AIC's 53rd Annual Meeting

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During this half-day workshop, a book & paper conservator and an organic objects conservator will introduce participants to the flexible adhesives commonly used in leather conservation treatments (such as BEVA film, BEVA D-8 Dispersion, Lascaux 498HV and 303HV, and Jade R, etc.) as well as lining materials (such as Japanese tissue paper, goldbeater's skin, and spun bond polyesters). After a brief explanation of each material's qualities and application techniques, the participants will be able to create their own mock-ups of different combination of materials, and even practice their skills on leather objects. The workshop leaders will share their tips and tricks for success and be available for guidance.

This workshop is aimed at any conservator who is curious about leather treatments, whether you are an emerging conservator who has never worked with leather, or you are an objects conservator who just doesn't treat these materials very often. This workshop will provide the time and space to explore a variety of conservation materials under the guidance of conservators who have ample experience and are excited to share what they have learned over the course of their careers.

How is machine learning used to create works of art? How do machine learning technologies work? What are the various software tools and programming languages that are available to artists? What are the conservation problems that arise with each of these techniques?

The software applications that artists use for creating works of art which integrate or are based on machine learning fall into several categories. For artists who do not know how to program, or prefer not to program, and/or do not have opportunities to collaborate with programmers, there are text-to-image applications in which an artist creates images generated through textual description. Examples from the New York City bitforms gallery exhibition DALL·E: Artificial Imagination (October 26–Dec 29, 2022) demonstrate this approach.[1] 

Newly created images using text-to-image techniques can be loosely based on predefined styles provided by the software authors or company; or the artist can “train” a model to use style-transfer based on the artist’s own original digital-born images or digital surrogates of physical artworks in order to instruct the software to computationally mimic the artist’s own or another style. The Whitney Museum of American Art’s xhairymutantx Embedding 2024 by Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst (2024) is an example of style-transfer.[2]

With advanced beginner or intermediate programming skills, artists may prefer writing original code such as Python scripts to generate new images based on style-transfer and other techniques. An artist at this level of programming skill can also write scripts to programmatically download images from the web that meet specific textual criteria, e.g., “watercolors of pink roses.” 

Building an original machine learning application requires great resources and advanced computational and programming skills. The artist Refik Anadol, in his talk at the Institute of Fine Arts in New York City on June 3, 2024, said that it can take over six months of teamwork at his studio to compile data and build the application for a work such as Unsupervised, which was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.[3] Managing a team to retrieve and prepare data sets, as well as collaborating with programmers to run and train machine learning models, requires extensive studio resources including hardware for data storage and processing, bespoke software that addresses the artist’s vision, and a staff with appropriate expertise. 

Each of these approaches brings up a specific set of questions regarding acquisition practices, documentation practices, preparation for future re-exhibition, and other conservation concerns. Answering these and other questions, focusing on the collaboration between institutions and collectors with artists and engineers, leads to conservation strategies for these fragile and complex artworks, as artists continue to explore the use of machine learning as an artistic medium.

[1] https://bitforms.art/exhibition/dall%C2%B7e-artificial-imagination/ 

[2] https://whitney.org/exhibitions/xhairymutantx

[3] https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5535

As we consider new tools and technologies for working with the video signal, it can be interesting to look back at key periods of innovation for digital video editing and manipulation. Steina and Woody Vasulka are "pioneers" of video and new media art and technology who spent their careers exploring the innate potential of the signal and pushed for new tools to facilitate this exploration. Steina, in particular, was fascinated with advancements in real-time A/V processing for purposes of performances, interactivity, and immersive environments and worked with many engineers and software developers throughout the 90s to create and modify software for these purposes. In anticipation of an upcoming exhibit being organized by the MIT List Center, I have been going back into my days assisting the Vasulkas with their archive and exhuming rare videos documenting the development process for these tools which has led to further inquiry around what was not-yet possible to do with consumer-based open-source video tools from this time. This begs the question of what past efforts have been made to create artist-driven tools with an open-source ethos, the successes and failures of these efforts, and what archives of this content can do to better ensure these obscure and abstracted histories can be interwoven to form a more complete narrative around media histories.

