illustrated many of the issues that arise when dealing with modern and contemporary artworks and the involvement of a living artist.  A question and answer session following the presentation continued to highlight the gray areas surrounding these kinds of treatments.

One conservator asked Ms. Hickey why they chose to roll the panels with the paint side facing inward rather than out because of the added risk it posed to the already unstable paint.  Ms. Hickey explained that the size and weight of the panels necessitated this compromise because they were too large and heavy to flip over once the panel was unrolled.  Rolling them in this way may risk the paint but significantly reduced the level of handling and resulting unavoidable losses.

A second question posed to Ms. Hickey was whether or not they thought of alternatives to the permanent cleats because rolling the paintings with the cleats creates a risk.  When Ms. Hickey explained that the budget of the project would not allow other preferable but more expensive alternatives she was asked if they considered the fact that additional costs at present could maintain value in the piece and curtail future treatment costs.  Ms. Hickey addressed this question with great poise by reminding us all that conservators do not always have the final say when it comes to the cost of a treatment and sometimes we must find the best compromise available within our limitations.

This was an excellent presentation and I hope it will lead to continued discussions regarding the issues that arise in these kinds of complicated projects.

Ellen Howe, Conservator, Sherman Fairchild Center for Objects Conservation, Metropolitan Museum of Art; email: ellen.howe@metmuseum.org

Ellen Pearlstein, Associate Professor, Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials, UCLA; email: epearl@ucla.edu

Judith Levinson, Director of Conservation, Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History; email: levinson@amnh.org

The qero research project is a seventeen-year-long collaboration among object conservators at four museums with qeros in their collections: the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA), and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (SI, NMAI). Emily Kaplan (SI, NMAI) presented an update of the research to date on behalf of her co-investigators, Ellen Howe (MMA), Ellen Pearlstein (formerly Brooklyn Museum, now GCI-UCLA), and Judith Levinson (AMNH). The project is an in-depth technical study of materials and techniques of fabrication of a corpus of qeros, polychrome wood drinking vessels fabricated around the time of the Spanish conquest of Peru in 1532; the qeros in these four collections date from the Inca period (13^th-15^th c.), through the Colonial period (16^th-19^th c).  Consequently, the qeros offer material culture insights produced over a span of centuries and reflect the influences of both indigenous cultures and Spanish colonizers.  Principal goals of the project involved: understanding techniques of fabrication, the analytical identification of materials, and the correlation of the technical data with the stylistic data proposed by others (i.e. curators, art historians).

The qero project was an apt presentation for the joint OSG-RATS  session. Kaplan articulately presented the cultural history of the vessels, as well as the technical research undertaken by numerous conservation scientists, principally at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Indeed, both cultural and scientific research were presented in nearly equal measure, which underscored the efforts of the primary researchers to cover both aspects in depth.  Efforts at replication of techniques of manufacture, cultural exchanges with colleagues and artisans in Peru, and the application of the full arsenal of analytical  methods employed (including FTIR, GC-MS, PLM, XRD, and XRF) were discussed.  Kaplan noted that YouTube videos exist showing contemporary Columbian artisans in Pasto working with the sheets of resin.  The presentation was accompanied by quite beautifully photographed images of the vessels themselves, comprised of tropical woods with polychrome resinous inlays, which illustrate geometric (Inca) and figural (Colonial) design registers of increasing complexity.

Funding from the MMA and NMAI allowed Kaplan and Howe to travel to Peru to meet Andean artists and scholars; to collect raw materials; and to visit private and public collections.  Eventually botanical samples of the plant elaeagia were correlated via FTIR and GC-MS to the mopa-mopa resin noted in early literature and the samples from qeros.  Interestingly, the palette was identified as largely unchanged from the pre-Colonial period.  Colorants identified include cinnabar red, orpiment yellow, cochineal red and pink, indigo blue, copper-based greens, carbon black, lead white and titanium white.  A notable, recent reassessment is the meaning of the analytical identification of titanium white (cristobalite anatase in mineral form) on some vessels.  Early in the project, the noted presence of titanium white—a  pigment that found wide usage only in the 20^th century—was  thought to indicate areas of restoration.  Further study focusing on the presence of elaeagia in the media, led the conservators to believe it to be a pre-Colonial pigment.  A known Andean ore does exist.

