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Art Conservation, Conservation of Art

Why Is Conservation of Art Important?

Conservation of art is an attempt to preserve and repair paintings, architecture, drawings, prints, objects such as glassware, furniture, textiles, metal, ceramics, and sculptures which may have been affected or damaged due to negligence, natural effects such as timely decay and use by humans.

Preservation and maintenance of any artwork and the protection from further deterioration or damage is all art conservation. While art restoration means the renovation of the damaged art and an honest try to give them their original appearance, both conservation of art and restoration of art are the different sides of the same coin.

Some of the world’s greatest artists have expressed their feelings and creativity in the form of great pieces of art. Each of these paintings, artifacts, and all other forms of art are unique and cannot be replicated in their originality. Each of these conveys a timeless message.

Conservation of art has become extremely important today as it gives a glimpse of our ancient heritage and culture. Taking all the wonders of the world as an example we can say that they are unique in their own way and have withstood the test of time through proper preservation, conservation, and restoration from time to time.

Art restoration during ancient times depended on very limited techniques. As science and technology progressed, the techniques also became more refined and effective making us realize the importance of historicpreservation.

The practice of modern conservation is based on repairing, studying, and preserving objects taking care that no permanent changes or alterations are done. Now there are many ways of treating and restoring art objects and professional conservators always document their work through written reports and photographs.

Architecture

Nowadays, restoring old architecture and conserving it is gaining much importance. The world is realizing the importance of ancient buildings and monuments as it connects them to their history. Many ancient buildings are an architectural wonder and some of them have not only been restored but also repaired or some parts have been rebuilt. Master craftsmen are giving their personal touches to give these monuments a new look. This helps the visitors to witness history in the present time.

Paintings

Every painting whether on canvas, wood, wall, neural, paper or ivory have their specific ways of conservation. Canvas paintings can get discolored, torn, or frayed from the edges, or even decay. Paintings on wood can lose their luster as wood can swell or shrink due to climatic changes. Thus, it becomes important to restore and conserve them for future generations to know their ancestors through art.

Sculpture

The sculptures have been created on clay, stone, wood, metal, ivory, and bone and we can also find unique pieces of sculpture on composites and plastics. Stone sculptures can be damaged through erosion, water, or environmental conditions. Metal sculptures mainly deteriorate due to the effects of the environment on metals such as rusting of iron and tarnishing of silver.

Thus, it becomes important to preserve these pieces of art.

Ceramics

Ceramics and clay have been used to create small figurate, objects for decoration as well as a large sculpture which generally don’t deteriorate unless broken.

Textiles

Ancient tapestries and other textiles can fade due to excessive light or get damaged because of air pollution. The fiber of the material can be weakened and lose its luster.

Since museums exhibit various works of ancient art on a large scale it is very important for the art curator to preserve the collectibles according to collections care. It is important to conserve art as it helps in preserving history, reflecting the changes over a period of time in various cultures. Thus, historic preservation is essential for connecting the past with the present.

Also, caring for these collections becomes important as it also helps the collectors build some business by showcasing their artifacts to the public. The general public gains an insight into the history and culture of the older civilizations, their way of life, their eating habits, the garments they wore, and their mind behind the creations.

Art conservation and art preservation play a very important part in appreciating the works of art created by our predecessors and stay in touch with our history.

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Art Conservation, Conservation of Art Art Preservation Historic Restoration

Difference Between : Art preservation vs. Art conservation vs. Restoration

In the world of museum collections care, many phrases and terms might be confusing. Even the most experienced art conservators might use one term when they intended to use another. While using confusing shadows for shading or interchanging the term classic with classical can be a silly mistake in museum care, it is rather a harmless mistake.

But some terms can lead to serious outcomes if interchanged. The most common mistaken terms are restoration, art conservation, and art restoration.

Though these three terms are often confused, they are set apart by many differences. While they are associated with enhancing the artwork, restoration and conservation have different methods to treat an artwork. When someone looking to get their artwork restored interchanges these terms, they could be ending up putting their expensive artwork in the wrong hands.

By figuring out the differences between art conservation, art preservation, and art restoration, you can make an informed decision about the process they want. All are important parts of historic preservation.

Here we have come up with some differences between art conservation and art restoration to clear any doubts about these three fields of work.