In this paper, we present recent collaborative work at Tate to advance the understanding and care of artworks incorporating control systems. Artworks can make use of dynamic elements which require management and coordination; for example, the dimming of lights, the driving of motors, or the coordination of multiple channels of audio or video. At the heart of such artworks are control systems: sets of components, typically involving programmed computer hardware, which choreograph the sequence of actions desired by the artist. While many of these technologies overlap with those used in software and computer-based art—a medium that has been a focus of research at Tate over the past decade—they differ in their reduced emphasis on material specificity and their tendency to remain inconspicuous when the artwork is displayed. In light of these differences, we identified control systems as a distinct challenge that would benefit from further research.

Building on our experiences in the conservation of software-based art, we examined a range of artworks where control systems play a critical role. Reflecting on both commonalities and unique attributes, this investigation led to the development of guidance designed to assist conservators at Tate, including:

* guidelines for identifying control systems, including common component types, and how they differ from software-based artworks;

* key considerations when condition checking and documenting control systems;

* measures to prepare for the future translation of control system functionality to new technologies, as a response to obsolescence.

We found that many principles applied to the conservation of software-based art remained relevant, but the relative importance of these shifted and certain activities (such as disk imaging) were less useful. Our findings placed particular emphasis on understanding the control sequence—the series of actions enacted by the control system. This entails a variable process of analysis and documentation which may require specialist expertise and provides the key to migrating the control system to new technologies in the future.

We have adopted the “control system” label as a pragmatic means of highlighting the conservation challenges associated with a distinct yet diverse group of artworks. While this has helped us advance our understanding, it is clear that this grouping is not homogeneous and we encountered artworks that defy categorisation. This illustrates the limitations of medium-based terminology and the evolving nature of artistic practices which will continue to transcend medium-led conservation approaches. It underscores a need for well-resourced, interdisciplinary conservation work at points of acquisition and display, and for research time to be integrated into these processes as we continue to learn. With control systems present in many collections, and potentially falling under the radar of time-based media conservation projects, our findings have broader implications. We hope this paper will spark a wider conversation and foreground the power of interdisciplinary collaboration to influence future care and preservation strategies for these artworks.

Keywords: Control systems, time-based media

The iteration report, first proposed by Joanna Philips, has been used in conservation to document different manifestations of a time-based media artwork with the understanding that each iteration results in changes to the work. These reports often encourage the writer to reflect on the iteration in terms of the appearance of the work, decision-making processes that led to the final result, and to assess whether it was successful and why. 

In one instance at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, we used the iteration report on a loaned artwork to not only reflect on the final appearance of the artwork, but also to consider the entire installation process for time-based artworks at the museum. The Museum recently hired a time-based media conservator; thus, some of the aims of this iteration report were to diagnose inefficiencies in current workflows as well as creating an ideal iteration report to serve as a model for future reports. The report was written in a collaborative manner with stakeholders in the Audio/Visual and Registrarial Departments. We are choosing not to name the artwork because it is not owned by the museum. This artwork’s installation, which was its second iteration, necessitated purchasing new equipment and altering the exhibition space which resulted in delays to the opening. The installation also coincided with other installations with tight deadlines, which placed intense pressure on museum staff. The iteration report served as a vehicle that allowed us to track where workflows could be improved to avoid having those same challenges in the future.

To aid us in this reflexive practice, we made some modifications to the report.  We created a timeline to note every decision that was made about the work from the moment it was considered for exhibition through the end of the exhibition, expanding the focus beyond the final presentation of the work. We also rigorously documented the labor involved in installing the work and creating the report. After the report was written, it was used as a tool to inform workflows for installing other time-based media artworks. This use of the iteration report became a catalyst for change in the museum with respect to how time-based media artworks are understood and handled, and therefore became a tool for internal advocacy. This adaptation of the iteration report could serve as a model for other stewards who are advocating for improved time-based media workflows in their institutions. 

