Daly Conservation

A recent reader asked me if I knew of any art conservation jokes.  This made me think and I came up with a few, I am interested in hearing more, please leave a comment.

-How many conservators does it take to change a light bulb?

-5. One to change the lightbulb. Two to document the process with written and photographic documentation. Two to debate whether changing the light bulb was an electronic material or an architectural material.

-You ask three conservators and you get six opinions, thanks to E. Batchelor for this one.

If you are at the AIC annual meeting find me and tell me a joke!

My husband could tell you, I love food.  It is impressive, I am usually hungry every 2 hours and have to be fed, like a bird, or I tend to get h-angry, and that isn’t pretty.  I wonder if this is a condition, but probably not.

I have found a few places I would like to try out while in Albuquerque, it may be difficult because I am a vegetarian so no carne or pollo, but I do enjoy fish and I try to be flexible when out of my own kitchen, nothing is worse than watching someone grill a waiter about whether chicken broth was used to boil the rice, let’s be kind to the humans as well.

Food

Cecilia’s Cafe - open 7AM-2PM, looking forward to a burrito

6th St SW at Silver Street

Cafe Green - open 7AM - 3PM,

319 5th St SW at Silver Street, local and they can probably help me out with some veg, they are called Cafe Green!

Gold Street Cafe -open 7AM - 9PM

218 Gold Ave SW between 2nd and 3rd, Veggie Enchiladas

Good for late nite:

Blackbird Buvette - open 11AM - 2AM - call ahead to see if there is a band or cover 505-243-0878

509 Central Ave NW - between 5th and 6th

Ibiza at the Hotel Andaluz - rooftop bar, open 5PM to close, dress code, possible cover charge, call 505-242-9090

125 2^nd St NW at Copper

This one is probably worth the hike, perhaps on Monday when I will be exploring Albuquerque I will make it 2 miles to:

Duran’s Pharmacy - open 9AM - 6:20PM

1815 Central NW - between Laguna Blvd and Lomas Blvd

If anyone would like to go on a culinary adventure in Albuquerque with me, give me a call at 480-406-2721.  All my lunches are filled (CSCP sustainability lunch on Wednesday, appointment on Thursday, EMG lunch on Friday), and my hotel has complimentary breakfast, but dinner or drinks would be a great chance to catch up and discuss the finer points of conservation conferences (is there a conspiracy to have business meetings before 9AM so we are all bleary-eyed and confused about what we are voting on, I wonder?)

I was excited to join conservators, curators, and educators last Friday for a workshop about Artist Interviews presented by the International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art - North America INCCA-NA at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

The workshop had a few nice touches that made the environment collegial and made those who attended perhaps more open to sharing and discussion.

1.  Our name tags had our first name in large letters in the center of the tag, this was clever, the whole name and institutional affiliation were underneath in smaller lettering.  This made it feel more intimate, as we were on first name terms with the other attendees.

2. One of the first exercises was to practice an interview with someone we did not know, then re-tell the interview to introduce this person to our group (there were 3 groups, each with around 10 people in each group, my group had Dawn Rogala, Helen Ingalls, Jeffrey Martin, Matthew Skopek, Mika Yoshitake, Nancie Ravenel, Narayan Khandekar, Steven O’Banion, and Tiarna Doherty.  Looking over the list of workshop attendees I see it is all alphabetical by first name, another nice touch.  I interviewed Narayan Khandekar, Senior Conservation Scientist, Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies. I learned about his very impressive career, all the places he has worked, and a few off-topic facts like his fascination with the city of Los Angeles.

We absorbed a great deal of information from Richard Candida Smith, Jill Sterrett, Jess Rigelhaupt, and Gwynne Ryan.   It was an environment where we were given a great deal of information and then allowed to workshop some of that information in our interviews with colleagues.

