Aic
A m e r i c a n
I n s t i t u t e
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Historic
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Inside
From the Executive Director 2
AIC News 3
Annual Meeting News 4
FAIC News 6
People 10
In Memorium 10
Grants, Awards, and Fellowships 13
Allied Organizations 14
Grant and Fellowship Deadlines 15
Washington Watch 16
Worth Noting 16
Specialty Groups 17
Courses, Conferences, and Seminars 23
Positions, Internships, and Fellowships 28
Hazardous Holdings, AIC Archives Discussion Group
June 12, 2005, 3:45 5:15 p.m.
Compiled by Susan M. Peckham, Co-moderator, Paper Conservator, National Archives and
Records Administration
Many archival collections contain more than paper--they often include eclectic
materials that might carry specific health hazards. Past research by Catharine Hawks
and Kathryn Makos revealed some of the more common hazards found in collections,
especially ethnographic and natural history collections. A summary of their research
can be found at: http://aic.stanford.edu/sg/cipp/postpr ints2001.html#hawks. But,
despite the broad focus of the research, it has yet to reach the archives and book and
paper groups. Conservators who work primarily with paper-based materials are at risk
for exposure to radiation and pesticides such as arsenic, and for contact with potential-
ly infected biological materials, blood borne pathogens, and specific chemicals.
The 2005 AIC Archives Discussion Group met in Minneapolis on Sunday, June
12, to discuss hazardous holdings.The panel was moderated by Linda Blaser,
Preservation Officer, National Archives and Records Administration. Panel members
provided images and descriptions of hazards and outlined resources for devising meth-
ods for handling hazardous materials safely. Presenters and discussants found that
although the hazards are situation specific, solutions designed to prevent or minimize
exposure are similar to those faced by conservators in other fields. Summaries of some
of these situations are found below, along with answers to some of the questions that
discussants found they had in common.
Armed and Dangerous
Eileen Blankenbaker, Objects Conservator, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum,Washington, DC
Handling hazardous materials and how these materials affect nearby objects is a
concern for the conservators at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
(USHMM) because of the large number of items that might have been contaminated
during wartime. Eileen Blankenbaker made the following astute point: "It is not just
ethnographic artifacts that could be exposed to pesticide or other hazardous materials
but artifacts connected to wartime, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters that
may harbor residues that can be problematic. It's often helpful to look at related items
or clues in a collection, archive, or other documentation that may lead one to ques-
tion what exactly is contained in the collection."
The Holocaust Museum staff works with many artifacts rescued from concentra-
tion camps, such as the 4,000 shoes it has in its collection, and the rotating collections
of uniforms on loan from museums at former camps. At some point, most of the uni-
forms have been cleaned and they are not considered hazardous. However, the poten-
tial for contamination exists because historical records show that, during the liberation
of the camps, Allied troops used DDT sprayers to kill typhus-spreading lice. Although
shoes in the USHMM collection tested negative for pesticide residues, these items are
handled with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent skin
September 2005
Vol. 30, No. 5
continued on page 11
Call for General Session
Papers
AIC members interested in pre-
senting papers during the General
Session of the 2006 Meeting,
should contact Eliza Gilligan at
gilligane@si.edu. Details relating to
the submission process can be
found on our website at
www.aic-faic.org.The deadline for
submission of abstracts is
September 16, 2005.
2 AIC NEWS, September 2005
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A
IC NEWS STAFF
Lisa Goldberg, Editor
Eryl P.Wentworth, Managing Editor
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© Copyright 2005. AIC News cannot be reproduced in
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AIC NEWS
From the Executive Director
The past eight months have been a period
of significant transitions for AIC. Change, while
disruptive at times, can also spur an organiza-
tion to evaluate its procedures and activities.
AIC has implemented a new accounting sys-
tem, developed and documented office proce-
dures, and fine-tuned standard activities.We are
busy retooling, as every organization must do
periodically. I want to assure you, however, that
as difficult as change can be, we are pleased and
excited by where we are and where we are
going.
First, we have a terrific staff--new staff has
mixed with existing staff, resulting in and gen-
erating new ideas and energy. Most positions
have continued to carry the same or similar
responsibilities, yet we now also have the new position of membership manager.With
recent initiatives focused on lapsed members and new member benefits, we have
already begun to see a climb in membership numbers!
One critical need at AIC is to upgrade our technology.Typical of most small,
nonprofit associations, AIC responded to new technology in a piecemeal fashion that
has, over the years, resulted in inefficient support systems.We are currently undertak-
ing an IT audit that will help us look globally at where we are today and what we
need in order to ground AIC firmly in the 21st century.The report from the IT audit
will provide the information we need to seek grant funds to upgrade our membership
database, strengthen our website, and better integrate our activities.
We are also looking forward in the coming year to the next stages of certification
development.We will be assisting Terry Drayman-Weisser and her able committee in
the writing of grant proposals to obtain the funding needed to complete a plan for a
certification program--a plan that will then be distributed to the membership for dis-
cussion.
Part of the necessity of "getting our house in order" is to be able to efficiently
manage cultivation and recruitment efforts for the FAIC. Following the revisions to
the FAIC bylaws at the end of 2004, we are just beginning to build the new FAIC
board and implement the AIC and FAIC development plan.
Be sure to join us in Providence, RI, on June 1619, for AIC's 34th Annual
Meeting. Learn more about the meeting theme and logistics in this issue of AIC News
and on the AIC website!
None of these transitions would be possible, of course, without the support and
guidance of the AIC board of directors; members of specialty groups, committees, and
task forces; and dedicated members like you.Thank you all.
Be sure to join us in Providence, RI, on June 1619, for AIC's 34th Annual
Meeting. Learn more about the meeting theme and logistics in this issue of AIC News
and on the AIC website!
--Eryl P.Wentworth
AIC FAIC Executive Director
Correction:
The AIC news staff expresses its apologies for a mistake that appeared on page four of the July AIC News (vol. 30, no.4), in
which the former affiliation for Irene Brückle was incorrectly listed as the University of Delaware Art Conservation
Program instead of the Buffalo State College Art Conservation program. Irene Brückle was a much loved and esteemed
member of the faculty at the Buffalo State College program for many years, as was evidenced by the letters from alumnae
prior to presentation of the award.
3 AIC NEWS, September 2005
AIC News
AIC Workshop Ideas Sought
AIC is accepting workshop propos-
als for the 2006 Annual Meeting in
Providence, Rhode Island, and for other
dates and locations.The deadline is
October 1.Annual Meeting workshop
proposals are sought for Friday, June 16.
These workshops must be one-day or less
in length. For other dates and locations,
proposals or suggestions for workshops of
any length are welcome. Individuals,
organizations, and AIC specialty groups
may propose events. Developed proposals
will be reviewed by the AIC Education
and Training Committee. Please contact
Eric Pourchot, Program Officer for
Professional Development, at epour-
chot@aic-faic.org or 202-452-9545, ext.
12.
New Fellow Profile: Janice
Schopfer
Janice Schopfer is a conservator of
works of art on paper at the Fine Arts
Museum of San Francisco.The conserva-
tion lab is located at the Legion of
Honor, and is associated with the
Achenbach Prints and Drawings
Collection. Janice is primarily responsible
for contract work done for other institu-
tions, private collectors, trustees, art deal-
ers, and the general public under the aus-
pices of the Western Regional Paper
Conservation Laboratory.This work
involves the examination, documenta-
tion, and treatment of a wide variety of
art on paper, ranging from old master
prints and drawings to contemporary art,
illuminated manuscripts, Japanese wood
block prints, historic artifacts, photo-
graphs, and artist books. Her work for
the museum includes treatment of art-
works for exhibition, loan, and collection
grants. In addition to her regular duties
in the laboratory, Janice has mentored
and inspired more than 30 interns from
both graduate programs and the interna-
tional conservation community.