Current research questions involve study of the ore source(s) of the cristobalite anatase and pigment comparisons to Colonial Andean paintings.  Further, the research and data collection evolved with technological advances and the collaborators are now considering ways to aggregate and share the data on-line.

This research project can be seen as a model for other conservation projects involving multiple institutions.  The sustained curiosity about these objects inspired a prolonged inter-museum collaborative effort , involving international allied professionals.  I’ve followed the progress of the qero project over the years, attending presentations and watching the list of publications in the US and South America grow longer and longer, as new findings emerged.  Near the beginning of the project (which started in 1995), while a graduate conservation student at New York University, I participated for two years as a research assistant on the project.  The concerted efforts to study both historical techniques of fabrication and the scientific results of analytical testing represent for me why the qero project ideally embodies the captivating interdisciplinary aspects of the conservation profession.

Cindy Lee Scott’s study of this material and possibilities for its use in removing shellac from ceramic surfaces was inspired by work using agar gels to clean outdoor plaster busts presented in 2010 by Paolo Cremnesi and published by Anzani et al. In their work, deionized water was the primary ingredient in their poultices, but Cindy Lee wondered if solvents and other cleaning agents could be added to these mixtures to extend their versatility and how these additions might change the stability and working properties of the gel.

After reviewing various properties of the material, particularly the manner in which the porosity of an agar poultice could be modified by altering its concentration, and then the  manner in which the gel is typically prepared, used and removed from a substrate (it peels off the substrate cleanly), Cindy Lee presented her own work, conducted in two phases.

The first phase of her work, a component of her thesis as part of her studies at the UCLA/Getty program, involved exploring agar as a gelling material for various cleaning agents on terracotta test tiles coated with a kaolinite-type slip with the goal of finding new ways to removing shellac from previous restored ceramics. She tested agar sol-gels mixed with ethanol, acetone and 5M sodium hydroxide, alone and in combination. She looked at efficacy of cleaning and clearance using visual analysis using a binocular microscope, UV-fluorescence microscopy, and FTIR spectroscopy.

She found that these agar gels performed beyond expectations particularly in comparison with other options tested for that study. She found that agar sol-gels had excellent working properties when they were mixed with ethanol and sodium hydroxide and had good clearance from the surface. Clearance improved for gels with a lower concentration of agar when Japanese paper was used as an intermediary layer.

The second phase of Cindy Lee’s work, undertaken during her internship at the Museums of New Mexico, extended the number of cleaning agents added to agar gels. Additives included solvents, surfactants, chelating agents, oxidizers, and acids. She noted working properties of each mixture, color changes to the gel that might lead to staining, and stability of the resulting gel. In this phase, access to analytical equipment was limited, so her analysis was generally limited to visual observation. Additionally, these mixtures were applied to plaster tiles coated with various materials including alizarin dye, shellac, various paints, PVA emulsion, and soil and artificially aged to test cleaning and clearance.

To summarize very quickly, as far as adding solvents go, best results for workability were achieved with ethanol, then Stoddard Solvent followed by acetone and xylenes. She noted that solvents added in too high a concentration could cause the gel to dissociate. Good working properties were also noted for gels made with the chelating agents, oxidizers, acids and bases tested. The surfactants tested caused complete dissociation of the gel. As far as cleaning efficacy, it appears that gels tested had a more difficult time removing dye and smaller particulates, but with regard to smaller particulates, concentration of agar within the gel appears to have a great influence. She found that efficacy could be improved by altering concentrations of agar and solvent, the temperature of the poultice on application, the length of application and number of applications of the poultice.

Cindy Lee concluded her presentation with  pros and cons of using agar-based solvent gels for objects conservation. Since she was kind enough to provide me with her paper and slide deck to help me write this post, I will share them here (if you click on the image it expands):

In short, I found her presentation to be an excellent introduction to this material and I can’t wait to experiment with it myself. It was also excellent to see the kind of simple testing we all do regularly in our own labs presented in a RATS/OSG session, and I look forward to seeing this work published. I don’t presently use Agar, but her presentation has encouraged me to do some experiments to see if this material would be appropriate to use in my own practice.