A question that kept coming up in my mind was the purpose of these artist interviews.  Richard Candida Smith said at the beginning that having a goal for an interview is very important, communicating this goal to the artist, then having one interview and following up with more interviews to further discover more information.  I keep hearing interviews and thinking about the role of conservation and therefore the goal of conservation of contemporary art and here is what I have concluded,

It seems like many conservators approach these interviews as if they are asking permission to preserve a work of art, there are questions like “How do you [the artist] feel about your object deteriorating?” This seems a bit naive, once the object leaves an artist’s studio and changes hands to a collector or museum, is how the artist feels about it relevant anymore? They are no longer creating the art, and if they claim that deterioration is a part of the creation of the object should they have something about that in the artist statement?

However, I can see why this question has become commonly asked in these artist interviews.  I feel it is a holdover from ethnographic interviews and consultations with indigenous peoples, like those at the National Museum of the American Indian.   In these interviews the conservator is questioning an indigenous person about an object of their culture. The interview implies that the ethnographic object is ‘alive’ and the cultural representative still ‘owns’ the tangible and intangible properties of the object that make it a part of their culture.  The cultural representative can tell the conservator what tangible and intangible properties must be preserved for the object to remain ‘alive’.

While this is the right de-colonial approach for indigenous materials, it is a problematic approach for contemporary art.  The artist still has the power to renounce a work of art using the VARA legislation (see a previous discussion of VARA and conservation), but how the artist feels about deterioration does not set a standard by which a conservator should base their treatment.  Actually, VARA specifically states that deterioration through natural processes does not provide a grounds for which an artist can renounce a work.  I would be interested in hearing what an artist would say if they are questioned ‘What could I do as a conservator to make you renounce this artifact as your work?’.  It would certainly be interesting.

In my experience, artists create art, art historians and curators contextualize art, and conservators conserve art, while there should be an awareness of each by the other we should be careful not to ask artists to contextualize or conserve their art, isn’t that our job?

Some are born to be in business, some achieve an understanding of business, and some have business thrust upon them - apologies to W. Shakespeare.  Of these three I am the last, I decided to go into business myself because I wanted to be in the same city as my husband, and he has a job in Phoenix, Arizona.  The Phoenix area encompasses Scottsdale, Tempe, Paradise Valley, Chandler, Mesa, Glendale, Avondale, Sun City, Gilbert, and Surprise.  I would like to know more about how these individual cities within or around Phoenix got their names, it appears the suffix -dale is popular, and I want to know the cheeky person who named a city Surprise.

I was not born to be in business, so I am taking some business classes to supplement my fantastic education from the University of Delaware.  The classes are once a week, from 2PM to 4:30PM, and they cover 5 topics including: business fundamentals, data collection, marketing plans, financial models, and financing your business.  I was nominated for an Office Depot scholarship to attend these courses and I have enjoyed learning more about business and networking with other new business owners.

I have created an ‘elevator speech’, a business plan, a general marketing strategy, and I went to the downtown library and poured over their collection of business materials to gather data and consider potential clients.

An important lesson I learned from these classes is that “Those who cannot afford your services are not your clients”.  I have met with a few local collections managers who have offered to let me come and volunteer in their collection, working in a storage space with no environmental controls.  While the altruistic side of me would love to pitch in and give a hand, I need to be paid for my services, and if a collection cannot pay me, I cannot work for them.  I have created a listing of sources for funding for conservation and collections on my professional website, and hopefully this will encourage the collection stakeholders to seek out funding for the preservation of their collections.

I see opportunities here to create a standard of care for collections in Arizona, it could begin with smaller activities like participating in May Day on May 1st to create an emergency preparedness plan for collections, participating in International Museum Day on May 18th to raise awareness and encourage collaboration between museums locally and internationally. Right now, the Arizona Centennial is creating a new interest in artifacts from the founding of the state and I hope that interest in material culture will continue past the year 2012.