Janice studied liberal arts, with an
emphasis on book arts, and in 1978
received a BFA with Honors from Lone
Mountain College in San Francisco. She
completed apprenticeships in letterpress
printing and book design, and received
an NEA grant to study fine hand book-
binding with Barbara Fallon Hiller.
Janice started her conservation training
in 1978 as an assistant to Karen Zukor
who was working in private practice.
Janice became a volunteer in the paper
conservation lab at the Fine Arts
Museum of San Francisco in 1980, and
was hired there in 1982.This was the
beginning of her apprenticeship in
paper conservation under the supervi-
sion of Robert Futernick. Janice went
on to complete an NEA Advanced
Internship in Conservation at the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art under
the supervision of Victoria Blyth-Hill.
She was then hired by the Bishop
Museum in Honolulu to head the paper
laboratory at the Pacific Regional
Conservation Center, and remained
there until 1990, when she left for her
current position with the Fine Arts
Museum of San Francisco. Janice
became an AIC Professional Associate in
1980, and the Membership Committee
elected her an AIC Fellow in May
2004.
New Fellow Profile: Katharine
Untch
Katharine Untch received her
Fellow Membership status in October
2004.With over 20 years' experience in
the conservation of three-dimensional
art and archaeological materials, she
recently accepted a new position as
Conservator for Architectural
Resources Group in San Francisco;
ARG also has offices in Pasadena and
Seattle. At ARG, Ms. Untch manages
conservation projects and conducts
conservation assessments, research, and
treatments for historic buildings, sites,
and monuments.
Ms. Untch earned a B.A. cum
laude from Pomona College in
Claremont, California where she
majored in Studio Art and Sculpture
and minored in Art History. She
received an M.A. and a Certificate of
Advanced Studies in Conservation from
Buffalo State College. Her early posi-
tions include working at the Asian Art
Museum in San Francisco and on
archaeological sites in the
Mediterranean and Middle East. From
1996 to 2001, she was the head of the
Objects Conservation Department at
the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
where she designed and built a new
conservation facility, upgraded storage,
expanded the department to include
new positions, and hired staff.
As a contract Project Specialist at
the Getty Conservation Institute from
2001 to 2005, Ms. Untch expanded
international education strategies for
the conservation of cultural heritage;
led the Directors' Retreats for the
Advancement of Conservation
Education; provided research, expertise,
and project management for the
Museum Emergency Programme in concert
with ICOM and ICCROM; and devel-
oped curricula for both face-to-face
and web-based educational programs.
Ms. Untch's contributions to the
conservation profession are nothing less
than impressive. She has led workshops
for public, teacher, and conservation
audiences and has lectured at colleges.
Ms. Untch has been a mentor to many
students, interns, and fellow conservators
and has generously interacted with stu-
dents and colleagues at conferences,
workshops, and meetings. She has
reviewed grants for IMLS, NEH,
NCPTT, and The Getty Foundation and
has served as a panelist for IMLS. She
has also authored numerous successful
grant proposals that resulted in funding
from such organizations as the Samuel
H. Kress Foundation, the George Stout
Fund,The Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation, the IMLS, and the NEH.
Ms. Untch has served AIC with
great dedication as Secretary/Treasurer of
the Objects Specialty Group; Chair of
the AIC Special Task Force on Natural
Disaster Mitigation, Response, and
Recovery; Annual Meeting Program
Chair on Emergency Preparedness,
Response, and Recovery; and most
recently as a two-term Director of
Professional Education and Training on
the AIC Board. In her most recent role,
Ms. Untch expanded AIC's program for
Professional Development and
Continuing Education from a handful of
workshops offered at annual meetings, to
a more sustainable national program that
offers workshops around the country. Ms.
Untch has worked tirelessly in coordinat-
ing program strategies; authoring and co-
authoring successful grants; hiring and
training AIC's first Program Officer for
Professional Development; and providing
oversight and steerage for the program's
first few years of expansion.
Our profession has been significantly
enriched by Ms. Schopfer's and Ms.
Untch's tireless service, generosity, and
commitment.We are pleased to welcome
them both as AIC Fellows.
4 AIC NEWS, September 2005
Annual Meeting News
AIC 34th Annual Meeting
June 1619, 2006
Providence, Rhode Island
06 Annual Meeting Theme: Using
Artifacts: Is Conservation
Compromised?
When does society have the right
to use cultural property? Access to and
use of cultural property is constantly
debated.When making the decision to
use an object, possible damage or alter-
ation to the object's physical condition,
perceived value(s), or possible future
uses is considered.This year's meeting
will explore the criteria that influence
the decision making process.
Location
Providence celebrates a rich histo-
ry, natural beauty, and the diverse talents
and cultures of its residents. It is a city
made up of more than 30 small villages,
each with its own name and distinct
personality.
Centrally located in the heart of
Rhode Island, Providence has 39 miles
of coastline and architecture that echoes
its colonial roots. It is a unique blend of
Old World charm and modern sophisti-
cation. Duck into a funky bistro for a
bite to eat. Glide down the Providence
River in a gondola.You can do it all
right in the heart of the city.
For more information, access the
Providence Warwick Convention and
Visitors Bureau's website at http://
www.pwcvb.com/Visitors/index.cfm.
Tentative Schedule of Activities
· Friday, June 16
Workshops and Tours
· Saturday, June 17
General Session, Specialty Group
Sessions, Exhibit Hall, Opening
Reception
· Sunday, June 18
General Session, Specialty Group
Sessions, Exhibit Hall, Issues Session,
AIC Business Meeting, Party2
· Monday, June 19
Specialty Group Sessions
2006 Annual Meeting Registration
· General Registration
(It is important to note that these fees do not
include workshops, tours, or other ticketed
events.)
Early Bird
Advance Rate
Onsite
(Before
(April 2
(After
April 1)
May 8)
May 8)
Member:
$270
$300
$335
Non-Member:
$375
$405
$440
Students:
$80
$100
$115
· Other Ticketed Events
(Fees for tours, luncheons, and evening events
have not yet been determined.)
Workshops:
Full Day
Half Day
$130.00
$75
Accommodations
The Westin Providence
One West Exchange Street
Providence, RI 02903
Tel: (401) 598-8000 or (800) Westin1
Fax: (401) 598-8200
$153 single/double and $173
triple/quad, plus tax
www.westin.com/providence
Our Annual Meeting site is The
Westin Providence. Attached to the
Rhode Island Convention Center and
Providence Place Mall in the heart of
downtown,The Westin Providence--with
its glass-domed rotunda, red brick tower,
and stately décor--reflects the region's
rich historic heritage.The hotel will be
accepting reservations on a first come, first
served basis. For more information call
(800) Westin1.To receive our special dis-
count, inform the agent that you will be
attending the American Institute for
Conservation's Annual Meeting. Be
advised that after Friday, May 26, 2006,
reservations will only be accepted on a
rate- and space-available basis.
Registration Brochure
Please look for your copy of this
year's registration brochure in February
2006! In the meantime, please be sure
to visit our website (www.aic-faic.org)
for additional information and updates
as they occur.
If you are not a member but
would like to receive promotional
materials relating to the Annual
Meeting you may contact Ruth Seyler,
Membership Manager, at (202) 452-
9545 ext. 18; or rseyler@aic-faic.org.
Exhibit Hall Open
Because more than 800 of our
most active members attend this
event each year, our Annual
Meeting is a great opportunity
for vendors to display their
products and services. Our
members value contact with
suppliers as it gives them an
opportunity to meet and share
ideas with the companies whose
resources they use.