Steven O’Banion, Winterthur / University of Delaware, Class of 2012

Tell us a little about yourself-your background, where you’re working now and what you do in your current position?

My undergraduate degree is in Biochemistry.  However, my love for art and museums lead me to apply my scientific background to a career in art conservation.  I am currently a third-year student in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC).  I have particular interests in the conservation of modern/contemporary art and outdoor sculpture.  I began my year at the Tate and am now at the Museum of Modern Art.  I have been very fortunate to be able to treat works composed of a variety of materials, ranging from metal to wax, and bitumen to latex.

What form of outreach are you using? If it is an online tool, please specify which platform (Blogspot, Tumblr, Twitter, etc.). 3. Who would you say is your target audience? (I’ll answer these two questions together)

I have a blog titled “When Super Glue Won’t Do” that is hosted by Blogger^TM.  This blog chronicles my experiences as a conservation student.  As my blog is linked to the Art Conservation Page at the University of Delaware’s site, much of the traffic comes from those interested in perusing a career in art conservation.  However, the blog has an international following, which is particularly strong in the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, and Croatia.

I also give talks to the public.

I was very excited to have been invited to speak to students at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury about art conservation. In total, I gave six talks to over 350 students between year 9 and year 13 (which equates to 13 to 18 year-olds). In the British school system, students start to focus their studies earlier than students in the United States. As such, the purpose of my talks was to introduce the students to a possible career path that combines both art and science. With some of the more advanced classes, students pulled out their artwork (much of it involving mixed media) and we discussed how it may age. The students were engaging and asked some great questions.

I have prepared a talk titled “Plastics in Peril,” which focused on the importance of preventive care of plastics collections on plastics conservation.  I first presented the talk at the McNair Scholars Research Conference, which was held at the University of Delaware. The audience included undergraduates from across the country.  I also spoke at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at University of Delaware. The audience varied greatly in their knowledge of plastic, ranging from those with no in-depth knowledge of plastics to retired DuPont employees that invented many of the polymers mentioned in my presentation.

What were/are you trying to achieve using this form of outreach? Was it met or solved using this particular approach or tool?

My goal for “When Super Glue Won’t Do” is simply to share my experiences with the public.  I post about conferences, gallery openings, my projects, new products, etc.  A blog is a perfect vehicle to share information with those who have an interest in one’s content and wish to follow.

Is there anything you would do differently, or any recommendations you would make to other conservators who might want to use your approach / tool for themselves?

I always recommend that students and interns review their host institutions internet guidelines before blogging about anything related to their projects.  Also, don’t be afraid to have your supervisor follow your blog to review content.

Have your outreach endeavors produced any unexpected outcomes or benefits?

I find that the more I involve myself in public outreach, the more invitations I receive to participate in further outreach activities.

Check out Steve’s blog at:  http://www.whensupergluewontdo.com/

Heather Brown, Winterthur / University of Delaware, Class of 2014

Tell us a little about yourself-your background, where you’re working now and what you do in your current position?

My name is Heather Brown. I’m from Northern California, and I have a background in Art History. I’m really interested in modern and contemporary photographs and art on paper, things that I write about a lot on my blog. At the moment, I am a first year student in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, where I also organize a blog for the class of 2014.

What form of outreach are you using? If it is an online tool, please specify which platform (Blogspot, Tumblr, Twitter, etc.).

I have a personal blog called Repair the Tear on WordPress.

Who would you say is your target audience?

In the beginning, my goal was to share my experiences with other pre-program conservators, but I think my audience has grown a lot in the last two years to include more of the general public. I went from one viewer a day on average to about about forty a day now. I know that’s probably nowhere near someone like Richard McCoy, but I think people can find my posts when they want to learn about conservation-related topics, and that encourages me to keep going, even when I’m busy with school.

What were/are you trying to achieve using this form of outreach? Was it met or solved using this particular approach or tool?

