I’m not really sure how productive I would be in -40 degree weather (really, who wants to sleep in a snow filled bedroom or use a frozen porta-potty, but it’s been cool to read how these conservators recently completed treatments on an historic iron-alloy match box and a sewing box, reams of paper and a screw packet, to name just a few things.  Their adventures in this dark and frozen world are always worth a read and besides where else are you going to hear about people riding around in Haaglands and Piston Bullies?   I wonder what kind of license you need to drive one of those things.

Besides imagining myself working in a snow-filled tundra, I’ve been digging around on the internet for other blogs about art conservation.  Not surprisingly I can find only one blog devoted to conservation in Antarctica, but what did find out is that there are a lot more blogs related to book and paper conservation than any other specialty in my profession.  I enjoy the irony of this: that the people that are responsible for preserving the thing that the internet seems to be eliminating are the ones that seem the most interested and comfortable using it.

Take for example blogs by Jeff Peachey, Holly Robertson, and Beth Heller.  Jeff Peachey always has something interesting to share about working as a book conservator: from talking about type-setting tools to posting about one of the larger topics currently being discussed in my profession: certification.  Holly Robertson’s blog Do I really want to touch that with my hand? provides a behind-the-scenes look into a book conservator’s work at the University of Virginia Library.  And Beth Heller’s blog Beth Heller Conservation covers a lot of territory (who knew she had something from her collection traveling to space?)

In addition to blogs about book and paper conservation, there are a few blogs out there about archaeological digs.  The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology Dig Diaries (hosted by the University of Michigan), is a blog where you can find out what conservators Suzanne Davis and Claudia Chemello are doing at the site in Tel Kedesh Israel.  Besides reading the weekly updates and seeing the field pictures, I’m a big fan of the Find of the Week.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention who I believe is the first person to blog about an art conservation project: The Brooklyn Museum’s Lisa Bruno first post back in 2006 was about a large-scale treatment of a replica of the Statue of Liberty.  Since then, the BM has posted all sorts of conservation-related material: from the installation of a “Period Room”, to John Steele’s own “Dig Diaries”,  to an in-depth discussion of the conservation of an Egyptian mummy that’s currently on view here at the IMA as part of the To Live Forever exhibition.

I don’t claim to have uncovered all of the blogs out there about art conservation.  Have you seen any that are interesting?  If so, will you leave me a comment with a link so I can check it out?

It’s a video of Grant Romer of the George Eastman House talking about the famous Abraham Lincoln glass plate negative. I think there’s a lot to like about this video: it’s a great subject; the video is well produced (note that this “video” is made entirely from still images); and I think Grant Romer’s voice sounds a lot like William Carols Williams’. What’s not to like? Download audio file (Williams-WC_08_Just-to-Say_prod-Emerson_08-50.mp3)

While it’s surprising that the renowned Lunder Conservation Center of the Smithsonian doesn’t appear to have any of their videos up on youtube.com or Google Video, they have some good ones embedded in the web page (see if you can spot one of the Issac Mizrahi aprons ). I recommend this excellent video of objects conservator Helen Ingalls talking about a treatment she completed on a marble sculpture of Tecumseh.

As a graduate of William Henry Harrison High School (go Raiders!), I’m well aware of the important place in American history that Tecumseh and his younger brother The Prophet hold so I was thrilled to see this treatment.

The third video is just part 1 of 5 videos of the 1999 restoration of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts’ important painting by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, The Immaculate Conception.

You can find the rest of the videos on the museum’s web page and also check out a massive amount of documentation that was done before, during, and after the treatment. The conservation work was completed by Joan Gorman, David Marquis and the rest of the folks at the Midwest Art Conservation Center.

I would be remiss not to point out that IMA has begun to create some content about art conservation within its website. You can go here to check out the youtubers that have been made and you can go here to learn about the Sebastiano Mainardi Conservation Project . Since there’s been some recent talk about creating more content about art conservation for the IMA’s web page, I’d like to ask you what you think:

What kinds of things would you like to see more of from the conservation department?

• Discussions of the techniques and materials of artworks?
• Discussions of the condition of artworks?
• Demonstrations of conservation projects & treatments?
• Or something else all together.

Let me know, will you?