As an exhibitor, your best
marketing value at the 2006
Annual Meeting are the Gold
and Silver Exhibit Hall packages.
These packages combine an
Exhibit Booth and multiple
advertising opportunities,
allowing you to make a big
impact on AIC's meeting
attendees without breaking the
bank. Contact: Ruth Seyler (202)
452-9545 x18;
rseyler@aic-faic.org.
Advertising Opportunities at the
2006 Annual Meeting
In addition to the exhibit hall,
advertising opportunities are
available in our Annual Meeting
publications (registration
brochure, final program, and
abstract book), providing three
additional ways to reach your
target market and attract
conference participants to your
exhibit booth. Also, if you are
unable to attend the meeting,
advertising in our annual
meeting publications is a good
way to maintain business
contacts and announce new
products. Please note that all ads
are black and white. Contact:
Ruth Seyler (202) 452-9545 x18;
rseyler@aic-faic.org.
5 AIC NEWS, September 2005
A Summary of the 2005
Issues Session, AIC Annual
Meeting, Minneapolis
As one of the many people involved
in planning AIC's 33rd Annual Meeting in
Minneapolis in June 2005, I was pleased
that the meeting was a success.The
General Session topic,"Documentation
Dilemma: Managing Conservation Data
in the 21st Century," interested the audi-
ence and sparked numerous questions at
the end of all three sessions.After the
General Session, an issues session was held,
and about 100 people participated, seated
at tables of ten people each. Guy
Munsch, one of the General Session
Committee members, composed an inci-
sive questionnaire that was distributed to
participants to help spark discussion.The
Issues Session was not moderated, but
members of the General Session
Committee sat at tables to monitor and
guide the discussion as necessary.
The questionnaire included a space
where respondents could identify them-
selves if they wished.Thirty question-
naires were returned, and 21 of the
respondents chose to identify themselves.
Of the specialties indicated, painting con-
servation was specified nine times, objects
and paper conservation five times each,
education twice, and administration,
architecture, frames, furniture, and textiles
were noted once each.Twenty respon-
dents indicated the number of years they
had been practicing conservation.Their
answers ranged from as few as 11 years to
as many as 45.The average number of
years in the field was 25, indicating that
there was a significant level of experience
and expertise in the room.
Even though information was not
solicited from a statistically valid sample
of AIC members, the General Session
Committee thought AIC members--
especially those members who could
not attend the Annual Meeting--would
benefit from knowing what was dis-
cussed after the General Session. It is
not possible to report in detail all the
responses to every question, and many
of the responses were difficult to inter-
pret, but the following is a summary of
the more salient points found in these
responses. Most of the responses have
been paraphrased for clarity.
Digital photography seemed to be
in the forefront of many respondents'
minds. It seems that many of the
respondents thought they were being
asked about digital photography docu-
mentation in particular when they were
really being asked about documentation
in general. (This might be because the
third part of the General Session ended
with Tim Vitale's excellent presentation
on digital photography.)
The first question on the question-
naire was:
What are conservators' expec-
tations for the percentage of time they
devote to documentation?
Five people
said that digital photo processing
required more time be spent on docu-
mentation. One person said that he
spent as little time as possible on docu-
mentation--just enough to meet mini-
mal professional requirements and to
adequately document treatment.Two
people said that they spent 10% of their
time preparing documentation, two said
15%, two said 25%, three said 30%, two
said 3040%, and two said 30-50%. One
person merely said he spent "too much"
time on documentation, and two people
said "more [time] than in the past, but
the quality is improving".
The second question was:
What
aspects of conservation documentation
are conservator-critical? What aspects
should be delegated?
There was wide
agreement in response to this question,
and most of the responses could be
summarized by one individual's state-
ment that "Often the conservator needs
to indicate what exactly must be cap-
tured by documentation, whether the
capture is photographic, textual, analyti-
cal, rationale, etc." Most respondents
agreed that electronic data input can be
delegated, but that the input must be
reviewed and approved by a conserva-
tor.Three respondents said that no
aspects of documentation should be
delegated to non-conservators.
The third question was:
Do you
use documentation for analytically
informing treatment or just for record
keeping? Will this change based on new
technologies?
There was wide agree-
ment on this question.Twenty-one
respondents said that documentation is
used both analytically, to inform treat-
ment, and as record keeping. One
response summarized this opinion well:
"The preliminary report forms the basis
for future changes, and documentation
changes throughout the process."Three
respondents said they used documenta-
tion for record keeping only. Many
respondents did not address the second
part of this question, but all 14 of those
who did agreed that new technologies
will improve a conservator's ability to
analytically inform treatments.
The fourth question was:
Is there a
generation gap in documentation
approaches and technology usage? Is this
a one-time phenomenon or is conserva-
tion documentation becoming a special-
ization in and of itself?
Thirteen respon-
dents acknowledged that there is a gen-
eration gap, and four disagreed. One per-
son wrote that the gap is a one-time
occurrence due to the transition from
film photography to digital photography.
Other respondents countered this by
indicating that the more things change
the more they stay the same, and that
keeping up with documentation technol-
ogy is part of a conservator's professional
responsibility. Lastly, another respondent
said that instead of focusing on the gen-
eration gap, veteran conservators and
novices should focus on what they can
learn from each other.
Many respondents assumed the
second part of this question--whether
documentation is becoming a sub-spe-
cialty--referred only to digital photog-
raphy. Regardless, opinions were fairly
evenly split. Five respondents said that
documentation is becoming a subspe-
cialty, and four said that it is not. One
said that documentation photography
could be a specialization, and that those
doing it professionally use techniques
that other conservators might be unfa-
miliar with. Another respondent said
that many conservators do not have the
skills to accurately make digital image
captures, but that this will change as sys-
tems become more uniform and user-
friendly. One respondent said that in
large institutions, documentation could
more easily become a subspecialty, but
in small institutions and private prac-
tices, it could not. Finally, another
respondent said that documentation
probably will not become a subspecialty
as long as there is a lack of funds to sup-
port training, internships, and job posi-
tions in this area.
The fifth question was:
The massive
amount of data that can be collected
implies that database-driven systems
automatically provide a net knowledge
gain, but is something also being lost? Do
data formats impede the type of docu-
mentation conservators need?
Many
6 AIC NEWS, September 2005
respondents did not answer this question
and might not have understood it.Those
who did answer the question answered it
in many different ways. Some had con-
cerns that while data might be collected
in databases, often the data is not ana-
lyzed because analysis requires more time
and skill. Other respondents expressed
concern about the impermanency of
digital records. Several respondents noted
that databases drain a conservators' time,
which is mainly spent entering data.
However, a general theme of many of
the answers was that, on the whole, more
is gained by utilizing database-driven sys-
tems than is lost.
The sixth and last question was:
Records authenticity--how much back-
up is enough? And off-site records--
what would it mean if all electronic
records were lost due either to a techni-
cal failure or a natural disaster?
Three
people indicated that a loss would be
tragic, and most of the respondents
seemed to agree.Ten suggested that the
loss would not be a complete wipeout
because paper-based records should back
up all or most electronic files. One per-
son's remarks concerned the need for
backup files, with the adage that, to some
extent no backup is ever enough, even
though cost is a mitigating factor.
The last section of the questionnaire
was devoted to comments, and the fol-
lowing paraphrased responses were inter-
esting. One respondent suggested the
publication of a book documenting the
various computer databases being used by
conservators, so that individual conserva-
tors could choose databases without "rein-
venting the wheel."Another respondent
said he would like to see a standard writ-
ten procedure for digital image capture--
much like what Dan Kushel wrote for
film-based photographic documentation
(Dan Kushel, Photodocumentation for
conservation,AIC San Francisco, 1980).
