Robyn Sloggett

Expanding the Conservation Canon ASSESSING CROSS-CULTURAL AND INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIONS IN CONSERVATION

Abstract This paper explores some of the dilemmas that relate to the existence of collections of cultural material and efforts to preserve them. It examines issues that arise when multiple points of view are focused on the origins, ownership, custodianship and meaning of such material. Such an investigation is impossible without exploring the landscape in which cultural materials conservation has developed. In doing this it is necessary to identify the boundaries of the disciplinary territory that currently frame conservation practice, and to investigate the role of conservation at the edges of this terrain; the boundary knowledge of the discipline where interdisciplinary knowledge is developed and traded. This paper argues that conservation has an important contribution to make along the axis of broader social and humanitarian concerns, and that new disciplinary and cultural intersections are a critical part of contemporary conservation practice. It also discusses some strategies that may usefully strengthen the role of conservation beyond institutions, and support collaborations for cultural replenishment and continuity.

Beyond the Material: Idea, Concept, Process, and Their Function in the Conservation of the Conceptual Art of Mike Parr

AbstractConceptual artwork presents particular problems for conservators. Decisions about treatment cannot necessarily take as a central construct the concerns raised by material degradation. Issues of material may be irrelevant or inappropriate as a basis for treatment decisions. Rather, effective tools for the conservator must grow out of a proper understanding of the intellectual and philosophical basis for the work. This article focuses on the work of conceptual artist Mike Parr and examines the role of the conservator in the preservation of a range of Parrs material- based works.

Waringarri Aboriginal Arts: Rethinking practices in conservation documentation through assessing the needs of a community arts centre

Abstract The conservation profession has well established methods and practices for addressing preservation needs. The practicality of these, however, can be called into question when they are applied outside an institutional environment, particularly in a different cultural context. This paper explores the conservation needs of an Aboriginal community art centre. Over several years a partnership between the Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation at The University of Melbourne and Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra, Western Australia, has seen the development of a method for the assessment and care of Waringarri’s permanent community collections. The deterioration factors impacting the preservation of cultural material in the East Kimberley region were considered. Limited documentation arising from a lack of infrastructure, resources and funding was found to be one of the key conservation issues. A strategy is recommended that seeks a national approach to conservation documentation of Indigenous art. This paper suggests that members of the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material (AICCM) form a Special Interest Group, much like the Archives Society of Australia’s Indigenous Issues Special Interest Group, to collaborate with representatives from art centres and to work towards a framework for training, resources and funding to support the preservation of Aboriginal cultural material.

Bark paintings and orchids: a technical discussion of bark paintings from Arnhem Land

Abstract Bark paintings form a significant part of collections, both public and private, in Australia and overseas. They are significant historically, culturally and aesthetically. For conservators they also present significant conservation issues. At present there is a relatively small body of literature available that deals with their materials and techniques, mechanisms of degradation and the ethical issues surrounding their conservation. This paper examines the use of orchid juice as one of the most common natural binders used in bark paintings throughout Arnhem Land and the surrounding islands. It describes the botany of orchids that have been identified as being used in the production of bark paintings, examines accounts of bark painting production using orchid juice; and assesses methods appropriate for the analysis of orchid juice binders.

Art crime: fraud and forensics

The role of scientific investigation in the attribution and authentication of art and antiquities is accepted as a necessary, although hardly a sufficient, part of any rigorous assessment. While historical studies and connoisseurship provide useful investigatory frameworks for attribution, scientific methods provide means by which to interrogate the materials and techniques of the object, enabling a comprehensive collection of data about the construction and history of a work. This provides contestable and verifiable evidence of the kind required in legal cases. When the investigation includes claims of fraud then the research moves beyond scholarly investigation and into the domains of policing and the law. Research relating to cases of art fraud therefore requires evidence to be developed in ways that will support the need for the investigation to show intention and deception. It is possible to investigate the action of ‘intending to deceive’ by assessing the choice of materials and the construction of a work. While not conclusive evidence, these materials-based studies are often significant in assisting the jury to understand the process of developing and trading fake art.