In this presentation, Emma Dickson and Cass Fino-Radin explore the critical role of interdisciplinary collaboration in advancing the field of time-based media art conservation. Aligning with the conference theme "What's Your Story: The Power of Collaborations," we argue that the most innovative and effective conservation practices emerge when we blur traditional role boundaries, deconstruct established hierarchies within our field, and facilitate opportunities to exchange practical skills between practitioners.

Through years of cross-disciplinary collaboration on the treatment and migration of complex and interactive time-based media artworks, we have developed and refined new methods for assessing treatments, expanding beyond traditional visual inspection and the limits of human perception. These new methods—which are reproducible and quite accessible—will be shared by illustrating their application to two specific works of art: Tall Ships (1992) by Gary Hill and Ten Thousand Cents (2008) by Aaron Koblin and Takashi Kawashima.

These case studies will illustrate the specific tactics and methodologies used to apply two new universal principles for assessing time-based media works that have emerged from our collaboration:

1. Automation of interactivity for consistent artwork testing

2. Measurable and time-synchronized comparison of iterations

As the field of time-based media conservation continues to mature, integrating these principles into practice is essential for maintaining the integrity of time-based media artworks through successive conservation treatments. By providing conservators with replicable, objective means of assessment, these techniques help minimize unintended alterations that would otherwise inevitably accumulate over time.

The development of these new methods demonstrates how interdisciplinarity when extended beyond collaboration into individual experience and training that bridges into one's collaborator's field, can enhance conservation practice and yield the kind of innovation our specialization needs to steward the art of today and tomorrow.

While larger museums move forward with their Time Based Media collections, smaller and mid-size institutions continue to struggle with preservation planning for these complex contemporary works without easy access to media conservators - especially if they are all digital. Maintenance Culture is a project created by Myriad, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, to address challenges related to preserving complex, born-digital, creative works in smaller institutions. From 2022 - 2024, Maintenance Culture brought together creators and maintainers of digital design, web art, time-based media art, virtual reality, and more to address pressing challenges of preserving these works in small institutions. Through a Design Charrette and various working groups, Myriad organized across institutions and disciplines to create events, workshops, and guidelines for creators and maintainers (curators, conservators, librarians, other cultural heritage workers) who preserve digital design, time-based media art, net art, augmented reality, and more. 

Workshops were offered in 6 cities across the U.S., focusing on mid-sized cities including Baltimore, Houston, Detroit, and New Orleans.  Participants included cultural heritage professionals from a wide range of institutions seeking to provide long-term access to complex digital creative works. Participants shared experiences, discussed best practices, and worked across disciplines to consider new solutions for preservation of complex objects.

Project staff had ideas about preserving born-digital works at the start of the project, but the addition of artists’ knowledge provided insights into their creative process, intentions, and skill sets that changed the course of the work. We will share information about the implementation of the project, insights learned through the project, ways that  collaborations with creators shaped the outcomes of the work, and lessons learned. We will include evaluation data showing workshop participants’ achievements and reactions, and we will also talk about the future of Maintenance Culture, which has secured a new round of funding from the NEH and will continue through at least 2026.

In the spring of 2024, a fire at the Archaeology Lab at James Madison's Montpelier caused significant damage to collection materials, many of which were housed in polythene bags that melted under the intense heat. These recently recovered collections were in the initial phases of processing. Much of the contextual information and inventory that archaeological research depends on was recorded solely on artifact labels and paper lists that were also affected by fire. This paper outlines the development of a preservation strategy to address the state of the collection. The conservation methods tested include a combination of mechanical, thermal, and chemical techniques.The focus of the tests is twofold: first, to develop an effective approach for removing the melted polythene from the archaeological materials without causing additional damage; and second, to recover as much of the original inventory and contextual information as possible from the charred and melted labels. In collaboration with local public safety offices and archaeological repositories, further research is taking place to assess how the choice of storage materials may impact artifact preservation and recovery in fire events.

