Performative methods are playing an increasingly prominent role in research into historical production processes, materials, bodily knowledge and sensory skills, and in forms of education and public engagement in classrooms and museums. This book offers, for the first time, sustained, interdisciplinary reflections on performative methods, variously known as Reconstruction, Replication and Re-enactment (RRR) practices across the fields of history of science, archaeology, art history, conservation, musicology and anthropology. Each of these fields has distinct histories, approaches, tools and research questions. Researchers in the historical disciplines have used reconstructions to learn about the materials and practices of the past, while anthropologists and ethnographers have more often studied the re-enactments themselves, participating in these performances as engaged observers. In this book, authors bring their experiences of RRR practices within their discipline into conversation with RRR practices in other disciplines, providing a basis for interdisciplinary cross-fertilization.

Renowned museum consultant and researcher Beverly Serrell and a group of museum professionals from the Chicago area have developed a generalizable framework by which the quality of museum exhibitions can be judged from a visitor-centered perspective. Using criteria such as comfort, engagement, reinforcement, and meaningfulness, they have produced a useful tool for other museum professionals to better assess the effectiveness of museum exhibitions and thereby to improve their quality. The downloadable resources include a brief video demonstrating the Excellent Judges process and provides additional illustrations and information for the reader. Tested in a dozen institutions by the research team, this step-by-step approach to judging exhibitions will be of great value to museum directors, exhibit developers, and other museum professionals.

In 1966, the most destructive flood in the history of Venice temporarily submerged the city and threatened its extraordinary art and architecture. Among the organizations that mobilized to protect this fragile heritage was Save Venice Inc. Founded in Boston and now headquartered in New York City, this nonprofit has become the largest and most active committee dedicated to preserving the artistic legacy of Venice.Christopher Carlsmith tells the fascinating story of Save Venice Inc., from its origins to its fiftieth anniversary. It continues to provide an influential model for philanthropy in the cultural sector, raising substantial funds to conserve and restore paintings, sculptures, books, mosaics, and entire buildings at risk from human and environmental impacts. Employing extensive archival research, oral interviews, and newspaper accounts, Save Venice Inc. explores a range of topics, including leadership, conservation projects, fundraising, and educational outreach. Using a range of methodologies from cultural history and art history, Carlsmith traces the achievements and challenges faced by this and other historic preservation organizations and by this unique city on the sea.

A pathbreaking call to halt the intertwined crises of cultural heritage attacks and mass atrocities and mobilize international efforts to protect people and cultures. Intentional destruction of cultural heritage has a long history. Contemporary examples include the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan, mosques in Xinjiang, mausoleums in Timbuktu, and Greco-Roman remains in Syria. Cultural heritage destruction invariably accompanies assaults on civilians, making heritage attacks impossible to disentangle from the mass atrocities of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. Both seek to eliminate people and the heritage with which they identify. Cultural Heritage and Mass Atrocities assembles essays by thirty-eight experts from the heritage, social science, humanitarian, legal, and military communities. Focusing on immovable cultural heritage vulnerable to attack, the volume's guiding framework is the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), a United Nations resolution adopted unanimously in 2005 to permit international intervention against crimes of war or genocide. Based on the three pillars of prevent, react, and rebuild, R2P offers today's policymakers a set of existing laws and international norms that can and--as this book argues--must be extended to the protection of cultural heritage. Contributions consider the global value of cultural heritage and document recent attacks on people and sites in China, Guatemala, Iraq, Mali, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen. Comprehensive sections on vulnerable populations as well as the role of international law and the military offer readers critical insights and point toward research, policy, and action agendas to protect both people and cultural heritage. A concise abstract of each chapter is offered online in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish to facilitate robust, global dissemination of the strategies and tactics offered in this pathbreaking call to action. The free online edition of this publication is available at getty.edu/publications/cultural-heritage-mass-atrocities. Also available are free PDF, EPUB, and Kindle/MOBI downloads of the book.

