Managers of Decay

Managers of Decay Conservation and Restoration Edition 2013 Managers of Decay 2 3 Introduction 4 Here we are! Jørgen Wadum 10 The management of aesthetics and decay Norman Tennent 20 Conservation science … or science for conservation? Summary's 30 Abstracts of both Master’s- and post-Master’s-theses Team C&R 96 Professors, lecturers and management Alumni 116 Overview alumni Colophon 128 2 3 4 5 Introduction Here we are! 4 5 6 7 Here we are! In 2005, the University of Amsterdam, was sion. Moreover, it is necessary to cultivate sary skills are presented to the students, passed the baton from the Dutch Cultural insight in, and reflection on, the scientific and the insights and attitudes necessary Heritage Agency (then ICN, now RCE) practice and the choices that have to be for a conservator-restorer are cultivated. and the SRAL (Foundation Conservation made when interfering in the materials. During the master phase the students are Studios Limburg) to further develop and The team of the Conservation and restora- confronted with all aspects of the profes- maintain the educational programme for tion department (C&R) teaches the students sion within its role as a scientific discipline. conservator-restorers in The Netherlands. and the ‘conservator-restorers in training’ The students discover and develop their Now that the fourth group has graduated (rio’s) to use an analytical approach which manual dexterity and become aware of the University, we can leave the early hectic will help them develop a critical and the central role of research at all stages of years behind us and take a moment to inquisitive attitude. Curiosity combined the conservation process. The goal of the realize how much we have accomplished. with inventiveness are key principles. master course is not to inform the students Together with our partners, the RCE, SRAL, The programme consists of three about every possible variety on a problem the RMA and many other museums and consecutive phases [table 1]; the minor, they could encounter in their professional institutes that deal with cultural heritage, the master and the post-initial phase, each career, but to teach them a methodology we are trying to establish our Dutch edu- has its own didactical principle. The minor and a critical attitude which enables them cational and research programme in the provides a condensed introduction to sev- to approach problems in conservation and conservation and restoration of cultural eral aspects of the profession: conservation restoration with a scientific attitude and heritage within the international field. In and restoration theory as well as the neces- from a scientific viewpoint. The students’ the last mid-term review of the programme in 2010, the final conclusion of the panel was: “The programme is among the leading conservation programmes in Europe”¹ which gives us enough reason to keep firmly upon this road. By incorporating the programme in an academic setting, the intention was not only to give a boost to the profession of conservator-restorer on the road to emancipation and profes- sionalization, but also to establish conservation and restoration as an independent scientific discipline. The orientation of the educational programme is towards a scientific approach to the profession, and can be seen to be comparable with the orientation of the programme a student follows to become a doctor or a dentist. With each of these educational programmes it is crucial to combine specialist knowledge and manual dexterity with an interdisciplinary approach to the broad issues of the profes- [table 1] Structure of the UvA C&R programme ¹ Midterm review report, May 2010 p. 5. 6 7 8 9 capabilities for an integral approach to ings will never leave the desk-drawer or conservation problems with all their the hard-disk of the computer, neither the complexities, increases during the master. profession cultural heritage, or society Understanding the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ as a whole will benefit from its results. of the choices they make, the actions they Visibility is therefore crucial. If people undertake, and the relations between are convinced that we have a collective the object, its context, and the scientific responsibility for our cultural heritage, properties of the material, is crucial for then the visibility of research results is in- this approach. The frame of reference they dispensable for our professional colleagues obtain enables the master students to per- and for the keepers of cultural heritage. In form the research for their master thesis order to achieve this, our alumni are the with minimal supervision. best ambassadors. The post-initial phase (PI) prepares the This publication defines the added conservator-restorer in training (rio) for a value of our programme by bringing to professional life as an academically-trained fruition applicable knowledge for the conservator-restorer. During the PI-phase conservation profession. Please enjoy! the focus lies on independent work and the gaining of experience both in the treatment Suzanne Maarschalkerweerd of objects as the undertaking of research. Programme