Penn Museum archaeologists began organizing Heritage West, a community archaeology project in West Philadelphia, in 2019. The initiative doubled as an undergraduate course in 2023 involving Penn faculty, staff, and students, as well as members of the public who live and work or whose families lived and worked in the immediate vicinity. Throughout 2024, lab work and processing of the materials took place at the Penn Museum, near the excavation site. Heritage West as a whole is a significant outreach and engagement opportunity that highlights local archaeological resources, makes field and lab experience accessible, and explores research questions of interest to people in the neighborhood closest to the museum.  

Archaeologists implemented extensive preparatory work to direct their focus and goals, concentrating on the Black Bottom, a once thriving Black community in the area now called University City. It was destroyed in the 1960s under the guise of urban renewal. The archaeologists believed that oral histories collected early in the project and existing archives about the area could be enhanced by archaeology. Excavation pushed the historical narrative of the neighborhood further back in time than living memory, adding material weight to stories of people who lived there, uncovering artifacts inspiring further memories and revealing aspects of daily life rarely recorded through other historical methods.  

Site conservation is about balance: the excitement of discovery and slowly revealing surfaces to avoid destroying historical data; the amount of material uncovered and the need for storage; the budget and the best supplies; the desire for democratizing access to archaeological training and the fragility of the archaeological record. The team experienced tight timelines and navigated continuously changing circumstances between the short excavation season (10 days over one semester), the physical location of the site in public spaces (a community center’s active gravel parking lot and yard), and the variety of excavators (from novice students and community members to practiced archaeologists). This excavation was not an example of perfect site conservation, but it exposed community members, undergraduates, graduate students, and museum staff to the effectiveness of a historical archaeological team that includes a conservator. Students in the class and community volunteers were interested in the relationship between the fields and had good instincts for asking questions most pertinent to each specialty. They quickly brought the conservator materials for possible identification, drew attention to more fragile finds for options for lifting and storing, and learned how to expose relevant maker’s marks, decorative surfaces, and other important details of recovered artifacts.  

The future of the collection is going to be decided in close collaboration with members of the team of volunteers who helped plan and excavate. This group of community volunteers all have current or familial relationships to the neighborhood or work in community organizations supporting current residents. It is hoped the artifacts will survive to be used in local artist efforts towards memorializing the neighborhood or on display in exhibitions, and that will be due to the efforts of the team to incorporate conservation considerations throughout the project.

In preparation for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s new Colin G. and Nancy N. Campbell Archaeology Center (CAC) scheduled opening in 2026, conservation was undertaken on a variety of objects selected for display in the new exhibition spaces. As the fellows hired to begin this process, part of our work was the treatment of two carboy bottles. The glass bottles, one clear and one green, were first assembled in the 1980s following excavation from the historic site of the Public Hospital. By the 2020s, the bottles’ original use is unclear, the old adhesives were visibly degrading, and no treatment records could be located. Additionally, after decades in open storage in the Archaeology Collections Building, the soon-to-be predecessor of the CAC, the bottles were obscured by surface dust. Over eight months, we examined, documented, disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled the two bottles, becoming familiar with a variety of adhesive reversal methodologies in the process.

There are 138 clear and 187 green fragments, creating the project’s first challenge. The sheer number of fragments required a mapping system to denote their locations on the bottles. We created a panorama map for each bottle, on which every fragment received a unique name and a physical label to identify it throughout treatment. We also devised a spreadsheet to track the treatment progress of each fragment. At about two feet tall, these bottles required close teamwork, clear communication, and comprehensive organization.