Another respondent suggested that AIC
hold more workshops on managing elec-
tronic documentation and digital imaging.
One person suggested that AIC adopt,
modify, and adapt other standards, such as
"Dublin-Core," or the standards used by
the National Archives and Records
Administration or the Library of
Congress.This respondent brought up the
issue of how private conservators can
release their records and images when
they retire.Another respondent asked
where retired private conservators will
archive their records, and which records
they should pass on. Lastly, one person
suggested that AIC should revisit the topic
of documentation every five years at the
Annual Meeting.
In summary, the General Session at
the AIC Annual Meeting in
Minneapolis was a success. It was clear
that the audience found the topic stim-
ulating, as indicated by the large num-
ber of questions asked and the lively
discussions afterwards.The Issues
Session served as a way for members to
continue asking questions, suggest
answers, and compare notes and ideas
with their professional peers. It is clear
that there is much work to be done in
keeping documentation methods cur-
rent in our profession and finding ways
to improve the profession as a whole,
and I hope that the 2005 General
Session helped further that work.
--Thomas J. Braun, Objects Conservator
Daniels Objects Conservation Laboratory
Minnesota Historical Society,
(651) 282-2745
Tom.Braun@MNHS.org
FAIC News
FAIC Awards Special NEH-
funded Scholarships
The Foundation of the American
Institute for Conservation gave out an
additional nine scholarships this sum-
mer, totaling $6,550.The awards will
support professional development and
student attendance at workshops, fund-
ed in part by a grant from the National
Endowment for the Humanities.
Recipients and their workshops are:
Molly O'Guinness Carlson,
"Recovery of Wet Materials Following
a Disaster;" Judith Eisenberg, "Adhesives
for Conservation;" Barbara Hamann,
"Recovery of Wet Materials Following
a Disaster; " Lara Kaplan, "Adhesives for
Conservation; " Antje Neumann,
"Adhesives for Conservation; "Wendy
Partridge, "Adhesives for Conservation;
" Linnaea E. Saunders, "Varnishes for
Paintings."
The last opportunity to apply for
funding to attend the remaining NEH-
funded workshops is September 15,
2005. Applicants for NEH-funded
scholarships must be U.S. residents or
citizens.
November 1 Deadline for FAIC
Samuel H. Kress Conservation
Publication Fellowships
The FAIC Samuel H. Kress
Conservation Publication Fellowships
offer support to AIC Professional
Associates and Fellows to write book-
length manuscripts on conservation top-
ics.The application deadline is November
1, 2005.
The fellowships provide an award of
$25,000 to allow time (up to 18 months)
to complete a manuscript. Research
should be largely complete before apply-
ing. Submission of one or more sample
chapters is strongly recommended.
Twenty-nine publication fellow-
ships have been awarded by FAIC since
1994. Current funding from the
Samuel H. Kress Foundation covers
2004-2006.
Complete guidelines and applica-
tion forms are available on the AIC
Website at http://aic.stanford.edu/
faic/grants/index.html, or contact Eric
Pourchot at (202) 452-9545, ext. 12;
epourchot@aic-faic.org.
Nancy Odegaard on Writing
and the FAIC Samuel H.
Kress Conservation
Publication Fellowship
When asked, I jumped at the
chance to interview Nancy Odegaard
about her writing and about the FAIC
Samuel H. Kress Conservation
Publication Fellowship she received.
Odegaard is one of those people who
can churn out books and articles while
teaching, training interns, and running a
museum lab, in addition to raising chil-
dren and taking on professional commit-
ments like being President of AIC. How
does she do it? I am struggling to finish
my own Kress-funded manuscript, so my
questions drew on personal experience.
With support from Kress,
Odegaard wrote Material Characterization
Tests for Objects of Art and Archaeology
(Archetype Publications, 2000) with co-
authors Scott Carroll (now Scott
Carrlee) and Werner S. Zimmt.
When asked how she manages to
write books, Odegaard's answer came
easily:"Co-authorship." She reported
that single authorship is a lonely pursuit.
"It's easier to work with colleagues ...
you count on each other and both try to
7 AIC NEWS, September 2005
meet the deadlines.You also have more
confidence in your published findings if
you both agree ... It helps having a co-
author as a constant reviewer, someone
with a stake in editing your writing, and
someone to share the stress points and
exhaustion. A co-author inevitably
brings a richer, broader, and more com-
plete perspective to the topic."
The project that resulted in the
spot testing book grew out of work
done in Odegaard's laboratory at the
Arizona State Museum at the University
of Arizona.The project involved many
students, interns, and colleagues and was
born of necessity.With insufficient funds
for analysis, and frustrated with incom-
plete notes and handouts on spot testing,
Odegaard's original aim was to develop a
compendium of reliable tests."As con-
servators, we don't always have the
money for $300-$500 analysis.We often
have $5 questions that can be answered
without a lot of instrumentation. It
would be nice to know what the molec-
ular structure of a sample is, but what we
really need to know is if it is a protein."
Scott Carrlee and others in the
laboratory began collecting spot tests
from colleagues and systematically
worked through the tests to check their
validity.Their research sparked interest
among colleagues and led to the idea of
making their compendium available to
others.With a larger audience in mind,
Odegaard successfully applied for a
National Center for Preservation
Technology and Training (NCPTT)
grant to compile their results in a sys-
tematic form, with text on basic chem-
istry, lab safety, and supply sources.
A 1996 presentation at the AIC
Annual Meeting in Norfolk,Virginia,
led to requests for a short course at the
Campbell Center. Enthusiasm and feed-
back from students who took the
course, helped shift the focus of the
spot testing work from compiling
results to writing a book.
Odegaard said that the students
were the first reviewers--they tried the
tests, found problems, and asked ques-
tions. She used this example to make an
emphatic point about writing: "Test
your product as you go--use it on a
project, put it in a class, send it to peo-
ple to read--field test it as you write."
After the Campbell Center course,
the co-authors began formulating a
book by setting deadlines and, at a cer-
tain point, refusing to take on new tests
for review. Carlee brought skepticism to
the process by doggedly pursuing the
practical working properties of each test.
The third co-author,Werner Zimmt, a
retired chemist, translated the tests into
standard formats. Other collaborators
helped along the way, such as Dave
Spurgeon who answered scientific ques-
tions and Tom Braun who helped with
final editing. Since the publication of
their final text, Odegaard and Carlee
have taught their spot testing short
course regularly, using the publication as
a companion textbook.
The FAIC Samuel H. Kress
Conservation Publication Fellowship
provides conservators with funds to use
in preparing publishable manuscripts.
Funding for projects well underway is
favored--in fact, applicants are expected
to complete all basic research for the
manuscript prior to applying. Odegaard
received the fellowship toward the end
of her project, and used the funds to pay
for services (editing and illustrations)
and to buy some time for editing.
In addition to co-authoring,
Odegaard has plenty of tips for first-time
authors. Choose a topic related to your
experience, in an area with a literature
gap. Make sure you want to answer the
fundamental question yourself, and have
access to the literature. As you work,
field test your ideas and continue to
refine your parameters. In the case of the
spot testing book, the authors eliminated
tests that required specialized equipment,
such as a fume hood for dye analysis, and
pared down the tests for materials with
well-published literatures such as plastics.
Another tip is to read drafts from
other authors. A good way to do this is
to volunteer to review grant proposals
and articles for peer-reviewed journals.