I hope that I’m teaching a non-specialist audience a few things about conservation, and making them interested in what we do. WordPress shows me my stats for each day: the links visitors used, the terms they searched, which posts they read, and what links from my page they clicked on. Seeing those results makes me feel like I’m actually reaching out to people and teaching them something new.

Is there anything you would do differently, or any recommendations you would make to other conservators who might want to use your approach / tool for themselves?

Wordpress is great, and has worked really well for me. It’s so intuitive that I think anyone can easily create a professional-looking product. Even more than design, the most important thing about producing a blog is content. As long as there is new content on a regular basis, people will retain their interest. And the more you post, the more you will come up in search engines, so growth is definitely exponential.

Have your outreach endeavors produced any unexpected outcomes or benefits?

Yes! I’ve met a lot of other bloggers, and have even been asked for referrals for conservation services. The most exciting outcome was an email from a contemporary artist, in response to a blog I wrote on one of her pieces. It’s a really long story, but she found my blog through a google search, and ended up inviting me to a gallery opening!

Check out Heather’s blog at:  http://repairthetear.wordpress.com/

Megan Salazar-Walsh, Buffalo State College, Class of 2014

Tell us a little about yourself-your background, where you’re working now and what you do in your current position?

I am currently a first year student (class of 2014) in graduate school for Art Conservation at Buffalo State College, and Co-Outreach Coordinator for ECPN.

What form of outreach are you using? If it is an online tool, please specify which platform (Blogspot, Tumblr, Twitter, etc.).

Some of my classmates and I created a blog on WordPress. We update it periodically with activities we are doing in and out of class.

Who would you say is your target audience?

The target audience is mostly prospective students, friends, family, and the public at large. It isn’t geared towards established conservators, and we don’t feature any of the conservation treatments we are working on, so none of the content is very technical.  Posts are generally short and light-hearted.

What were/are you trying to achieve using this form of outreach? Was it met or solved using this particular approach or tool?

The main goal was to promote our graduate program and give a better understanding of how art conservators are trained. I think we did this successfully by sharing our personal experiences as students and writing about the broad scope of skills we’ve been learning in school.  Because we are so busy in grad school, and writing a blog is about the lowest priority, the posts are generally sporadic; this is something we expected from the start and I don’t think it interferes much with the blog’s success.

Is there anything you would do differently, or any recommendations you would make to other conservators who might want to use your approach / tool for themselves?

Having the support of all relevant parties is very important.  In writing a joint blog such as ours, clearly defining the rules and expectations of all those involved is vital.  Also, this may seem obvious, but you should always ask for permission before publishing names or images of people and artwork.

I would recommend a WordPress blog over Blogspot. The number of variables may seem overwhelming at first, but the WordPress platform gives users a lot more control over what the blog looks like and how it functions.

Have your outreach endeavors produced any unexpected outcomes or benefits?

We haven’t received much feedback on the blog except from family and friends; it is a nice way to keep them updated. I’m not sure if very many people ever read our blog, but if nothing else it has been an incentive to actively document our first year of school.  It sort of functions as a joint diary for the class of 2014; I think it will be fun to revisit the entries in a few years.

Check out Buffalo State College class of 2014’s blog at:  http://buffaloartconservation.wordpress.com/

Her testing methods appeared thought out and well carried out. She tested Cosmoloid 80H wax and Ketone N resin, Renaissance microcrystalline wax, Methocel A4C Methyl Cellulose, and Avalure AC 315 Acrylic Copolymer 5% and 7% in ethanol. She tested polished and unpolished marble. All the coatings were applied by brush. They were tested for their appropriate aesthetic properties, effectiveness as a barrier, safe application and removal, reversibility and aging. Quite a feat if I say so. Needless to say there is more testing that can be done. However, her initial findings are quite interesting. To measure changes in color and gloss Laura used a Spectro Eye spectrophotometer and gloss meter. The marble samples were stained with lipstick, red wine, and a sharpie. Laura provided a nice graphic showing her samples and the order of testing, aging, cleaning, etc.