It is interesting to speak to my classmates in the graduating class of 2011, as some have finished one-year fellowships and are applying for a new fellowship, considering moving to a new city to take a fellowship that may be for 1 year, or 2 or 3 years if they are fortunate.  In a way I am jealous and in a way I am relieved, I am not worrying about where I will be working in the next 6 months, but I am worrying about whether I will have much work to do over the next 6 months.

I have begun a private art conservation practice, Art Conservation Services LLC, in Phoenix, Arizona.  My office is a desk in my apartment and a large storage container with solvents, a toolkit, and safety equipment for site work.  I have created a webpage, www.phoenixartconservation.com and I have been meeting with a mentor from the local small business association to discuss how to build the business.

I keep thinking about the name, while I chose Art Conservation Services LLC as the name of the LLC, it is a mouthful and it doesn’t seem like a name that someone would remember at a cocktail party.  So, I am leaning more and more on the name Phoenix Art Conservation, which serves 2 functions

1. It identifies a region, Phoenix, Arizona and

2. It has the words ‘Art’ and ‘Conservation’, which are all I need.

I thought about using words like ‘Preservation’ and I thought about omitting the ‘Art’ from the title.  But, ‘Preservation’ is often associated with buildings and neighborhoods and other topics that I would not be involved with or even be able to help assist with the inquiries, I was imagining someone contacting me regarding placing their home on a historic registry, I would have no idea.

I also thought a lot about removing ‘Art’ but the drawback would be that ‘Conservation’ is more commonly associated with the conservation of natural resources and I am unable to discuss topics like Arizona water conservation at any depth, and it wouldn’t put me in contact with the right people.

So, Phoenix Art Conservation it is, maybe it isn’t perfect, maybe in 5 years time I will change it to something entirely different like “Rose Cull Sculpture Conservation for the Stars LLC”, but until then I am happy with my Phoenix, now to find a suitable logo.

On a long roadtrip to Los Angeles last weekend I began to discuss my thoughts on sustainability with my husband, the musical instrument conservator Daniel Cull.  I’ve been a member of the AIC Committee on Sustainable Conservation Practices for the past year and I am stepping down from my position this year at the annual meeting.  I am deciding how I would like to continue to emphasize sustainable practices in my conservation practice, and what my goals are to make art conservation more sustainable as a profession.

With these ideas in mind, I looked at a variety of definitions of sustainability and pulled together my thoughts and discussions over the past year to create a type of sustainability evaluation for the field.  Because sustainability is equally supported by 3 areas - environmental sustainability - economic sustainability - and social sustainability, I looked at each individually and scored each individually below.

ENVIRONMENTAL

90 = A-/B+ - Because art conservation does not require the infinite consumption of finite resources it can be considered environmentally sustainable. A conservator can use a variety of materials to increase the longevity of art materials, and because art conservators study material science, they can analyze and determine appropriate materials for the treatment of any type of artifact, especially when limited by local availability of particular materials, or the future availability of certain conservation materials.

ECONOMIC

70 = D - Because art conservation does rely on an infinite supply of free labor (internships) it cannot be considered economically sustainable.  I would be interested in seeing a study of the wages at institutions that allow free labor through internships compared to the wages at institutions that do not.  I would wager that conservators who allow free labor for a day of work from interns are paid considerably less than conservators who do not.  Unpaid internships undermine the economic structure of conservation, capping the top salaries as well as lowering the bottom salaries.  I am unsure whether Fellowships or paid internships that do not account for changes in inflation or cost of living allowances also encourage employers to pay full-time employees less as well, I am very interested in seeing more research in this area of sustainability.

SOCIAL EQUALITY

78 = C - Social Equality is intrinsically connected to Economics.  Because pre-program students of art conservation are encouraged or required to accept unpaid positions it limits the pursuit of conservation as a course of study to those who are independently wealthy and can pursue conservation as a hobby.  I give social equality a higher rating than economics because there is currently a dialogue in the field about making the field more inclusive and diverse, so there is an awareness of the lack of social equality and sustainability, I do not think there is an awareness of the lack of economic equality and sustainability in the field of art conservation.