Reviewers learn the craft of word-
smithing.They learn to give critical
feedback by suggesting a different
arrangement of topics or a different
word order, and by asking detailed
questions about confusing information
or the use of specific words.
Finally, with my own overdue
manuscript in mind, I asked Odegaard
why some authors fail to bring their
writing projects to completion. Again
the answer was clear: "They lose the
passion." She suggested that many con-
servators start with a fundamental ques-
tion they want to work through. Once
they have the answer, writing it up
becomes difficult and tedious.Towards
the end of the project you need to be
driven by something else "like a com-
mitment to the profession ... or at least
a co-author to push you along." I don't
have a co-author, but this interview
served its purpose. I hereby pledge to
complete my manuscript and begin
approaching publishers by the end of
the year.
--Glenn Wharton, Conservation Center of
the Institute of Fine Arts / Museum Studies
Program, New York University,
glenn.wharton@nyu.edu
Some Words from our
Silenced Pioneers: The FAIC
Oral History Project Turns
Thirty
On September 4, 2005, the FAIC
Oral History Interview Project turns
thirty.The first interview took place at
the Camino Real hotel in Mexico City
during the joint AIC/IIC-Mexican
Group Meeting in September 1975.
Rutherford John Gettens had suggested
in his talk at the 1974 AIC Annual
Meeting in Cooperstown, that "we
should begin to think about collecting
material for a history of the conserva-
tion of cultural property." He then went
to his summer home in Mooers, NY,
and began making handwritten notes
on the history of the early days of the
Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge
Massachusetts--how he had first met
the young George Stout and other
activities of the late 1920s and early
'30s. Unfortunately, 10 days later
Gettens died.Wanting to continue the
project, Katherine Gettens, George
Stout, Richard Buck,Tom Chase, and I
met at the Freer Gallery in March of
1975, during a seminar held in Gettens'
honor.We discussed interviewing con-
servation pioneers and safeguarding
early correspondence.We reconvened
six months later at the 1975 AIC
Annual Meeting, with a small cassette
recorder to audiotape our discussions.
Since the Mexico City recording
was made, more than 150 interviews
have arrived at the Winterthur
Museum where the Oral History
Project is now archived and available
8 AIC NEWS, September 2005
to researchers, once transcripts have
been released by interviewees. To date,
81 interviewers from the U.S., U.K.,
Italy, Germany, and The Netherlands
have participated. Some interviewees
have carried out interviews; examples
include Tom Chase and Marilyn
Weidner. About 95% of the tapes have
been transcribed. Three tapes are now
with transcribers, who are paid with
FAIC funds. Some tapes are still with
the original interviewers.
Previous AIC newsletter articles
included descriptions of the Oral
History Project and lists of intervie-
wees, but never excerpts from the inter-
views. More than 40 of our intervie-
wees are now deceased and so, in honor
of the Project's anniversary, quotations
from some departed conservation pio-
neers, are presented below. Hopefully,
these segments will inspire readers to
participate in the Oral History Project
and help us document conservation his-
tory as it unfolds.
· Precipitous Moments in
Conservation
How James Lebron (1928-2005)
decided to make the turnbuckle
"Lebron stretcher"
[February 10, 2003 interview with Rebecca
Rushfield]
"Caroline Keck and Bernard
Rabin, Sue Sack--those were some of
the people that were working on it [the
Monet triptych in the Museum of
Modern Art] and they were starting to
run into complications. So I helped
them to design a big table to make it
easy for them to work.We started talk-
ing, and at some point they were work-
ing on a small painting. And I saw they
were having problems with these
wooden keys. At that point, I said to
them, `Listen, I used to do a lot of cabi-
netmaking, and we used a piece of
hardware called a tight joint fastener.'
So I designed this small stretcher. I
brought it in one day and showed it to
Bernie Rabin. Felrath Hines was there
also. Sue Sack. And they all thought it
was interesting. So I made a couple of
samples.They tried them. And then,
Caroline Keck said to me, `Jim, I'm
going to make a little cocktail party
one evening. Have all these restorers
come.' So they came over, and I showed
my product. And a lot of them thought
it was very interesting. And that's how it
all accidentally happened."
Morton Bradley (1912-2004) on
the origin of his loose-leaf book,
The Treatment of Paintings
[April 14, 1977 interview with Laura
Juszczak]
"It just evolved; I can't remember
how it started. I began writing down
interesting techniques from the very
beginning. My system for filing was to
use a key sort. Knitting needle-type rods
were used to sort out punched cards
containing certain information. I tested
this method for ten years by going
through all the articles in Studies in
Conservation. A basic classification for all
kinds of information was developed, and
the idea for my book sprang from this
system...Mr. Stout was an excellent edi-
tor, but he wouldn't say so. Besides learn-
ing about conservation, I also learned a
lot about writing from Mr. Stout."
Anne F. Clapp (1910-2000) on her
play at the 1971 AIC Annual
Meeting in Oberlin
[January 24, 1977 interview with E. Carl
Grimm]
"When I was asked to give a paper
on bleaching methods, I felt that our
problems in bleaching had been aired so
much that we might as well have some
fun with the subject. Our predicament
at that time (this must have been just
before I came to Winterthur, about '68
or so) was in not having much input
from the scientists on the practical use
of bleaches, and what information we
had seemed so conflicting that it
became ridiculous. So I wrote a fancy
little one-act play which was given at
the Oberlin AIC meeting.We got some
great volunteer actors in Oberlin to put
it on with Mrs. Robin Buck as the
director and Dick Buck as music direc-
tor. It was a howling success."
Louis Pomerantz (1920-1988) on
checking on a loaned Seurat after the
fire at the Museum of Modern Art
[January 31, 1977 interview with Joyce Hill
Stoner]
"I think it was 1957, I got a tele-
phone call from the Art Institute
Director, Mr. Rich, and he said,`Lou,
come down quickly, something terrible
has happened.' He was pacing in his
room and he looked sheet white, and he
said he just had a phone call from a
friend of his who lives just opposite the
Museum of Modern Art, who said,
`There's smoke coming out of the win-
dows!'`I can't get through to the muse-
um--the lines are jammed--there's a fire.
Get your hat and coat, we're going to
New York.'...As we got to the museum,
people were walking out of the back
with a big painting that was full of streaks
and he said `Lou, is that it?' I got a look
at the back of the picture, and the
stretcher was not the same, so I said,`No,
it can't be that one, because I had strip-
lined that one.' He was relieved.We
fought our way through the crowds to
the front, and the police, and right in
front of us was Sheldon Keck--he had
arrived at the same time! He came from
Brooklyn, and we came from Chicago!
We went down in the basement, and
they had moved all the stuff out of the
museum and into the Whitney Museum,
which was next door.There was The
Grande Jatte, on two-by-fours, and I
examined it, and it looked sooty, but
nothing serious, fortunately, and he was,
of course, very relieved."
A Mantegna flakes in Chicago and is
treated by William Suhr (1896-1984)
[April 20, 1977 interview with Joyce Hill
Stoner)
"In the year 1939 Mussolini gave his
permission to lend great works of art
from Italian Museums to go from San
Francisco to Chicago and later New York.
I was asked to record their condition on
arrival in the United States and follow
them on their way across the country.All
went well in San Francisco. I had
returned to New York after checking
their safe arrival in Chicago, when a few
days later a telephone call, after midnight,
from Chicago awoke me.That something
terrible had happened and they were ask-
ing frantically for my help. I flew, practi-
cally in my pajamas to Chicago.What had
happened? On his rounds this night, the
guard, passing the vitrine in which
Mantegna's St. George was horizontally
resting (luckily not in a hanging position)
became alerted to something he claimed
was a noise in this vitrine. Looking at the
picture, he saw, as he described it, the
paint film lifting itself up as if a mole
were moving between the panel and the
paint film, and then the painting collapsed
into broken pieces.The work on those
paint particles was probably my most
9 AIC NEWS, September 2005
nerve-wracking experience [done while
Mussolini's guards looked on]. Still today,
every time I go to Venice, and that is
almost every year, the first thing I do is to
visit my Mantegna. It is still in one piece."