Overall, from the testing Laura concluded that none of the coatings were perfect. There is a give and take with all. However, most importantly Renaissance wax was NOT a good barrier- I found it shocking that the red wine etched the marble through all of the coatings except Avalure. The wax resin and avalure did the best in the aging test. Methyl cellulose had the best reversibility, while microcrystalline wax was the worst. It was also interesting to hear that the colorimeter readings were consistent with what she observed by eye. Although nothing can replace scientific readings it is nice to know that our trained eyes are good for something. She also felt that more research should be done on methyl cellulose and Avalure since they tested tested so well. Her tests were only done on small samples, but the practicality of applying it to a large sculpture might change things. Avalure is somewhat difficult to work with, but perhaps a spray application would be better. By the way, Avalure is available through the manufacturer and apparently they are generous with their free samples.

I don’t know if this would be possible, but a follow up to this study might be interesting to look at the penetration of these coatings into the marble. Perhaps looking at a cross-section with FTIR-ATR…

So in 2003 there was a survey done of the dioramas and this resulted in a reduction of heat and light in the display areas by moving from theatrical lights to fluorescent and tungsten and screening of UV. In 2010, through a citywide effort to reduce energy use by 50% they moved to LEDs, metal halide, and T8 fluorescents- still screening out UV. However, they haven’t been able to reduce the light levels from 50 and 65 fc to an acceptable conservation level of 5 fc because of the desire to replicate the natural environment. The lights stay on even at night! Beth and Judy can give you the name of who to contact to help them in their campaign to shut off those lights!

AMNH hired an artist to recolor the taxidermy. They chose the colorant based on the solvents needed (these were restricted because the painting had to be done in open galleries with limited fume extraction), reversibility to not prevent future treatment, light fastness, Tg, application method and appearance. Water based acrylics were eliminated because of the low Tg and difficulty for re-treatment. They were leaning towards Orasol dyes and XSL pigments due to these criteria, but he taxidermist had to be won over from their usual use of acrylics. Luckily they were successful!

Finally, Beth carried out light-fading tests to determine which would be the best colors to use. Samples were colored and sent to Paul Whitmore for microfading tests. The microfadeometer is limited by a threshold and this is not equivalent to the real light exposure they will get in the dioramas. So out of view of the visitors they have put samples for future comparison with areas that are covered to block out the light.

The authors got a lot of thoughtful questions about the amount of degradation of the hair (a lot), if a special brush was used for grooming (yes),  if the dyes were applied with ethanol (yes), if they could turn off the lights at night (they wish!, please contact the museum to push for this), and what was used for the yellowed fur (XSL pigments had the best covering properties).

This project came about when Emily was a post-graduate fellow at the NMAI (when it was in NY), the Brooklyn Museum of Art was preparing for an exhibit, and the Met received a large gift. Several exhibits and publications came out in the early years of the collaboration. Some of the goals were to study the imagery depicted and the polychrome techniques as this was of interest to the conservators, but also to better understand the people, production and use. Qeros are drinking vessels used in the Andean region for consuming fermented beverages. They are sometimes made in pairs, but few still remain together, and have been made from a variety of materials including wood and metal. Qero actually means both wood and cup. They have been described and illustrated in colonial chronicles, sermons and legal documents. Qeros are still used today as this tradition persists.

So far they have identified organic and inorganic pigments: orpiment, cinnabar, cochineal, indigo, copper greens and carbon black. These all have potential local sources. There has been a renewed interest in Qeros and an authoritative book came out in 2002 by Thomas Cummins. The qeros have been dated stylistically and categorized into four periods (sorry I didn’t write down all the dates and I wish I had a photo of this slide): the Inca period (1425-1532) having incised decoration, the early Colonial period (1600-1650) having small areas of polychrome and incised decoration, the Mid Colonial, and the late Colonial.

The most recent research has focused on the white pigments. Three types were identified: cristobalite, anatase and white lead. They are also doing lead isotope analysis and finding two sources for the lead. Apparently lead ore was common in the Andes, but it wasn’t used as a painting material until after the arrival of the Spanish.

I loved seeing the images of a workshop on working with mopa mopa- a resin that was noted as a binder in early literature. Through working with the mopa mopa Emily could see how it was applied to the surface after being pulled into strips, laid on the surface and then heated.

It was nice to see the benefits of an extended project like this one. I’m sure Emily would appreciate knowing about Qeros in other collections if you have any!