The Significance of Continuity and Change: Understanding and Preserving Aboriginal Catholic Church Art in Wadeye

Abstract The concept of national significance is used for a number of purposes including access to funding, across a range of sectors. It is embedded in a complicated set of assumptions that do not align easily with how cultural material held in remote Indigenous communities across Australia is most usefully assessed. In the Aboriginal community of Wadeye (Port Keats) in the Northern Territory the Kanamkek-Yile Ngala Museum supports the preservation of local cultural material. Of particular importance are paintings produced for the altar of the Port Keats Church more than 40 years ago by senior Aboriginal men, and which formed an important aesthetic in the Old Church. Currently under the care of the Kanamkek-Yile Ngala Museum, these paintings remain more or less intact, despite some loss and damage. Their maintenance and conservation, however, presents a range of complex issues, highlighting difficulties encountered in the preservation of cultural material in remote and regional Australia, and suggesting the need for new ways of assessing significance.

Peacock Ink: Investigation into the Constituents of the Most Prized Ink of Persia

Abstract Peacock ink, known as Murakkabi ṭāvūsī, was created and used by Persian master calligraphers especially from the 14th century onwards. It is a sub-category of Persian ink which contains four main ingredients: lamp black, gum Arabic, green vitriol (ferrous sulphate) and gall nut extract (tannic acid). It is differentiated from other inks in that it contains many additional secondary ingredients which will be covered in this paper. Peacock ink derives its name from the range of different coloured materials added to the ink as well as the blue-green undertone this predominantly black ink is said to have. It is reputed to be a high-quality product, rumoured to stay on paper for centuries and is not affected by water, abrasion or other detrimental factors. It was the aim of this investigation to identify and describe in detail ingredients used to make this ink by finding and translating 17 recipes contained in 11 Persian treatises (15th–16th ce). Of the 31 ingredients found, 16 are plant based, 13 minerals, and 2 animal (protein) based, and in all cases water was used as the vehicle.

Recalibrating meaning and building context for collections of distantiated stone tools

ABSTRACT Stone tool and other lithic material produced by Australian Aboriginal people has been collected as evidence to support a range of theoretical and practical constructions, including the development of European societies, and Aboriginal occupation and land use. In the middle of the twentieth century, Dr Leonhard Adam built a relatively small collection of lithic material at the University of Melbourne, sourced as gifts or sales from local collectors, and which traded internationally in the development of the University’s ethnographic collection. Focusing on the archives associated with this collection, this paper examines how material was collected, documented and traded. This in turn highlights the ways in which collecting has severely compromised evidential function, and demonstrates how interrogating archives that describe such collecting practices helps in assessing and defining critical issues of verification and evidential value that remain to be addressed if such collections are to be used into the future.

A National Conservation Policy for a New Millennium—Building Opportunity, Extending Capacity and Securing Integration in Cultural Materials Conservation

In Launceston, in October 1995, the Federal Government launched Australias National Conservation Policy for the Conservation of Movable Cultural Heritage. This policy, developed for the Cultural Ministers Council (Australia), was one of the very few national materials conservation policies in the world. The associated strategy led to the development of important frameworks and tools for significance assessment, conservation planning, training, disaster preparedness and environmental guidelines, and in identification of skills gaps and research needs. The political, economic and technological environment in which conservators operate has changed considerably since 1995, and, with the majority of conservators engaged by public institutions, many constituencies in Australia remain relatively untouched by the work of the profession. As a result there exist many new opportunities for conservators to engage with individuals and communities, but a national focus is required to most effectively garner resources, avoid duplication and take advantage of new technologies. This paper examines the case for a new iteration of a national policy for the conservation of Australias cultural heritage material, and outlines the work needed to achieve this.

Fluorimetric Analysis of the Constituent Dyes Within Daylight Fluorescent Pigments: Implications for Display and Preservation of Daylight Fluorescent Artwork

Abstract Daylight fluorescent pigments are formulated with a select range of colorants that both absorb and emit strongly in the visible region. To ensure best practices in the preservation and authentication of artworks that contain daylight fluorescent colorants, this study investigates the fluorescent dye formulation behind daylight fluorescent pigments by specifically examining the DayGlo daylight fluorescent pigment range. A recently developed extraction–separation protocol was applied to isolate individual dye components of each pigment for fluorescence analysis. Through fluorimetric analysis at the constituent dye level, the formulation behind each pigments observed hue was characterized and interaction by energy transfer between specific dye pairs was established. This research finds that complex dye formulations employed in daylight fluorescent pigment manufacture raise several implications for the display and treatment of this modern palette.