· Rewarding Moments
Paul Banks (1934-2000) on his
years teaching book conservation
[April 15, 2000 interview by Ellen
McCready, supported by a grant to FAIC
from Eleanor McMillan]
"I guess by far my greatest reward
professionally is...the alumni of both
Columbia and the Texas
program...[These] alumni have had posi-
tions of head of preservation or chief
conservator at probably not all but most
of the major... libraries and archives in
the United States...and so that has been
extremely rewarding to me personally as
well as professionally. As I said earlier, I,
for some reason, seem to have a teaching
gene in me, and I have enjoyed enor-
mously teaching over the years, and I do
think maybe that is my metier."
Norman Brommelle (1915-1989)
former Secretary-General of IIC
[Feb. 15, 1978 interview by Christine Leback
Sitwell]
"I think one of the happiest
moments of my life was when I was
restoring the small Uccello, the Saint
George and the Dragon, which is one of the
most beautiful pictures, and I was getting
to the end of the retouching. In the
Whitsun Holiday, I began to be bothered
by a small retouching that I'd done on
one side of the painting.And on a fine,
beautiful day, on a holiday, a Monday
morning (there was absolutely nobody
around) I drove to the National Gallery
and went in and altered that retouching,
and came away again. And I think that
was around the happiest moment of my
life. Never since equaled."
· Early Adventures with
Curators and Trustees
Bethune Gibson (1914-2002) on
establishing the Anthropology
Conservation department at the
National Museum of Natural History
[September 14, 1977 interview by Carolyn
Rose and Jane Glaser]
"The curator does care, except for
instance when I get a request, `Please do
300 pots,' like tomorrow. He has no
idea of what we already have in there,
this particular curator. He is concerned
about his pots and might well be.They
come from a very dry country; they are
already starting to peel and show salts
on the surface, and they are very
impressive pots. Research is not
encouraged for this sort of problem or
any problem. A few curators do under-
stand, and they are very helpful....We
have feathers, wood, bones, stone,
leather, metal, cloth, ceramics, glass,
beads--a huge variety of material and
through all parts of history, through all
cultures. Not only do we have museum
dirt, we have ethnographic dirt.We
have materials on the objects which
occurred, or was added, during con-
struction.We have to be able to recog-
nize all of these, the differences
between them, whether to remove
them or not remove them.We have to
make many choices, we have to ask the
curator's advice in some cases, what he
wants done with the specimen.
Sometimes what he wants done is dam-
aging.We have to tell him this.They
won't always believe us."
Joyce Plesters (1927-1996) on the
early days of the scientific
department at the National
Gallery, London
[July 2, 1978 interview by Christine Leback
Sitwell]
"The laboratory was started in
1934 by F. I. G. Rawlins, who was only
allowed to work half time as a scientist;
the rest of the time he was the Gallery's
publications manager! Rawlins was also
a pioneer of infrared analysis, the appli-
cation of infrared photography to paint-
ings, and the pioneer of air conditioning.
I think the Trustees thought this was a
load of rubbish and expensive frippery.
The turning point came when the pic-
tures went down to Wales for wartime
storage in the slate quarries.There the
RH and temperature were virtually con-
stant. It was discovered that almost no
blister-laying had to be done on the pic-
tures, and also the wood panels behaved
themselves. From measurements in the
quarry, Rawlins decided what would be
the optimum conditions for galleries
with panel paintings, principally.
No one was very certain at that
time of the merits of taking samples.
The only microscope I had then was an
1895 brass Leitz one which had
belonged to Werner's father. By some
trick he managed to sell it to the
National Gallery for twenty pounds. I
have still got it, and Leitz wanted it for
their museum. It has superb lenses; I still
use some of the objectives and eye
pieces.When we did photography we
had to balance an old Leica camera on
top of the microscope and just guess
what the exposure would be, holding
our breath to stop vibrations. By then I
had a kind of cupboard under the stairs
as a microscope room.The second arti-
cle I ever wrote was published in
Studies in Conservation in 1956, based on
work done entirely on that microscope
in those conditions." [Ashok Roy noted
in the 1998 Forbes Prize Lecture that
this 1956 paper, "Cross-sections and
Chemical Analysis of Paint Samples," is
the single most cited reference in the
whole of the literature of conservation.]
William Young (1906-2000) on
establishing the analytical
laboratory at the Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston
[Interviewed by W.Thomas Chase in the late
1970s, release signed March 28, 1996.]
I was trained in spectroscopy in
Oxford. In Boston my actual budget
for the year was $25.00--this was back
in '29, '30, '31--so you made the most
of your apparatus. I wrote to my father
who was still at Oxford and told him
that I didn't think I could stay because I
didn't have a budget, and I didn't have
any apparatus. Anyway, he replied back
to me that if I couldn't make a labora-
tory out of a few toothpicks and a
piece of string there was something
wrong with me. So I made my own
apparatus.The first thing, naturally,
when I obtained the money, was to buy
a spectrograph. I had a problem getting
it into the museum.The trustees barred
it from coming into the museum as
they thought it was a very dangerous
piece of equipment."
. . . and a last word from George L.
Stout (1897-1978):
[September 4, 1975 interview with Tom
Chase and Joyce Hill Stoner]
"Our small company did not dare
to brood over our own shortcomings;
still less over obstacles that got in our
way.We held certain aims and attitudes
in common.We did not talk about
10 AIC NEWS, September 2005
them. No need for that.We clumped
along in awe of the task ahead of us, of
what we ought to learn.That may have
given us any strength we had.That and
our solidarity. For all of us who are left,
a big task is still ahead of us."
Note:
Interviews with signed
releases are available for study through
the Winterthur Archives.To contribute
interviews, please contact Dr. Joyce Hill
Stoner, jhstoner@udel.edu, for an infor-
mation packet. New interviewers are
always welcome. (Some conservators or
conservation scientists have carried out
self-interviews by simply answering the
questions in the packet and mailing a
hard copy of their answers or e-mailing
an electronic version, to the Archives.)
--Dr. Joyce Hill Stoner, Professor and
Paintings Conservator,Winterthur/UD
Program in Art, jhstoner@udel.edu
People
Since 2000, a number of layoffs have
seriously affected the field of conservation.
Following are some of the most recent.
Members are encouraged to contact the AIC
office about these and related personnel actions,
so they can be fully documented and addressed.
On July 19, 2005, six of the seven
research scientist positions at the
Smithsonian Center for Materials
Research and Education (SCMRE, for-
merly CAL), were eliminated.
David
Erhardt, Charles Tumosa, Martha
Goodway, Harry Alden, and Tom Gluick
will be leaving their positions as of
September 19, 2005. One other research
scientist has yet to be notified.The rea-
sons given were: the findings of the
Smithsonian Science Commission, and
federal budget base erosion.This restruc-
turing will leave three scientists in place
at SCMRE. The new foci of the labo-
ratory will be conservation treatment
and art historical technical studies.
Five employees of the National
Museum of African Art, Smithsonian
Institution, were dismissed recently in
an effort to reorganize the museum and
resolve budget difficulties. As a result,
Dana Moffett
, who has been with the
conservation department for 15 years,
will leave the museum as of September
3, 2005. She can be reached at: dmof-
fett@rcn.com.