Another challenge of this project was the unknown adhesives from previous mending. These generously applied, yellowed adhesives were not only visually distracting but also posed risks to the bottles’ structural stability. FTIR analyses revealed Duco rubber cement and Epotek 301 on the clear bottle, and epoxies – most likely Fynebond and Epotek 301 – on the green bottle.

We undertook treatment on the clear bottle first, and one of its adhesives proved extremely tenacious. To find an effective treatment method for what was likely epoxy, reversal testing was performed to find ZipStrip (methylene chloride) alternatives. First, hot water and 1:1 acetone and ethanol baths were tried, but both were unsuccessful. Next, four solvent bath combinations were tested with 49 xylenes:45 acetone:6 ethanol proving to be the most effective, which reversed many joins and minimized the use of ZipStrip.

Surprisingly, the green bottle proved much easier to disassemble despite the FTIR results conclusively showing epoxies. Most joins were successfully reversed with 1:1 acetone and ethanol vapor chambers and baths. The few tenacious joins were reversed with 49 xylenes:45 acetone:6 ethanol baths. Testing from the clear bottle treatment provided an effective solvent combination to tackle the stubborn joins, significantly saving time during the second treatment.

The scale and complexity of the project required creativity, collaboration, and eventually tacit understanding between the two of us. Organization was key, with the panorama map and spreadsheet preventing disassociation and ensuring smooth coordination. Reversal testing revealed safer methods for removing epoxies. After much time and dedication, the two bottles are revitalized and ready for display in the new CAC building.

Large archaeological objects can be challenging to manipulate during and after treatment due to a variety of factors including structural integrity/fragility, scale, awkward shape, and weight.  These characteristics often occur in combination making it difficult to determine where to make direct-contact to an artifact’s surface as well as to identify center-of-gravity and how it will shift as an object is lifted or rotated. Consideration too must be given to minimizing stress to weak points and ensuring that an artifact is adequately secured, so that as it is moved/turned, it cannot physically shift in an uncontrolled/unexpected manner. Due to the need to reach all sides of an artifact during treatment, it is usually unavoidable that it will have to be turned at some point which increases the risk of damage. Ultimately, once an object is conserved, it will have to be placed on a mount and moved into storage or put on exhibition which also has the potential to cause damage. As no two archaeological objects are identical, often what works directly for one object may not for another. However, overarching concepts can apply to numerous objects such as the utilization of multipurpose mounts that can be used over the course of an artifact’s treatment. These kinds of mounts minimize the need for physical handling and therefore reduce the risk of accidental damage. This paper will present a series of case studies utilizing primarily USS Monitor artifacts to highlight a range of techniques and methods employed at The Mariners’ Museum and Park to lift, turn, and store large archaeological objects over the course of the last decade.

From May 2019 through December 2024, 201 ancient objects from the island of Cyprus were examined, documented, and treated in preparation for permanent installation in The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. From 2020 onward, this conservation effort was led by Conservator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts Emily Brown, collaborating with guest curator and Cypriot specialist Joanna Smith and private conservator Dimitra Pantoulia. Along with her own treatments, Emily delegated and managed the majority of this treatment, which was completed by four other conservators working in close collaboration: The Ringling Kress Conservation Fellow Tara Johnston, Objects Conservator Dimitra Pantoulia, and RLA Conservation conservators Elena Bowen and Krista Vaughn. After a brief introduction to the collection and conservation history of The Ringling’s ancient collection, this presentation will focus on an overview of the collaborative treatment methodology applied to the 201 objects prepared for permanent display. Material types included limestone, ceramics and terracotta, bronze and precious metals, glass, and gemstones. The talk will include case studies for several treated objects and conclude with a brief post-mortem reflection on the treatment approach, including both successes and lessons learned.