This volume deals with policy, methods and techniques for the stewardship of our land and our cultural assets. The focus is on interpretation and presentation of heritage themes, and the papers should be of interest to those concerned with school and university curricula, those working in museums and galleries, and those in charge of parks and tourist enterprises. Individual contributions celebrate achievements and debate issues relating to the natural and built environment, the future of green tourism, planning and interpretation in museums, parks and private estates. The authors include: Professor David Lowenthal on cultural landscapes; Charles McKean on architecture; David Macmillan on the arts; John Purser on music; Elisabeth Luard on cooking; the Earl of Glasgow on the opening of a family estate to the public; and Gordon Baxter on the heritage of one of Scotland's great enterprise stories in the food industry. The main theme of the book is that we do not always take enough pride in our heritage which is often undervalued and neglected. Positive action is required to raise awareness, to foster respect for our inheritance and to generate a new kind of enterprise that will not endanger the heritage resources on which we depend for enjoyment and jobs.

The Museum Environment is in two parts; Part I: intended for conservators and museum curators and describes the principles and techniques of controlling the environment so that the potentially damaging effects of light, humidity and air pollution on museum exhibits may be minimised. Part II: the author brings together and summarises information and data, hitherto widely scattered in the literature of diverse fields, which is essential to workers in conservation research. Since the timely publication of the first two editions of this book in hardback, interest in preventive conservation has continued to grow strongly making publication of this paperback edition all the more welcome. Those whose responsibility it is to care for the valuable and beautiful objects in the world's collections have become increasingly aware that it is better to prevent their deterioration, by ensuring that they are housed and displayed in the best possible environmental conditions, than to wait until restoration and repair are necessary. The changes for the second edition have been mainly concentrated in the sections on electronic hygrometry, new fluorescent lamps, buffered cases, air conditioning systems, data logging, and control within historic buildings. A new appendix, giving a summary of museum specificiations for conservation, provides a useful, quick reference.

Installation art has become mainstream in artistic practices. However, acquiring and displaying such artworks implies that curators and conservators are challenged to deal with obsolete technologies, ephemeral materials and other issues concerning care and management of these artworks. By analysing three in-depth case studies, the author sheds new light on the key concepts of traditional conservation (authenticity, artist's intention, and the notion of ownership) while exploring how these concepts apply in contemporary art conservation. Based on original empirical research and cross-case analysis, this ground-breaking study offers a re-examination of traditional conservation values and ethics, and argues for a reassessment of the role of the conservator of contemporary art.

Microbial defacement and degradation of artistic or historic artifacts is a worldwide problem affecting all countries regardless of their history, geographical location, or economic conditions. This is the first comprehensive study of the role of microbial colonization on the degradation of different cultural artifacts (from buildings to books, wall paintings, textiles, sculptures and glass) and of the investigations into the compounds utilized to control microbial invasion. The book focuses on three main areas: the identification of the microorganisms which cause structural damage; methods to reduce or prevent microbial colonization and damage; and the use of microorganisms for the protection and bioremediation of cultural artifacts.

Offers an overview of the analysis of art and archaeological materials using techniques based on mass spectrometry Illustrates basic principles, procedures and applications of mass spectrometric techniques. Fills a gap in the field of application on destructive methods in the analysis of museum objects Edited by a world-wide respected specialists with extensive experience of the GC/MS analysis of art objects Such a handbook has been long-awaited by scientists, restorers and other experts in the analysis of art objects

Laser techniques offer possibilities for the examination and conservation of artwork, and for the prevention of cultural heritage. This collection of peer reviewed papers from the 8th International Conference on Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks, Sibiu, Romania, September 21-25, 2009, addresses various aspects of cultural heritage preservation (laser induced phenomenas, laser investigations and recent laboratory studies and onsite applications).

The main topics include:

Innovative approaches in laser cleaning researches and instrumentation development;

Laser investigation and diagnostics methods;

Monitoring, imaging and documentation of artwork.

Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks VIII will appeal to laser scientists, conservation scientists, scientists in the field of optoelectronics, chemistry, IT and biology, conservators-restorers, architects, art historians, archaeologists, and decision makers in the field of conservation and restoration of artworks.

The Curator's Handbook is the essential practical handbook for curators and curatorial students, mapping out every stage of the exhibition-making process from initial idea to final installation. In his introduction, Adrian George traces the history of curating back to its origins in the 17th century and outlines the multifarious roles of the curator today, including as custodian, interpreter, educator, facilitator and organizer. Twelve chapters then chart the various stages of the exhibition process in invaluable detail and clear, informative language - from initial concept to writing contracts and loan requests, putting together budgets and schedules, producing exhibition catalogues and interpretation materials, designing gallery spaces, working with artists, lenders and art handlers, organizing private views, and documenting and evaluating a show. A distinguished cast of international museum directors and curators offer advice and tips.

Laser systems and advanced optical techniques offer new solutions for conservation scientists, and provide answers to challenges in Conservation Science. Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks comprises selected contributions from the 7th International Conference on Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks (LACONA VII, Madrid, Spain, 17-21 September 2007), and is a comprehensive collection on both emerging and well established applications of laser systems and techniques used to address conservation problems.

The topics covered include:

Innovative approaches in laser cleaning;

Analytical techniques;

Developments in portable laser systems for remote and on-site applications;

Laser cleaning of monuments and sculptures, paintings and polychromes, metal objects and documents and textiles.

Developments on structural diagnosis, monitoring, imaging and documentation of artworks.

Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks will be essential reference material for students, professionals and scientists working in heritage and Conservation Science.

This book describes the methods of conservation, preservation and restoration of the thousands of artefacts contained within the buildings that house the museums, which also require constant care and attention. The Vatican Museums are enormous, nearly 4 miles of passages through galleries, rooms and internal gardens. A museum system that includes many specific collection types - frescoes, sculptures, metals, textiles, ethnographic, Etruscan and Egyptian artefacts, fine and contemporary art, carriages and cars - that all require expert attention, whilst they are viewed daily by some of the 6 million visitors a year, who all breathe amongst the treasures, and spread dust throughout the buildings. The book will be of great interest and value to anyone involved in, or training to be involved in the professional management of a museum or collection.

At times controversial and uncompromising, always intellectually honest, Alessandro Conti's book is - astonishingly - the only attempt to comprehensively chart in time, the changing impact of man's desire to preserve for future generations the materials, meaning and appearances of works of art. Remarkable in its meticulous research of source material and breadth of scope, History of the Restoration and Conservation of Works of Arts, translated by Helen Glanville, charts the practices and underlying philosophies of conservation and 'restored' works of art from the Middle Ages to the end of the nineteenth century.
In English-speaking countries, a lack of foreign language skills leaves many unable to consult a wealth of both published and unpublished historical documentation. Developments in conservation have therefore tended toward the scientific and analytical. Access to such documentation leads to better understanding of the present appearance of works of art and of their changing aspect and perception over time. Recent publications indicate that there is a great need for people writing on the subject to be aware of material which is not in their mother tongue: approaches presented as 'new' are in fact merely 'contemporary', and have been discussed or practiced in other centuries and countries.
Just as knowledge of practices and effects of art conservation and restoration should form an integral part of History of Art Degrees, the more theoretic, abstract and historical aspects, should also be part of the training. This book is an invaluable source for academic and public institutions, art historians as well as practicing conservators and lovers of art.
*The only book inEnglish dealing with the history of conservation and restoration of works of art.
*Translated by a practising restorer who has lectured widely on the subject to professional and student audiences, as well as the general public.
*Provides readers with contextualising introductions, extensive bibliography of original sources and archival material and a glossary of terms as well a biographical details.