I would like to see conservators come together and  in the interest of sustainability, promise to only accept paid internships, actively seek out teaching opportunities in communities that are under-represented in the conservation field, and actively seek out communities that are under-represented in the art world: go to prisons to discuss prison art, travel the country documenting folk art the way musicologists documented folk music, talk to children about the preservation of their art.  I want the field to be so much more sustainable, more adaptable, hopefully the grade will change from a 79 = C+ to at least a B.

The art conservation field is like the rivers in Texas, they flow from West to East, taking water from areas that are typically dry to areas that are typically wet.  In art conservation it is easier to get a fellowship at a big institution with a big budget for conservation, and almost impossible to find a fellowship in a place that has a collection that needs your well-educated and prepared mind and hands to take care of it.  There are great collections in out-of-the-way places, and there are conservators who go to stake their claim in the style of a wild west land grab in areas of the Western United States.

And those conservators, since they can’t get a full-time museum job, and they can’t apply for a fellowship because there is no conservator to supervise them, go into private practice. They could spend another 2 years getting a MBA so they know more about business before they start their practice, but that is probably not necessary.  But it is good to get some advice and my good friend and colleague Lisa Duncan told me to look into my local small business association (SBA).

This was fantastic advice, and from my local SBA I was connected with a group called SCORE that matched me with a mentor who is a sounding board for my ideas about the business, and a bit of a nag

‘Do you have a lawyer?’ ‘Do you have insurance?’

‘Ok, Ok, I am working on it Jim, geez.’

Having someone who knows business is really helpful and useful, my mentor worked as a consultant and he’s given me a lot of advice and I was really happy to hear it, some of it included projects I was already thinking about.  He suggested offering free seminars to build up my name and to make potential clients aware of why they need conservation.  He suggested one free overall seminar about conservation and me, and another seminar that is more specialized that I could offer to other museum professionals who work directly with art.

I LOVE talking about conservation so I was super excited about this idea.

I have been writing a business plan that puts into words my goals, and includes a budget so I can see what I should be making to break even, and plan for the next 3 years.

I feel a lot of guilt when it comes to billing, and I have been really struggling with billing for conservation, especially since I have been contacted about objects that have a lot of sentimental value, but not a lot of art market value, Jim came to the rescue again and told me ‘You need to find the clients who can’t afford NOT to have their collections conserved, this is your focus’.

I have met with Jim twice, and I am meeting up with him again, he is recommending me for an scholarship to take classes about online marketing, twitter for your business, and basic business skills.  I am seeking legal advice through an organization that would put me in contact with law students at Arizona State University, which would be really helpful, and within my price range.

But more than anything I have a plan, and a source for more information and advice to make the plan work, which is really invaluable.

Site Work.  Two words that can bring up a number of visuals and responses.  Working on site has pros and cons, often times it is easier to focus than in your lab, and projects can be accomplished fairly quickly.  However, site work also has the problem that the exact material that you really need is the one you forgot or left at home, and it is important to make sure you are prepared to finish all your work in one day on site, if you have to come back you have to factor in your time commuting as part of your cost, and spending time in a car instead of working is no fun.

Because I have been doing more and more site work I have developed a pretty good toolkit, I was surprised at what you really need on site, a camera is definitely a must-have, as well as a clipboard, pencil, and paper.

The really useful things in the toolkit are:

Bamboo skewers - these are so cheap and so useful, I love them, you can use them on almost anything, unlike the dental tools, which are cool, but you can’t use them on metals or anything soft so I rarely use them.

Scissors - an all-purpose pair is a must-have, I always find I have to cut things like threads, paper, etc on site and scissors are really useful.

