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"What is Important?" 

What is central to a cultural heritage object, the materiality or the conceptual intent behind it?

 

Who decides? 

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What is the role of the conservator in these decisions?

Intersections Between the Conservation of Modern/Contemporary Art and Non-Western and Indigenous Heritage Objects
 
WUDPAC, Fall 2019

Background

This project stemmed from a curiosity about artist interviews and interest in modern/contemporary and non-Western heritage material. I interviewed objects conservators working in one or both of these subspecialties. We discussed documentation, artist interviews, the conservator's decision-making, and how the conservation field has changed.

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The project expanded to include conservation’s assumptions and decision-making for treatments that fall within these subspecialties.

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I completed this project as my second-year WUDPAC independent study during Fall 2019.

Selected Case Studies​

08_Naranjo_Morse_AlwaysBecoming_01.jpg

Always Becoming (created 2007) by Nora Naranjo Morse

National Museum of the American Indian.

Photo: Ernest Amoroso, artist's website

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Expanded Expansion (1969) by Eva Hess

Fiberglass, polyester resin, latex, and cheesecloth

Guggenheim Museum, Acc. 75.2138

Photo: Guggenheim collection online

Nearly every interviewee asked, “what is important?” and expressed that this—whether physical or conceptual—was the essential element to preserve. My report focuses on how interactions with artists and communities have shifted conservators toward this opinion, how conservators negotiate these collaborations, and the overarching departures from traditional conservation methodology.

 

Ultimately, these subspecialties focus on the human element and prioritize a treatment’s impact on people in the present day.  

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