Understanding the Definition of Art Preservation, Conservation, and Restoration:

What is Art Preservation?

Art preservation involves protecting an object from destruction and making sure that the object is not altered or changed. It is a commonly used term for architecture and the built environment.

What is Art Conservation?

Conservation refers to the process of preserving the maximum amount of the original material in as unaltered condition as possible. All additions or repairs should be reversible and removable without impacting the condition of the original material, even in the future. However, conservation doesn’t encompass artistic choices or material experimentation on the object. An museum art conservator is also responsible for preserving the original work. It requires them to be skilled in cleaning, repairing, and oftentimes, removing old restoration attempts. They have to make sure that the art is preserved for years to come. They attempt to keep the original piece in its original form as possible.

What is Art Restoration?

Restoration refers to the process of bringing an object back to its original position or condition. When restoring an art object, the absolute focus is on its final appearance. The client and restorer determine the most desirable period of an object’s life, and the restorer does whatever is required to return the object’s original appearance. Some restorers might not consider the long-term, damaging impacts of using certain materials on artwork.

However, it should not be confused with a renovation that is the process of making an object look new. It should be performed by an experienced and knowledgeable person. Otherwise, unsafe practices, tools, and cleaning supplies can lead to irreversible damage immediately or in the future.

Choose the Right Professional to Work With

We hope that you must have understood the key differences between preservation, conservation, and restoration. Like we have said before, every practice plays important role in historic preservation.

Whatever you choose, make sure to work with a certified professional. It will give you peace of mind that your artwork is in the safe hand. They are knowledgeable and certified for maintaining and improving the piece of art. Whether you have an artwork that needs to be cleaned, a sculpture that has to be reassembled, or an artifact that needs to be repaired, choosing the right professional can give your beloved piece of art a new lease of life.

What do you think? Want to say something else? Let us know by commenting below!

Related Article: https://www.barbaraappelbaumbooks.com/post/the-art-conservation-guide-barbara-appelbaum-books

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Art Conservation, Conservation of Art Barbara Appelbaum Books

The Art Conservation Guide – Barbara Appelbaum Books

Most of us must have heard about “art conservation” without actually having any knowledge about what it is and how is it important in the world of art. This art conservation guide will give you a detailed insight into its importance and how to get started with this incredible service to protect and restore the art around.

In this guide, we shall be discussing the topics below in brief-

· Art Conservation

· Importance of Art Conservation

· Terms of Importance

· How to start Art Conservation

Art Conservation

The process involving documentation, stabilization, and preservation of objects is called art conservation. Conservation is a combination of historical research, analyzing science, scientific material. Treatment for conservation or plans for maintenance is created only when all the above three aspects work together.

Nearly all types of artifacts irrespective of their age, whether it is a new structure of public art or an ancient painting aging more than 100 years can be conserved to give a brand-new look. Conservation not only works on paintings, sculptures, and other artifacts that have heritage value but also, can be applied to historic clothing, ancient vehicles, and artifacts related to the military.

Importance of Art Conservation

· Ensures Business

Art conservation is important as it restores your art to make them look fresh without losing its originality. When you are working in an organization that is home to many historic collections of artifacts, conservation of such art becomes necessary to attract business as your potential clients will know that you care and will place their trust in you. It also ensures a secure future for your organization and helps you grow your business and worth.

· Protecting the culture of a community

A community’s culture is largely reflected through its art and various artists work hard towards the creation of pieces that depicts change, documenting the present and cherishing the past.

· Preserving History

The art of conservation aims at restoring artifacts to preserve history for a longer period. Thousands of objects all over the world, several paintings, cultural-historical artifacts as well as many historical sites have been restored and many are still in the process to give the viewers a glimpse of ancient history. This art conservation process helps the visitors get a glimpse of how history was in a near-original form.

Terms of Importance

· Condition Assessment

A conservator examines an object carefully and thoroughly to get an idea of the current state of the artifact that needs to be restored. s/he recommends the procedures to conduct restoration, creating a replica of the missing parts as well as suggesting ways to maintain and preserve them.

· Preservation

A process to keep the original form of an artifact intact for a long period through different efforts.

· Restoration

Efforts to make a change in an object to make sure it reflects its original version. Sometimes it becomes impossible to recreate the original past and the conservator replaces or recreates the parts which may not have been in the original version but helps is reflecting the preserved past.