On June 24th, 2005, the
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission, an agency responsible for
the administration and preservation of
more than twenty historical sites and
one million artifacts, closed the
Commonwealth Conservation Center
after 20 years of operation. All conser-
vation services effectively ended with
the termination of the conservation
staff:
John Hartmann,
Conservator
Chief;
Brian Howard and April Berry,
Object Conservators; and
Karen
Dabney,
Paper Conservator.
Julia Brennan
, owner of
Washington, DC-based Textile
Conservation Services (www.caringfortex-
tiles.com), has been awarded a grant
from the Friends of Bhutan's Culture to
lead training workshops in textile con-
servation in the Kingdom of Bhutan.
The Getty Foundation is funding the
project. Julia will be based at The
National Textile Museum, in the capitol
city Thimphu and will focus on aug-
menting the education of the staff in
preventative conservation guidelines,
upgrading the non-rolled storage facili-
ties, building micro-climates, and con-
ducting treatments on national textile
treasures.This is the first workshop to
address the conservation training of
monks in Bhutan, and it will produce
an illustrated manual for sustained care.
In August 2005, Harcourt
published, Tropicana Nights:The Life and
Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub
by
Rosa Lowinger
and co-author
Ofelia Fox (who was married to the
Tropicana Club's owner in the 1950s).
The authors recount the glory days of
Cuban art and music in what was,
during the '50s, the most famous
cabaret in the world. For more about
Tropicana Nights, visit http://www.
harcourtbooks.com/bookCatalogs/boo
kpages/0151012245.asp
Ellen Pearlstein
has left the
Brooklyn Museum for a faculty position
in the new UCLA/Getty Program in
Archaeological and Ethnographic
Conservation. Her contact information is
epearl@ucla.edu, (310) 794-4940, UCLA,
A410 Fowler, Los Angeles, CA 90065.
Katharine Untch
recently took a
new position as Conservator for
Architectural Resources Group in San
Francisco. She can be reached at:
Architectural Resources Group, Pier 9,
The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA
94111; Email: katy@argsf.com; Phone:
(415) 421-1680 ext. 247; Fax: (415)
421-0127.
UCLA/Getty is pleased to
announce the new members of the initial
class of the Program in Archaeological
and Ethnographic Conservation.The stu-
dents will begin the curriculum in
September 2005.The students enrolled in
this new Masters program are:
Christian
De Brer, Ozge Gencay-Ustun, Molly
Gleeson, Allison Lewis, Steven Pickman,
and Elizabeth Werden.
The Winterthur/University of
Delaware Program in Art Conservation
proudly announces its 2005 entering
class:
Debra Breslin, Lauren Cox, Kristin
deGhetaldi, Amber Kerr-Allison, Jessica
Moody, Adam Novak, Katie Payne,
Courtney Shimoda, Elizabeth Shuster
,
and
Samantha Springer
.
The program's third year students,
listed with their internship sites and
majors, are:
Brian Baade
(Yale
University Art Gallery, Paintings);
Kate
Cuffari
(Philadelphia Museum of Art,
Objects);
Natasha Loeblich
(Colonial
Williamsburg Foundation and The
Preservation Society of Newport
County, Painted and Decorative
Surfaces);
Allison McCloskey
(Peebles
Island,Textiles);
Dana Melchar
(The
Metropolitan Museum of Art and the
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation,
Furniture);
Corine Norman
(Conservation Center for Art and
Historic Artifacts, Paper);
Christina
Ritschel
(The Textile Museum and the
National Museum of Denmark,
Textiles);
Katherine Sahmel
(National
Museum of Scotland and The Textile
Conservation Workshop, Inc.,Textiles)
and
Richard Stenman
(The Better
Image and The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, Photographs).
In Memorium
James J. Lebron (1929-2005)
James J. (Jim "It shall be done")
Lebron died on March 16, 2005 at the
age of 76. Jim was well known to con-
servators, artists, museums, galleries, and
collectors for the way he solved many
of the problems involved in handling
works of art.
Jim began his business in the
1950s in a small way--designing
stretchers that used Tite-Joint fasteners
instead of the traditional keys that could
11 AIC NEWS, September 2005
fall out and cause damage.This was a
major advance in stretcher design. Jim
perfected the folding stretcher so that
large paintings could be handled more
easily. He once made a very large
stretcher--nine feet, seven inches by 48
feet--for a painting at the Brooklyn
Museum.To strengthen the stretcher so
it would retain its proper plane, Jim
knew to back it with a strong alu-
minum channel. He would also make
oval stretchers when provided with a
template. But the stretchers were only
one part of his diverse business.
Jim was a master at solving problems
related to moving paintings. He could
maneuver a large painting into a small ele-
vator or space while the nervous owner
held his breath. He could take out a win-
dow and hoist a large painting through it
if the painting could not fit into or on top
of an elevator. He also made excellent
crates for shipping artwork and advanced
the craft of crate-making.
Jim's attention to detail, his prompt-
ness, his quiet and polite manner, and his
ability to solve problems put him in great
demand; he was well-known in the New
York art world. But as busy as he was, he
always inquired about people he hadn't
heard from in awhile."How is Mama?"
or "What have you heard from Mama
recently?" he would ask and everyone
knew he was asking about Caroline K.
Keck who had moved to Cooperstown.
Caroline had advised Jim in the early
years of his career and Jim always felt a
deep affection for her.
Jim advanced the handling, pack-
ing, and shipping of artwork to new
levels of care and skill and will always
be remembered for the high quality of
his work, his solutions to difficult prob-
lems, his calm demeanor and great
diplomacy. He shall be missed.
--Suzanne Sack,
125 Remsen St., Brooklyn, NY, 11201-4212
contact, inhalation, and contamination
of personal clothing.
Recently, conservators at the
Holocaust Museum installed a special
exhibition called Deadly Medicine,
Creating the Master Race. Artifacts from
Hartheim Castle, a euthanasia center that
was part of a program where the dis-
abled were killed, include a doctor's coat,
an asbestos mitt, and a case with personal
belongings retrieved from a pile of
burned and buried items.The artifacts
were shipped to the museum in open
plastic shopping bags within a cardboard
box, allowing the asbestos fibers from the
mitt to contaminate all artifacts in the
box. After confirmation that the fibers
were asbestos, a conservator vacuumed
the doctor's coat and the other artifacts
with a HEPA vacuum inside a large
extraction hood while wearing PPE.The
asbestos mitt remained double-bagged
until installation and the installer also
wore PPE. After unpacking, the extrac-
tion hood was thoroughly cleaned, and
after the exhibition the interior of the
case will have to be handled and treated
as hazardous waste.
Medical equipment, including a
broken syringe, unused needles, vials,
and a metal container holding steriliz-
ing liquid, was donated to the museum
along with a collection of nurse's
records and artifacts. Questions to con-
sider when handling used medical
equipment for potential exhibit and
storage include:What is/was stored in
vials and other containers? Do viable
pathogens remain in used or broken
syringes? How does a conservator know
when to obtain such specific informa-
tion? According to Alan Hawks at the
Walter Reed Medical museum, a
durable microbe is the major danger
inferred from a broken syringe.
Microbes such as anthrax or tetanus can
survive for years, and these microbes
can be found not only in used medical
equipment, but also on soiled, dirty tex-
tiles or other dirt-containing artifacts.
Other advice to consider is:
Beware of mercury leaks from broken
thermometers, keep tetanus vaccinations
up to date, and consider decontamina-
tion procedures. Decontamination
includes: basic hospital decontamination
procedures that may endanger the arti-
fact, and commercial gamma irradiation
used to prevent anthrax contamination
by the U.S. Postal service.These experi-
ences illustrate that the conservator
often has to be an advocate for safe
artifact use and handling while also
determining a way to defuse difficult
situations.