manager Conservation and The first year of the PI offers the rio the restoration of cultural heritage chance to either develop in the broadness University of Amsterdam ■ of the profession, or to specialize. During the internships in the second year the duality of the programme – thinking and doing – is applied in the professional field enabling the rio to develop a working routine while he is confronted with increasingly difficult assignments. These aspects eventually culminate in the writ- ing of a PI-thesis based on a complex and complete treatment. The fact that research is an intrinsic part of academic schooling is something we teach our students from day one of their training. Obviously the research has to be relevant for the profession and for cultural heritage and society in the broadest sense. This relevance is most prominently visible in the choice of the research questions which have a direct impact on the relevance of the results of the research. However relevant the research may be, if the find- 8 9 10 11 Jørgen Wadum The management of aesthetics and decay 10 11 13 The management of aesthetics and decay [Jørgen Wadum] From a UvA-C&R perspective conservation can be de- scribed as a discipline involving examination, documentation, preventive care, and research directed toward the long-term safekeeping of cultural heritage objects. In a collaborative effort with curators / technical art historians¹ and conservation scientists, the conservator-restorers² study the structure of individual objects, materials and methods of fabrication, as well as techniques and materials used in past conservation treatments. This interdisciplinary approach provides not only vital information on the makers’ original intent, but also generates knowledge of the feasibility of possible interventions and the way in which conservation treatments affect the structure and appearance of our heritage. Conservation-Restoration A conservator is constantly facing new and unique complex challenges, when confronted with condition assessments and eventually a treatment of cultural objects which are open to numerous interpretations and pos- sibilities for their care. Success in caring for and preserving our multifac- eted cultural heritage requires an academically trained professional who is able to perceive what the object to be cared for is, where it originates from, the context in which it was made, and the materials which were employed. Furthermore, this perception should be fused with a similarly sound knowledge and understanding of the deterioration and decay mechanisms of the materials and a variety of measures which could be implemented to preserve the object. By contextualising these qualities gleaned from each object or group of objects by means of close scrutiny with the naked eye, through the stereomicroscope or by means of various photographic techniques or advanced (preferably non-destructive) scientific analyses, and placing the results in the broader context of the material and technical development of the artist or craftsman, the conservation documentation reaches a level where the information is sufficient to serve all purposes of understanding and caring for the physical materials which constitute each object. Conservation also embraces preventive conservation, remedial conservation and restoration. Conservation consists of indirect and direct ¹ The term ‘Technical art history’ was possibly for the first time the focus of Beckmann, J., (1739-1811) in his book Einleitung zur Technologie oder zur Kenntniß der Handwerke, Fabriken und Manufakturen … nebst Beiträgen zur Kunstgeschichte, Göttingen 1777. See Koller, M., “Technische Kunstgeschichte” in Forschung, Lehre und Praxis’, in Kunstgeschichte aktuell, Der Verband österreichischer Kunsthistorikerinnen und Kunsthistoriker, vol. XXII (2005) web-publication: http://kunsthistoriker.at/artikel.php?itemid=323&menuid=5&rubrikid=1&pubid=38#top ² The document “The Conservator-Restorer: a Definition of the Profession”, adopted in 1984 by ICOM-CC and succes- sively by ICOM, uses the term ‘conservator-restorer’ as a compromise, as the same professional is called ‘conservator’ in English-speaking countries and ‘restorer’ in those where Romanic and Germanic languages are spoken. In this text, for the sake of simplicity, the word ‘conservator’ comprises both terms and will be used throughout. 13 14 15 actions aiming at retarding deterioration and preventing damage by Integrity of the object creating conditions optimal for the preservation of cultural heritage, It is often true that when a conservator is considering carrying out treat- as far as is compatible with its social use. Preventive conservation also ment of a work of art, the first question that springs to mind is how to do encompasses correct handling, transport, use, storage and display, all it. The greater part of conservation research still focuses on the challenges aspects that require guidelines and procedures based on the physical of the physical condition of the object, the deterioration of materials and behaviour and condition of the objects in question.

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