· Stabilization

The process through which deterioration can be minimized and the original work can be kept intact.

How to start an art conservation

Conserving art is a continuous and important process to help preserve history and recreate the past for generations to have a better understanding of ancient heritage. The first step towards art conservation is assessing and determining a state of an object. By doing the basic assessment and forming a basic structure for further restoration and preservation process. It also involves the best possible ways to maintain the object’s condition as it is for a long period.

· Condition Assessment

If you are new to the process of conservation, it is preferred to assess the collection of artifacts. Through this, you will get a fair general idea and will be able to identify the object which needs conservation and prioritize accordingly. Another benefit will be collaborating with a professional conservator who will help you in the assessment and will also help determine the pieces which require care and prioritization. Creating an inventory for keeping a track of your collection of artifacts in the process of restoration and maintaining the status of each art piece will help you in a smooth conservation process.

· Treatment of an artifact

After the assessment has been made about the pieces of artifacts, the conservators can follow the treatment process. The time taken for completing this work purely depends upon the complexities and intricacies of every object and the work required to be accomplished. In order to complete the treatment of the artifacts, there may be a requirement of procuring material, a requirement of testing, and a certain amount of research.

· Maintenance

It is very important to create a plan for maintenance for the collection. It is as important as the process of treatment. Maintenance helps in continuing to keep the collection artifacts in a proper state for a long time whereas, treatment helps in bringing out the true value of the pieces. You can also take the help of trained interns and volunteers to help complete the process within the specified time. Once the restoration and conservation process is complete, you can generate business and partnerships through your art collection which can also help in boosting tourism.

Hope this Art Conservation Guide helps you in restoring the artifacts you hold dear and bring back their lost glory by recreating a fusion of the past and the present also allowing you to take this up as a career and generate business.

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Barbara Appelbaum Books Colllections Care

Barbara Appelbaum Books – Preserve, Protect and Defend: A Practical Guide to the Care of Collections

Preserve, Protect, and Defend: A Practical Guide to the Care of Collections has been written by Barbara Appelbaum and aims towards making the lives of museum workers easy.

This is a book that is full of sources for all professionals related to the museum industry. Anyone who is either a curator or a manager, a registrar or an administrator, or even an expert on pest control has sources that will be useful to them.

Along with the professionals associated with the museums, this book also a great source of information for anyone holding a private collection and individuals who have an interest in the preservation of various collections. It acts as a guide.

It also plays an important role for a person who wishes to volunteer or work as an outside consultant to a museum. The book has been designed to give insight to people of various interests and different levels of expertise. It is a useful source guide to anyone who wants to start a museum related to any field.

Various topics covered in this book are

· Safety practices for routine collections

· Assessments for conservation

· A practical guide for examination of collections and uncovering safety challenges of buildings

· Safety protocols for collections happening routinely

· Advance planning for unforeseen natural hazards like water and wind penetration, smoke and fire, and other infestations

· How to control the environment of the museums which includes temperature and humidity checks, light and air quality, and lightening

Barbara Appelbaum’s book is a great source of information about the various aspects of museums and the people associated with them. The language used in this book is easy to understand and follow. It is a valuable and must-have book to be added to your library if you are an individual who loves to collect and gather information

The goals of the book are to share in-depth and in an easy language the principles behind collections care to the people at a museum so that they can have a meaningful art conversation with the experts and collectors, for anyone to evaluate the reliability factor of various sources printed and online, the book also aims to help the handlers in an everyday museum operation.

The book’s chapters are grouped into six sections.

· Section 1 is inclusive of chapters 1 and 2 and explores the meaning of “art preservation” and how it relates to “art conservation”.

· Section two starts from chapter 3 and goes up to chapter 7 and deals with collections care and experts dealing with the processes for care. It also describes the assessment process and making recommendations ensuring a fruitful outcome.

· Section 3 includes chapters 8 to 12; this section deals with the decision-making process related to the collection care issues as they are multi-dimensional and multi-departmental involving many authorities including outside consultants.

· Section 4 of the book includes chapters 13 to chapter 18 which talks about the environment of the museum and its effects on preservation.

· Section 5 includes chapters 19 to 24 and shares inputs on the advance planning for any unforeseen hazards that may affect the collection, documentation, furniture, and the building itself. Also extending to the health and safety of staff and visitors.

