Hello Mr. Harvey,
I was interested to read your descriptions of conservation and preservation.
Your comment at the end of your message caught my attention, also. Can you
please elaborate? What distinctions would you make between "Authentic" and
"Original"?
Best regards,
Teresa
Teresa Morales
Ph.D. candidate, Art Education
The Pennsylvania State University
818-563-6534 - telephone
818-563-6519 - fax
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Harvey" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2003 5:38 PM
Subject: Re: Conservation and Preservation
> As a professional conservator for over 14 years and having led another
life
> as a musuem professional in interpretation before that, I will be happy to
> answer this question as best I can.
>
> "Conservation" is a process, action, or decision that affect sites,
> monuments, buildings, and collections and their environment. It can range
from the best
> known aspects of conservation (e.g.scientific analysis, treatment, and
> condition surveys) to the lesser but often vital aspects of preventive
conservation
> (environmental monitoring, risk assessment, integrated pest management,
proper
> light control, archival housing and storage, and even proper handling).
>
> "Preservation" is a larger issue - in the sense that it can involve the
> preservation of landscapes, historic strructures and sites, monuments,
collections,
> as well as historical data, ideas, and skills. In library practice, for
> example, microfilming a collection of historic papers is "preserving" the
inherent
> intellectual value of that collection; while physically performing a
> conservation treatment, to mitigate residual acids in the papers or
rehousing the
> papers in archival folders, is "conserving" the actual physical artifacts
that
> comprise the documents.
>
> Of course, to the genreral public, as soon as you mention "Conservation"
they
> think that you are an environmentalist - someone who saves small nearly
> extinct creatures or trees. It is one of those things that sometimes
amuses but
> never daunts those in my field.
>
> It reminds me of all of the confusion between "Authentic" and "Original"
that
> I often heard when I worked on the Interpretive side of things....
>
> Cheers!
> Dave
>
> David Harvey
> Artifacts
> 2930 South Birch Street
> Denver, Colorado 80222
> 303-300-5257
> [log in to unmask]
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help"
(without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