Hazardous Holdings continued from page 1
Who is responsible for protecting
part-time, contract, or volunteer
conservation workers in situations
where there is a known risk of
exposure to presumed hazardous
material?
The OSHA regulations are pretty
clear that any employer, including
museums and conservators, needs to
evaluate the potential hazards in the
workplace and implement the appro-
priate programs. OSHA generally
considers any worker who is compen-
sated to be an employee, therefore
there is generally no distinction
between part-time and full-time
workers. Federal OSHA does not gen-
erally cover volunteers, unless they are
compensated in some way and would
therefore be considered employees.
Some states may include volunteers
under their definition of employees.
While volunteers may technically not
be covered under OSHA regulations,
ethically and from a liability-perspec-
tive, employers or institutions may be
considered responsible.The determi-
nation of whether OSHA regulations
are enforced by federal OSHA or state
OSHA is determined by whether or
not a particular state is an "OSHA
State Plan" state, where the state has
presented and OSHA has approved a
plan for the state to monitor and
enforce regulations.The OSHA web-
site lists OSHA-approved states
(http://www.osha.gov/fso/osp/index.
html).
--Dennis C. Ertel, Jr., CIH, REM
Sandler Occupational Medicine
Associates, Inc. (SOMA)
(301)519-6880
denny@somaonline.com
Question posed at the Archives Discussion Group Panel Discussion,
Hazardous Holdings
12 AIC NEWS, September 2005
How to Recognize Radioactive
Artifacts in an Archives
Susan Lee-Bechtold, Research Chemist,
National Archives and Records
Administration, College Park, MD
Examples of radioactive artifacts
found in record holdings include raw
ore samples; spent uranium oxides (in
the noses of non-nuclear bombs); heat-
ing mantles from decorative and camp-
ing lanterns; radium paint on gun
sights; cathode ray tubes from comput-
er monitors and TVs; some yellow,
orange, and red pre-1971 Fiestaware;
natural zircon or treated topaz, beryl,
and tourmaline gemstones; and even
the sealed ion source from smoke
detectors. In paper-based collections, a
radioactive source might include
absorbent paper onto which radioac-
tive ions in a solution were once
spilled. In some instances, a photo-
graph or other reproduction of the
radioactive artifact may suffice for
records purposes. Radioactive materials
are considered hazardous waste and
require special disposal, but radioactive
items that are parts of collections can
be kept, if stored properly. In order to
dispose of hazardous waste, the facility
must apply for an EPA number, which
is not difficult, and a hazardous waste
contractor will then remove and dis-
pose of the items. If radioactive mate-
rials are found within a collection, the
international symbol for radiation (a
black or magenta tri-foil with yellow
background) is required for proper
labeling. It is also imperative to shield
a radioactive object so that an employ-
ee who handles records or artifacts
adjacent to the object, is exposed to
only background levels of radiation.
Some agencies have found it use-
ful to screen incoming records from
energy or military agencies. Radiation
levels of materials in a collection can be
detected with a small hand-held moni-
tor available from a laboratory safety
supplier, or by hiring a specialist to do a
radiation survey using a geiger counter
or similar instrument. Screening infor-
mation can be found by contacting uni-
versities, hospitals, and companies that
drill for oil.These entities use radioac-
tive materials, and must either have the
capability to check them, or a contract
to have the materials checked regularly.
Information can also be found at
http://www.erads.com/radprot.htm.
Evidence of Rodent Infestation
Jo Anne Kilgore-Martinez, Cariño
Conservation, New Mexico
Rodent infestation is common in
paper-based collections. Signs of such
infestation include droppings, gnawed
paper edges, deep yellow urine stains,
debris or nesting materials such as paper
scraps, and feathers. Since Hantavirus
Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) was identi-
fied in the early 1990s as the cause of
numerous deaths in the Four Corners
region of the United States, HPS has been
linked to rodents and their droppings and
urine residue. Conservators who handle
rodent-infested materials must take proper
precautions because HPS can be transmit-
What is considered "safe" exposure
to mold? What is considered a safe
exposure limit ?
Many conservators have expressed
concern about mold levels and occu-
pational exposure.There are no specif-
ic regulatory standards for allowable
concentrations of mold or fungi.
Some guidelines have been generated
by the ACGIH, AIHA and other con-
sensus-standard-setting organizations,
however, they refrain from applying
specific numerical limits.
Professionally, fungi are generally eval-
uated with respect to two factors--
concentration and the types of organ-
isms present--and results should be
evaluated to see if they make sense or
can be explained. Indoor concentra-
tions should be at levels near or below
outdoor levels and the types of organ-
isms should be generally similar.
Indoor levels in excess of outdoor lev-
els suggest an indoor source of fungi
contamination. Surface and bulk sam-
ples may indicate the presence of
fungi recognizing that there is a back-
ground or "normal" level of fungi.
Samples from suspect areas should be
compared to control samples from
areas that have not been affected by
fungi growth.
--Dennis C. Ertel, Jr., CIH, REM
Sandler Occupational Medicine Associates,
Inc. (SOMA)
(301)519-6880
denny@somaonline.com
Question posed at the Archives Discussion Group Panel Discussion,
Hazardous Holdings
Some conservators have expressed
concern about continued exposure
to environmental hazards and the
potential for individual increases in
sensitivity. Is there evidence that
increased sensitivity to particular
chemicals or mold can result from
multiple exposures?
Some chemicals are known to be
sensitizers--chemicals which may,
after repeated exposure, cause people
to develop an allergic reaction in nor-
mal tissue.The chemical reaction is
typically through an immunologic
mechanism, and not noticed upon ini-
tial exposure, with strong reactions
noticed to later exposures. Sometimes
sensitized individuals will have to
completely avoid these chemicals.
Typical sensitizers include isocyanates,
anhydrides, acrylates, and aldehydes.
The best defense against sensitization
is a workplace evaluation of the
potential exposure to chemical sensi-
tizers as part of a comprehensive
health and safety program, including
the material safety data sheets or
MSDSs.
Fungi exposure is not truly compara-
ble to chemical sensitization, but there
are allergic effects associated with
fungi exposure that are more pro-
nounced or more noticeable in aller-
gically sensitive individuals.
--Dennis C. Ertel, Jr., CIH, REM
Sandler Occupational Medicine Associates,
Inc. (SOMA)
(301)519-6880
denny@somaonline.com
Question posed at the Archives Discussion Group Panel Discussion,
Hazardous Holdings
13 AIC NEWS, September 2005
Grants,Awards, and Fellowships
How Would Federal Formula
Grants for Museums Work?
AIC has joined with AASLH and other
cultural agencies in seeking funding for federal
formula grants for museums.We will continue to
provide updates to you as this work continues.
The federal government uses for-
mula grants to the states to achieve
broad national purposes while allowing
for regional and local differences. Such
grants leverage, rather than replace, state
and local funding for those purposes.
Libraries, historic preservation, the
arts, and many social and health services
receive such funding.The American
Association for State and Local History
(AASLH) is inviting state, regional, and
national museum service providers and
their members to join with it in
obtaining such funding for museums.
The Council of State Historic Records
Coordinators is leading a similar effort
ted to humans by direct contact with
infected deer mice or inhalation of virus
particles from the urine or droppings of
infected deer mice. HPS causes death in
45% of cases (Department of Interior
report).The virus is not thought to be
viable after 14 days; however, every
Certified Industrial Hygienist that was
consulted, advised always handling affected
records with PPE.
When there is known or suspect
evidence of rodent infestation among
records o