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Showing posts from October, 2008

Transformation of Treatment Practices

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I created a chart illustrating the transformation of treatment practices It is a draft, I will refine it gradually.

Progress: Statements

After the last weeks I came up with some "statements" that I would like to prove (wrong or right) through my project Current Status, - Treatment is performed in different “places” responding to different needs: * Private Practice (for museums, private owners, galleries, auction houses) * Art Museums * Archives * Regional Centers * Historical Societies Therefore, - Treatments performed are different - Treatment(s) goals/specific objectives are different - Allowable/suitable/appropriate treatment and treatment extents are different Statements: - Treatment is not performed on all photographs - A greater recognition/understanding of the values of a photograph and its subtleties, has lead to less intervention - Treatment is driven by other activities and social phenomena such as: *Exhibition *Market *Fashion/Perception of how a photograph should look - Treatment decision-making is performed by a group of people From the meeting (with Grant), we concluded I should define hypot

Feedback: Pau Maynés

Today I spoke with Pau Mayés about my project. I think I still can not explain it in simple ordered ideas. Somehow, the fact that I want to focus in understanding and describing the current treatment practice got lost in the conversation and I couldn't bring it back. When he read my proposal he centered his attention in the evolution of treatment criteria. He suggested me to narrow the topic into one concrete theme, like that one. He shortly referred to his project (Oral History of Photograph Conservation) and his experience. He said that now he knows he would have done things differently, but didn't say how. When he read the topics for the question he said "philosophy" is an abstract big word, that nobody understands. When he read my questions (posted Oct.26) he said they were too theoretical and felt like an exam. He suggested me to use concrete examples as ground for discussion. He gave me some suggestions of bibliography to look for (some of which I have already c

Template for introduction of interviews- version 1

Today is Day, Date (month, day, year), Time. My name is Alejandra Mendoza and I am with (name of the interviewee), to have a conversation about the Current Status of Treatment Practices in Photograph Conservation. I would like to follow a pattern for the interview that includes questions about the philosophy and ethics of conservation treatment, following a discussion about the current status of treatment practice, treatment evaluation and education, continuing with aspects about the progress and transformation... [order to be defined] To start, could you please tell me your name, your current job position, the institution or company that you work for, and for how long have you being working here? I would like to begin with..

Template for interviews, version 1

These are the topics of the questions that I want to ask, and a first draft of questions: Philosophy and ethics 1. How do you define conservation treatment of photographs? 2. In a general sense, what is the goal of treatment? 3. What are the general principles that guide treatment practice? 4. Do you consider that these general principles are applicable to all types of treatment? Current Status 5. What determines the need for treatment? (in a museum, a private lab, an archive) 6. Are there other factors that influence in the selection of treatments that are proposed/requested and then performed? 7. How does the value of a photograph affect treatment? 8. How does market affect treatment? --How do you assess the treatment risk against its potential benefit? Progress and Transformation (History) 9. What is your observation of the field in terms of treatment? How has it progressed or transformed? --What is your opinion about "chemical treatments" of photographs? Can they be perfo

Project Proposal: Current Status of Treatment Practices in Photograph Conservation

Project proposal - September 2008 Statement of Purpose This research will create a basic reference resource (interviews-based) that describes and addresses the current status of treatment within the profession, its philosophies, history; and the criteria and methodologies used for its evaluation. The objective of this resource is to gather and make accessible the knowledge and experience of a group of key individuals in the field, answering fundamental questions that relate to our work. Significance Treatment is one of the activities that characterize and differentiate a photograph conservator from other closely related specialists. The possibilities for treating photographic materials depend on a series of complex case-based variables (not only considering the materiality of the object but its present and future context and use) and international accepted standards of practice. Therefore it is important to understand, document and communicate the way in which treatment is approached,

Reviewed bibliography

Books ASHLEY-SMITH, Jonathan. Risk Assessment for Object Conservation. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford-Boston, 1999, 358 pp. APPELBAUM, Barbara. Conservation Treatment Methodology. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Great Britain, 2007, 437 pp. AVRAMI, Erica, Randall Mason, and Marta de la Torre. Values and Heritage Conservation. Research Report, The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 2000, 96 pp. http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications/pdf_publications/valuesrpt.pdf BARGER, M. Susan, and William B. White. The Daguerreotype: nineteenth-century technology and modern science. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1991, 252 pp. BRÜCKLE, Irene, and F. Christopher Tahk, editors. North American Graduate Programs in the Conservation of Cultural Property. Association of North American Graduate Programs in the Conservation of Cultural Property, Buffalo, 2000, 170 pp. CAPLE, Chris. Conservation skills: judgment, method, and decision making. Routledge, New York, 2000