Brushes - a few hard-bristle (hog bristle are good) brushes for removing dirt, soft bristle (sable, nylon) for either removing dirt on delicate surfaces (the fan brushes are great for removing dirt from feathers, build up a static charge and the dirt is pulled off like a swiffer). If you are waxing sculptures on site, it is useful to have brushes prepped for waxing, with blue tape over the ferule and labled ‘Wax’ on the tape, so you don’t get mixed up. Small, soft bristle brushes are also good for inpainting which brings me to….

Paints - watercolors, maybe acrylics, you can also have a palette made with MSA paints that you solubilize on site with acetone and mineral spirits.  Having a lot of small amounts of each color is so much better than big tubes or jars of paint, I love the Golden titan buff liquid acrylic as the color to begin with (exceptions include porcelain) because it gives just the right warm buff color.

Spoons - you saw them, IKEA spoons, that’s right.  They have been a lifesaver I don’t know how many times, mixing adhesives in with water, taking small portions of powder to a container, they are new to the toolkit, and so necessary.

Flashlight - useful on site for examinations and this goes well with

Gloves,  which along with the magnifying materials and the tape measures are indiscipensible for writing up your condition reports when all you will have is 15-minutes with the object while the registrar is waiting for you to finish your notes.  I keep the puffer tool in this kit because sometimes before a report is written areas need to be examined closely and dust needs to be removed, this seems to be the least-intrusive way to do this. I call this the documentation or registration bag instead of the conservation toolkit.

Tweezers - good to have a few different types, some with very pointed ends, some with serratted ends with teeth, one that is curved so you could hold a piece of cotton and dab it on the object without risking scratching the object with the tweezers, in my dream world there would also be teflon-coated tweezers, do they really exisit?

Pens - a sharpie, an archival pen, and probably a pencil for documentation - of course you aren’t using these on the object, but if you need to label a plastic bag with a fragment, pencil isn’t going to cut it.

Spatulas - I have 2 spatulas, and I don’t use them very often. I don’t really like them very much.  I need a spatula with more flexibility in the end, and maybe one of the really really big ones you see paper conservators have, the cartoonishly big ones, I think there is a vendor that sells these at conservation meetings. Teflon-coated spatulas may also be something worth having, for certain jobs it would be really useful.

Scalpel - a must-have, I like the No. 9 and No. 11 blades.  Some conservators keep the scalpel blade in a cork when they are not using it, having a safety like this is definitely a good idea

Other blades - I also have an exacto blade and a few other types of blades kicking around, for scraping, and cutting down fill materials to fit spaces.

Toothbrush - I didn’t know how much I needed this until I had it.  Funny thing about site conservation - you are working on a museum object, but sometimes you also need materials for things like prepping your space and cleaning up after yourself or cleaning the tools you just used, this is where large brushes like Hake brushes and toothbrushes come in really handy.

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Outside the kit, other things for your conservation bag -

Optivisor

I like paper towels, lots of cotton, and a lot of small containers of different solvents like :acetone, ethanol, mineral spirits, distilled water (one small container, and a few larger containers, in case you need to mix it with something else).  I do carry around glass jelly jars, they work, and are safer than any plastic jar for solvents.

Cleaning materials:  Orvus, Ammonia Hydroxide, if you like using gels bring them - Pemulen TR2, Carbopol, Velvesil.

Adhesives and Consolidants: B-72 tubes, Aquazol 200, and maybe a cellulose ether

A sample book of japanese paper for small repairs, tissue paper and brown craft paper, clamps, and blue tape

Health & Safety materials: Goggles, a respirator, and a few dust masks.

Now the real secret is to find a way to get all of this in a bag that you can shlep to the site and back and not feel like you are going to kill your back.  Good luck and I hope you enjoy your site work as much as I do!

Please feel free to list other useful tools in the comments section, Thanks to Michael Eisen for suggesting including a small magnet and some green painter’s tape, and thanks to Carolyn Frisa for showing me where to buy an icing spatula, which is what paper conservators use.