· And the last section, section 6 speaks about how conservators look at collections and enhancement of visitor’s experience and ways to increase the visitor ship.

This book talks about how people from all over the world working in numerous museums, archives, libraries, art centers, and such places have difficult choices to make every now and then to preserve, protect and defend the collection in their care.

This book is a great addition to museums of all sizes, libraries, and private collections and will help one save your collections against theft, damage, and other factors that can lead to its deterioration.

Reviews

This book has been highly appreciated by readers and has garnered raving reviews. It has a five-star rating and is considered a valuable insight for anybody associated with museums. In addition to taking care of all the collections, the book also gives tips on how to protect the artifacts from critics.

The language of the book is very clear and easy to comprehend. It gives an insight to museum collection managers, their staff, and other people connected with the museum about the risks and requirements of their collections and how to tackle them.

The book is highly recommended by a professor of historic preservation programs for its comprehensive and precise content. It has also been included in their course syllabus and is considered a masterpiece. It is a must-read for anyone who is inclined towards artifacts, their preservation as well as how to cope with the challenges imposed by nature which may have drastic effects on them.

Categories
Colllections Care Museology

Collections care and its significance in Museology

When it comes to Significance of Collections Care in museology or work of any museum there are ethical, fiduciary, legal, and professional responsibilities involved. Collection(s) care is among the main responsibilities. Of course, there is conservation in relation to collections care and then there’s preservation. However, it’s a whole another discussion. Collection(s) care can be discussed in regards to the management and treatment of collections that could be either or both preventive and remedial conservation. Whether you are a curator or a manager understanding how to care for your collections is among the primary things to consider when starting a gallery or museum.

Why is Collection(s) Care important?

Collections make a museum unique and stand out. Without them, it might as well not exist. This makes collections care all the more important as it makes them available to the public eye in their original entirety. Also, it helps in the preservation of collections for future generations.

Significance of Collections Care

Collections care in simple terms is caring for collections which means objects and collections over everything. These statement specimens need to be in their finest possible condition at all times; regard and respect for these spectacular objects will always remain a mandatory obligation in the field of conservation and preservation.

The respect and regard begin with treating all objects as irreplaceable, fragile, and utterly valuable. Since they are the most priceless assets of a museum, every object counts. The key to care is to believe that every object is of equal value. The more you care for your collections, the more grandeur of your museum.

Care or Conservation?

Although you might have heard references to conservation while discussing caring for collection(s); it’s a whole another practice to collections care. There is –

Collections care- It follows a standard strategy that incorporates the correct protocol for managing collections.

Remedial conservation- it’s when the damaged individual items in collections are corrected or stabilized.

Preventive conservation- this has everything to do with the potential damage and issues with collections. It includes pest management, storage, environmental monitoring to prevent all kinds of damage to the collections.

Roles and Responsibilities

When it comes to collections care, everyone has a role to play. From volunteers to cleaners everyone should be concerned about the safety of the collections. It is not the duty of a single person or a group of staff members particularly for the responsibility of caring for a museum’s collections- the entire museum team should be involved in preserving museum collections.

Managerial responsibility– managers have the supreme responsibility. The role includes strategy development, planning, and implementation of the essential care tasks.

  • Facilitating workforce training sessions
  • Organizing and distributing duties for basic tasks
  • Curating the procedural manual
  • Creating an allocating budget for collection(s) care supplies

Ongoing care– a continual process that requires the establishment of proper action plan and routines to ensure year-round care through-

  • Housekeeping
  • Checking and Monitoring
  • Labeling

Housekeeping- this is essential in the maintenance of a clean museum, just so the quality of the collections remains preserved and intact.

  • Maintaining clean environment
  • Pest management
  • Appropriate cleaning of objects
  • Cleaning dust and protective sheets

Checking and Monitoring – A very important practice, regularly monitoring and checking for issues would help identify major problems early on. This includes routine checks for updated data and information.

  • Condition of collections
  • Suitability of containers, fittings, and furniture
  • Building and facility maintenance
  • Equipment maintenance

Labeling- this practice keeps track of all the objects in the collections. It involves a central database that has a labeling system.

Collections care includes a lot more than simply caring for collections, these valuable pieces have stood the test of time for generations and would continue to do so with respect, regard, and care in the world of museology.