Sharing Conservation Decisions: Lessons Learnt from an ICCROM Course
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Editor: Rosalia Varoli-Piazza Editorial assistant: Stefania Mezzabarba Editorial collaboration: Daniela Russo Translation: Joan Reifsnyder, David Giddings English text editing: Christopher McDowall Cover, design and layout: Stefania Mezzabarba No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form Copyright ICCROM 2007 Printed by OGRARO - Rome, Italy CONTENTS FOREWORD Mounir Bouchenaki 5 3 INTRODUCTION Catherine Antomarchi From design to evaluation: the anatomy of an ICCROM course 6 CHAPTER I. Behind the scenes INTRODUCTION Rosalia Varoli-Piazza From the co-ordinator of three SCD courses 11 FROM THE PARTNERS Lidia Rissotto, Sandra Perugini (La Venaria Reale – Turin, Italy) The 4For course for training the trainers: a prototype between models and experiences 13 Astrid Brandt-Grau (Institut National du Patrimoine – Paris, France) The education and training of curators and conservators 18 Anna Valeria Jervis (Istituto Centrale per il Restauro – Rome, Italy) A restorer from ICR in SCD: experiences, evaluations and suggestions 19 Marco Ciatti (Opificio delle Pietre Dure – Florence, Italy) Angels, saints and demons: eight masterpieces restored 21 COURSE MANAGEMENT Paola Camera, Mary Anna Stewart Selection criteria and procedures 27 Isabelle d’Ailhaud de Brisis, Chiara Lespérance Administrative support 29 CHAPTER II. Sharing and communication techniques INTRODUCTION Rosalia Varoli-Piazza Is a course on how to share decisions in the field of cultural heritage really necessary? 32 Nicolao Bonini Decision anomalies and the psychology of decision making 34 Daniela Russo The COM System, shared and participatory communication 38 Paul Arenson Conservation resources on the Web 40 CHAPTER III. History and values INTRODUCTION Rosalia Varoli-Piazza The values of cultural patrimony and some references to history 46 Marie Berducou Cultural heritage values and conservation: a historical perspective 48 Jukka Jokilehto Concepts in international doctrine: conservation between practice and theory 53 Gamini Wijesuriya Complimentary and contradictory aspects of international doctrines and their impact at national levels 59 Vincent Negri Structures and organization of legal systems for the protection of cultural heritage 64 Mini-conferences Problems face to face: the experiences of participants 71 CHAPTER IV. The object and its context INTRODUCTION Rosalia Varoli-Piazza The object and its context 82 Marian Kaminitz Conservation and living cultures 84 Karin Hermerén Use and conservation of contemporary art 88 Simon Warrack Involving the local community in the decision-making process: the German Apsara Project at Angkor Wat 92 4 Monica Martelli Castaldi New criteria for the maintenance of cultural heritage 97 Claudia Kusch,Marica Mercalli, Marisol Valenzuela The Crèche at the Civic Painting Gallery in Imperia: the restoration of a multi-material work 101 Giulia Caneva Plant biology for cultural heritage 105 CHAPTER V. The object as a source of information INTRODUCTION Rosalia Varoli-Piazza The object as a source of information: how do we examine it, how do we look at it? 109 Laura Del Terra Tacit knowledge as an instrument to maintain, share and develop acquired abilities 111 Dinah Eastop, Katriina Simila Documentation as process and outcome 114 Webber Ndoro Documentation for cultural heritage 117 José Luis Pedersoli Scientific analysis and techniques: benefits and limitations 121 Ernesto Borrelli Research and new technology 124 Stefan Michalski How science contributes to risk-based decision making (RBDM) in museum lighting 127 Agnes Brokerhof Towards risk-based decision making - some personal reflections 130 CHAPTER VI. Learn from the emergency INTRODUCTION Rosalia Varoli-Piazza Decision making in emergency situations 135 Alessandro Sidoti The National Library of Florence: difficult decisions following the 1966 flood 136 Paola Camera Florence 1966: comparing experiences 139 Carlo Cacace Risk Map methodology 143 Padre Magro The religious artistic nude amid sneers and glory 146 Paola Camera Assisi: community in emergency 151 Jane Thompson, Sarah Court Learning together: the Herculaneum Conservation Project 154 Paola Camera Paris: particular case studies 161 CHAPTER VII. Tools for the future INTRODUCTION Rosalia Varoli-Piazza Tools for the future 164 Robert Gowing Maximizing scarce resources 167 Daniela Russo The forgotten stakeholder. A lesson by Gael de Guichen 172 Astrid Brandt-Grau Strategic planning and conservation: concepts and tools for SCD 174 Complementary materials, images and other useful resources can be accessed in the attached CD-ROM. Foreword Patrimoine in France, has set up a series of training courses addressing this fundamental topic of shar- 5 ing decisions in the field of