This book presents novel applications of nanotechnology for the preservation of artistic and historical artifacts. It explains the scientific principles behind numerous nanomaterials and discusses their applications to different types of common movable and fixed artistic substrates. It starts with an overview of the nano-tools developed over the last three decades, such as dispersions of nanoparticles, micellar solutions, microemulsions and gels. Compared to traditional methods, these new tools have the benefit of considerably less impact on both the operators and the environment. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific type of cultural heritage material (wall and easel paintings, stone, paper, canvas and wood) starting with the main degradation paths and discussing protocols for the application of innovative nanomaterials-based tools for cleaning, consolidation, or deacidification, which represent the majority of the case studies encountered in restoration facilities, workshops and ateliers. The book provides step-by-step descriptions that are meant to support conservators in the application of these novel materials and methods. The aim of the book is to equip end-users and conservators with essential information and knowledge on the availability and applicability of different nano-materials and dispersed systems. While the book's focus is on the practical aspects, interested readers will also find references to the relevant advanced colloid and material science literature. Main audience: Expert conservators, restorers and technical staff at conservation institutes and museums, students at conservation and restoration schools, and scientists who are new to the field of conservation of artistic and historical artifacts.

Communities have witnessed a fundamental shift in the ways they interact with heritage sites. Much of this change has been driven by the rapid democratization and widespread adoption of enabling technologies. As expediency is embraced in the collection and analysis of data, there may also be a certain amount of intimacy lost with both the tangible and intangible vestiges of the past. Analysis, Conservation, and Restoration of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage is a collection of innovative research on the quantitative methods and digital workflows transforming cultural heritage. There is no contesting the value of advanced non-destructive diagnostic imaging techniques for the analysis of heritage structures and objects. Highlighting topics including 3D modeling, conservation, and digital surveying, this book is ideally designed for conservation and preservation specialists, archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, academicians, and students seeking current research on data-driven, evidence-based decision making to improve intervention outcomes.

"Microclimate for Cultural Heritage: Conservation and Restoration of Indoor and Outdoor Monuments, Second Edition, " is a cutting-edge, theoretical, and practical handbook concerning microclimate, environmental factors, and conservation of cultural heritage. Although the focus is on cultural heritage objects, most of the theory and instrumental methodologies are common to other fields of application, such as atmospheric and environmental sciences.

"Microclimate for Cultural Heritage, Second Edition, " is a useful treatise on microphysics and a practical handbook for conservators and specialists in physics, chemistry, architecture, engineering, geology, and biology who work in the multidisciplinary field of the environment, and, in particular, in the conservation of works of art. Part I, devoted to applied theory, is a concise treatise on microphysics, which includes a survey on the basic ideas of environmental diagnosis and conservation. The second part of the book focuses on practical utilization, and shows in detail how field surveys should be performed, with many suggestions and examples, as well as some common errors to avoid.
Presents updated scientific and technological findings based on the novel European standards on microclimate and cultural heritageIncludes the latest information on experimental research on environmental factors and their impact on materials, such as the behavior of water and its interactions with cultural heritage materialsContains case studies of outdoor and indoor microclimate conditions and their effects, providing ideas for readers facing similar problems caused by heat, water, radiation, pollution, or air motionsCovers instruments and methods for practical applications to help readers understand, to observe and interpret observations, and avoid errors

We all have a stake in the past and in its tangible preservation, and we trust professionals to preserve our cultural heritage for the future. However, restoration in all its forms is entangled in many contemporary theoretical debates and problems. This book is the first concerted effort to examine together the linked philosophies of the different arts of preserving and uncovering the past: the restoration of buildings, conservation of works of art, and editing of literary works to retrieve their original or intended texts. By investigating a series of recent crises in each of these areas, Securing the Past shows how their underlying justifications relate closely to one another. Paul Eggert shows how they have been philosophically undermined by postmodern theories and charts another, richer way forward to a new future for the past.