This paper will highlight conservation activities that are part of Paisajes Arqueológicos de Pañamarca (Archaeological Landscapes of Pañamarca), a multidisciplinary and multiyear archaeological research project in northern Peru’s Nepeña Valley. Pañamarca was one of the most important monumental Moche centers during the Late Moche period (ca. 600-800 CE). The adobe site is best known for its polychrome wall paintings that depict mythological iconography and human ritual activity. Conservation of the immovable elements of the site, especially the wall paintings, has been a priority since excavations by members of the current team began in 2010. The project expanded in scope and capacity before the 2023 season with funding from the Avenir Conservation Center of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. This expansion included the addition of more conservation staff and an enhanced focus on objects conservation and materials analysis. The excellent preservation environment at the site means that small finds are plentiful and span a range of materials, from sections of woven plant material to copper alloys. These small finds help to provide a more holistic sense of the archaeological spaces and the wall paintings that embellish the surrounding surfaces. This paper will provide an overview of how objects conservation has developed over two field seasons since 2023 at the site. To date, objects conservation has included both preventive and interventive activities; the paper will highlight examples of both, as well as some of the unique opportunities and challenges the project provides. Materials characterization has emerged as another area of focus for the project. Characterizing the paint palette for the site’s wall paintings exposed during excavation began with in situ analysis with portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry. Further analysis with polarized light microscopy (PLM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) has started on samples removed and exported from the site. Objects conservation and materials characterization will help to situate the materials and methods of production encountered at Pañamarca within the broader Moche world.

Thousands of visitors to Valley Forge National Historical Park in Eastern Pennsylvania have passed by “the forge” while walking the Park’s many trails. The forge was constructed in 1742 to finish crude iron “pigs” into hardware and tools. However, in 1777, British forces burned the valley and the forge—a major strategic site—to the ground. The Pennsylvania State Park Service excavated the Upper Forge Site ruins in 1929-1930 before the Park’s transition to federal ownership. Until recently, over three hundred wooden fragments of the forge’s structure sat in a barn. The artifacts fluoresced bright green under UV and reeked of mothballs—a telltale sign of the petrochemical creosote. The condition of the collection lent itself to a major collaborative research project including the Valley Forge National Park and Harpers Ferry Center in West Virginia.

Before treatment began, we established a triage lab in an open barn to temporarily store the collection. This process required the cooperation of Valley Forge’s maintenance staff and Harpers Ferry Center in order to provide the necessary infrastructure and resources. Our greatest priority was to remove the creosote coating, thus allowing the collection to be relocated to a climate controlled environment. Creosote is composed of strong volatile organic carbons (VOCs), which can cause respiratory irritation and damage. Unfortunately, creosote removal scholarship provided little help in devising a treatment plan for the Upper Forge Site. While creosote can be removed on an industrial level using abrasives or water pressure, these methods were not suited to fragile archeological material. The treatment plan had to be designed and tested from the ground up.

The condition of the collection was suitable for comprehensive testing. Boxes of dissociated debris were available for spot-testing. The wood’s internal cell walls and structure had long since been destroyed by the outside environment. Fluctuations in temperature and humidity caused the objects to expand, contract, and severely split in the barn. Conservators do not typically recommend submersion baths for archaeological wood for fear of bursting cell walls with fluid. However, the Park was more comfortable with pursuing wet treatment because the collection had already undergone this damage during storage.

After I conducted analytical testing at the Harpers Ferry Lab, I employed triage-style processing at the Park. I treated the wooden artifacts using a combination of solution, mechanical, and poultice cleaning. The creosote removal also yielded new residue-limiting poulticing techniques. I encountered challenges during the numbering process, which required the insight of conservators across multiple states. The project concluded with a modular storage method, also designed by a committee.

The Upper Forge Site project was an experiment in collaboration. Craftsmen, curators, preservationists, conservators, and analytical scientists across the federal government provided their expertise to the protection of this historically significant collection. Within a year, we had relocated the forge fragments from a barn to a climate controlled archive. Historical research has been compiled for the eventually interpretation, exhibiting, and possibly even reconstruction of the revolutionary forge.