As a follow-up to last year’s annual meeting presentation, which summarized the responses of a survey of archaeological conservators, this year Suzanne and Claudia presented the results of a 2011 survey of archaeological dig directors working primarily in the US. The purpose of the survey was to examine how archaeologists are engaging with conservators,  to gain an understanding of conservation needs from an archaeologist’s perspective, and to identify areas for outreach and education.

They made the survey using the online survey tool Qualtrics and after wide distribution, received a whopping 346 responses.

They plan to publish the complete results of the survey, but in their presentation, they summarized a lot of the data, such as:

• Half of the respondents are employed in an academic environment and half are employed in non-academic organizations.
• 41% have employed conservators in their projects. The 59% who have not said that it was due to lack of funding.
• Most respondents spent between 1-30% of their budget on conservation, and the most frequent amount spent was $10,000/season.
• 55% said that conservation is expensive or prohibitively expensive.
• Of those who have employed conservators, 38% have not received conservation reports, which corresponds with the 25% of archaeological conservators surveyed who do not write conservation reports for the sites they work on.
• 74% have never heard of AIC.
• 13% have used AIC resources.

Suzanne Davis broke up their presentation of this data by leading the audience in singing a few verses of Dire Straits- So Far Away.

In general, the archaeologists’ responses showed that there is a confusion between the terms “curator” and “conservator”, and they expressed that they feel that many conservators don’t have sufficient field training, nor do they understand archaeological research goals but that they feel that conservation is a necessary expense for archaeological projects.

Based on this survey, what do Suzanne and Claudia recommend? In essence, they said, to paraphrase Mark Knopfler, lead singer of Dire Straits, “we need to stop making love over the phone.” They said that while conservators and archaeologists are not so far away from each other, conservators need to work on increased and sustained outreach to archaeologists and to develop more resources for the AIC website or on the AIC WIKI specific to archaeology, particularly regarding funding sources and site preservation. They also indicated a need to improve education to further integrate archaeological and conservation research.

We think that the results of this survey are so interesting and help to provide hard data on topics that are often speculated on by archaeological conservators. We hope that Suzanne and Claudia are able to publish the entire results of the survey and we look forward to hearing more about efforts to improve the relationship between conservation and archaeology, and to contributing to this effort as much as possible.

-Vanessa Muros and Molly Gleeson

Vanessa Muros spoke first-a presentation titled “Holy Mammoth Batman! Conservation Education and Outreach for the Preservation of a Columbian Mammoth,” which was co-authored by Allison Lewis.

This presentation addressed the issues and challenges of training archaeologists in conservation techniques, and covered some of the outcomes-both good and bad-of such a collaboration. In the fall of 2010, Vanessa and Allison were contacted by archaeologists from Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, CA to advise them on the excavation of the fragile remains of a Columbian Mammoth. This was an unanticipated find and the archaeologists had no money to hire conservators and Allison and Vanessa had very limited time (or perhaps desire since they would be working for free) to spend in the field.

The solution that Vanessa and Allison devised was to act as consultants and to go out into the field to assess the condition of the remains and the possible treatment options, to devise protocols for safely lifting the mammoth remains and to train students working on the project to carry out this work themselves. After speaking to the archaeologists about possible analysis of the remains and ensuring that all sampling had been carried out, they devised protocols that involved consolidation of the bone and ivory remains in situ with Acrysol WS24, facing with cyclododecane, and block-lifting.

Vanessa took several block-lifted items back to the UCLA/Getty Conservation Program training labs at the Getty Villa, and, along with the graduate students, devised protocols for further stabilization of the excavated pieces using Acryloid B-72 for the dry bone and Acrysol WS24 for the bone that was still damp. Packing and storage solutions were also devised in consultation with Foothill College so that they could be replicated by archaeology students for the rest of the excavated material back at Foothill.