Like the ancient Roman Pantheon, the U.S. Capitol was designed by its political and aesthetic arbiters to memorialize the virtues, events, and persons most representative of the nation's ideals-an attempt to raise a particular version of the nation's founding to the level of myth. American Pantheon examines the influences upon not only those virtues and persons selected for inclusion in the American pantheon, but also those excluded. Two chapters address the exclusion of slavery and African Americans from the art in the Capitol, a silence made all the more deafening by the major contributions of slaves and free black workers to the construction of the building. Two other authors consider the subject of women emerging as artists, subjects, patrons, and proponents of art in the Capitol, a development that began to emerge only in the second half of the nineteenth century. The Rotunda, the Capitol's principal ceremonial space, was designed in part as an art museum of American history-at least the authorized version of it. It is explored in several of the essays, including discussions of the influence of the early-nineteenth-century Italian sculptors who provided the first sculptural reliefs for the room and the contributions of the mid-nineteenth-century Italian American artist Constantino Brumidi, to the mix of allegory, mythology, and history that permeates the space and indeed the Capitol itself.

The Museum Curator's Guide is a practical reference book for emerging arts and heritage professionals working with a wide range of objects (including fine art, decorative arts, social history, ethnographic and archaeological collections), and explores the core work of the curator within a gallery or museum setting. Nicola Pickering provides a clear introduction to current material culture and museum studies theories, and shows the practical application of these theories to museum collections. She considers the role of the curator, their duties and interaction with objects, and also examines the care or preservation of objects and the ways they can be catalogued, displayed, moved, arranged, stored, interpreted and explained in museums today. The Museum Curator's Guide represents an essential and lasting resource for all those working with the collection, preservation and presentation of objects, including students of collections management and curatorship; current gallery and museum professionals; and private collectors.

This volume tells the singular story of an uncanny object at the cusp of art and science: a 450-year-old automaton known as “the monk.” The walking, gesticulating figure of a friar, in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, is among the earliest extant ancestors of the self-propelled robot. According to lore from the court of Philip II of Spain, the monk represents a portrait of Diego de Alcalá, a humble Franciscan lay brother whose holy corpse was said to be agent to the miraculous cure of Spain’s crown prince as he lay dying in 1562. In tracking the origins of the monk and its legend, the authors visited archives, libraries, and museums across the United States and Europe, probing the paradox of a mechanical object performing an apparently spiritual act. They identified seven kindred automata from the same period, which, they argue, form a paradigmatic class of walking “prime movers,” unprecedented in their combination of visual and functional realism. While most of the literature on automata focuses on the Enlightenment, this enthralling narrative journeys back to the late Renaissance, when clockwork machinery was entirely new, foretelling the evolution of artificial life to come.

The use of analytical methods in studies concerning works of art and archaeological artifacts provides essential information on the materials they are made from, including their composition, age, and methods used in their production. This book explains how to use analytical methods to obtain such information.

Master sculptor Auguste Rodin's illuminating writings on cathedrals in France are especially relevant and significant following the recent fire at Notre Dame. In this volume, the writer and Rodin scholar Rachel Corbett selects excerpts from the famous sculptor's book Cathedrals of France, first published in 1914, just before the outbreak of World War I. Cathedrals were central to the way Rodin thought about his art: he saw them as visual metaphors for the human figure, among the finest examples of craftsmanship known to modern man, and as a model for how to live and work-slowly, brick by brick. Here, Corbett takes the fire at Notre Dame and the concerns over its restoration as an entry point in an exploration of Rodin's cathedrals. Rodin adamantly opposed restoration, as he felt it often did more damage than the original injury. (Many of the cathedrals that Rodin looks at in his texts were, in fact, bombed during the war.) But while he rails against various restoration efforts as evidence that "we are letting our cathedrals die," the book, with its tenderly rendered sketches and written portraits, is itself an attempt to preserve these cathedrals. The selection of texts in this volume is a reminder-as is the tragedy of Notre Dame-of why we ought to appreciate these feats of architecture, whether or not they are still standing today.