conservation/restora- 5 Over the past fifty years, the same period that tion. ICCROM has been in existence, the conservation The 2006 course entitled ‘Sharing Conservation of works of art has changed considerably, and in Decisions’ was very successful, and it opened the this time, there have also been important changes way to extremely fruitful exchanges among muse- in applied research for the conservation and um professionals from different countries, who restoration of cultural property. were able to benefit from and effectively use In the field of archaeological research we no these methodologies and experiences. longer have field missions run by a single archae- ologist who stands in as architect, photographer and topographer - without mentioning all the Mounir Bouchenaki other disciplines contributing to this field. The Director General of ICCROM field of conservation and restoration has devel- oped in the same way. At the beginning of the 21st century, the museum or gallery director who, in isolation with a restoration specialist, decides on the methods for treating a painting or an archaeological artefact no longer exists. Many disciplines have developed around conser- vation in parallel to advances made in science. Most notable are the fields of chemistry and physics, with nuclear physics and digital imaging opening up innumerable possibilities in the con- servation domain. Analyses and diagnostics on the entire work have become a prerequisite to restoration operations. Consequently, decisions are more complex and require the participation of a number of different protagonists, something that was unimaginable forty or fifty years ago. What conservator today would risk cleaning a painting by a 16th, 17th or 18th century master without calling upon various colleagues to make radiograms of the work, to analyse the pigments, to identify the underlying layers… This is why ICCROM, in partnership with the spe- cialized Italian institutions, Istituto Centrale per il Restauro, the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, and La Venaria in Turin, along with the Institut National du Introduction appropriate tempo, and the variations of rhythm and CATHERINE ANTOMARCHI melody you intend to offer. We also have to decide who 6 From design to evaluation: is playing the instruments and what kind of audience they the anatomy will have!” (Robert Ferguson, Our students and ourselves, of an ICCROM Course 2003) THE ICCROM COURSE, A MULTICULTURAL AND MULTI- 2000, A TURNING POINT DISCIPLINARY FORUM In April 2000, ICCROM organized an intensive three-day An ICCROM course provides an ideal venue for 'Sharing seminar on 'Developing strategies in conservation education conservation decisions". First, the audience is always multi- and training' with a selected group of its partners from cultural and multidisciplinary. Second, while most training Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America and Europe. opportunities for mid-career professionals are one or only a Seminar participants came not only from various regions of few days long, the ICCROM international courses last from the world but also comprised a balanced group of experi- three to eight weeks. This is necessary to create the right enced conservators, art historians and scientists, all of them conditions not only to acquire new information and skills involved in the education and training of professionals in the but also to truly share experience, to take another perspec- field of movable cultural heritage. The purpose of the semi- tive from our own work and hopefully to renew our atti- nar was to reflect on the current challenges in the conserva- tudes and approaches. The 'Sharing conservation decisions tion of cultural heritage and how these might be integrated course' responds to the needs of professionals in the field. in education and training, including the ICCROM education Since the first year it was announced the number of appli- and training activities. The following three issues emerged cations has been unusually high compared with other from the discussions: ICCROM courses, and derive from many countries and cul- - the need to re-focus the reflection on the cultural values tural heritage contexts. The applicants are diverse in their of heritage at the core of any conservation actions; professions, and mostly all at senior level positions: direc- - to establish conservation as a bridge between the cultural tors of national heritage institutions, heads of conservation object and the past, present and future generations; departments, heritage policy analysts, site or collections - and finally to encourage, diffuse and protect the plurality managers, architects, archaeologists and researchers, as well of approaches, disciplines and contexts in the field of as professionals involved in training and education. conservation. A first