In the end, Vanessa and Allison deemed the collaboration a success-they felt that the archaeology students learned about conservation techniques, materials and proper storage, and the mammoth remains were safely lifted and stored. They also felt that they had promoted conservation and demonstrated the skills and knowledge required to be a conservator. Despite these great outcomes, they also saw several potential issues, including the fact that the project director, in the project’s Flickr photo album, labeled photos of archaeology students as “conservators.” Did the project director understand that his students aren’t conservators? Had they undermined our profession by demonstrating that non-conservators can do this work, and by teaching non-conservators irreversible and challenging treatments? Had they devalued conservation by volunteering to do all of this?

For being a potentially controversial topic, there were surprisingly no questions or objections about any of this by anyone in the audience. Personally, I think that this project is good for conservation- instead of trying to do the work themselves, the archaeologists contacted Vanessa and Allison, which I believe is an acknowledgement of the expertise and skills of conservators. And I think that while Vanessa and Allison trained students to carry out conservation methods, they did it in a way so that those students do NOT feel like they are conservators (even if the dig director may not fully understand). I also believe that these archaeology students will probably be even more likely to contact a conservator in the future, since this appeared to be a very positive collaboration. What I’d like to see, however, is archaeologists involving conservators like Allison and Vanessa from the beginning of projects. I know that there are always unexpected finds, but if conservators are involved from the beginning, there will hopefully be funding and time to carry out such work in the case that conservation is needed. Projects like this demonstrate the important relationship-building necessary for this collaborative work to take place.

Sulfur is well known as an agent of deterioration associated with atmospheric pollution, but sulfur was, and still is, intentionally introduced into buildings as part of the construction process, and is a part of some objects in museum collections. This presentation by Paul Benson was tremendously informative about how sulfur may be hiding in plain sight and damaging collections.  The talk provided examples of the use of sulfur past and present, and provided an example of effective control of sulfur used in the construction of an exhibition space.

Molten sulfur is an excellent electrical insulator. It has very good adhesive, handling, and casting properties that make it a good fill material. It goes through a flexible stage when cooling and it expands slightly (3%) on setting. In the US plaster ceilings were repaired with molten sulfur until the 1920s and buildings built before 1940 may have sulfur behind the surface of the walls as an insulator or fill material.   Conservators carrying out CAP surveys should be mindful of these possibilities.

There are unsuspected modern uses of sulfur as well. Used as an inexpensive filler in Chinese-manufactured dry wall imported to the US between 2001 and 2009, it caused extensive damage and reconstruction. Sulfur with additives is used instead of Portland cement in Canada because it has considerable shorter set time.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum discovered that the cause of severe mottling of bronze sculptures was sulfur applied behind the  numerous travertine sides of display cases integrated into the structure of the walls.  This situation was successful remediated by removing each piece of travertine, and applying  Marvelseal® with Beva®.

Sulfur has been used as a fill material in bombs. Police forensics use sulfur to take very accurate casts of footprints in snow.  These objects may be stored for long periods of time and contaminating other evidence.

Molten sulfur has been used since antiquity as an adhesive.  Pliny may have described its use as an adhesive for glass (depending on the translation). Sulfur was used as an adhesive in Rome, Greece, and Byzantium. All stones in the Thetford treasure at the British Museum were set with sulfur.  Sulfur was used to secure iron rods holding together elements of stone sculpture.

Sulfur can be found as an inlay material in furniture marquetry particularly in the sixty years from 1760 forward.  Sulfur will take on the appearance of mother of pearl with repeated heat treatments and can be found as “pearl” inlay on guns and  guitars.

Objects may be made of sulfur. “Spences Metal” is an iron-sulfur alloy used in the years around 1880. It can take a high polish and imitate a variety of metals. At the time hoped to be in inexpensive replace for bronze. “Ebonite” was made of rubber with 30-40% sulfur and was used to manufacture buttons and casters for furniture among other utilitarian objects that may be in museums of attached to objects in a collection.

Sulfur has been found in an historic clock cast around the weight to hold it in place. The “lead”  of German pencils made before 1770 is a combination of graphite mixed with sulfur. Coins may have been cast in sulfur lined plaster casts.  And among the seemingly innocent items that might be in a conservation lab sulfur is present in Plasticine® and pencil erasers.

This presentation provided a useful warning about possible contamination from sulfur present in unpredictable places and provided a wide range of examples to guide in hunting for an unseen source of corrosion.