I have attempted to resist responding to this thread,
but my energies have expired! ;) What many non-conservators may not
realize is that conservators have a Code of Ethics (see the American Institute
for Conservation [AIC] website for a copy) that they follow, and one of the
most important elements is the tenant that it can be considered unethical
to give advice for the treatment of an object that they have not PERSONALLY
examined. So, not giving remote advice is NOT because a
conservator isn't helpful or willing to assist, but rather that it may be
unethical. There are far too many variations in the nature, condition, and
past histories of objects to be able to discern the best alternatives without
examining the object. Often, even after examining the
object, the conservator can't tell visually, and must do tests. For
this reason, what was done to other objects in other situations may not be
appropriate for different objects.
Second, there are varying opinions in the conservation
profession, just as there are in virtually all professions. Some of these
opinions are not accurate, or do not provide the best preservation
results. Discerning these can be very difficult, even for other
conservators. For example, in the particular question about leather, there
is a great amount of disagreement among conservators about applying leather
dressings to collections objects that are intended to last hundreds or thousands
of years. Many of the components of these dressings are excellent food
sources for molds, and this is exactly the problem that was occurring with the
original questioner. Applying one of these dressings in this specific
situation may cause an even greater mold problem in the future.
Third, ALL the conservators I know freely give of their
time and expertise, especially to smaller organizations. Personally for
me, this is usually several hundred hours per year. In fact, I would
postulate that this is a good way to separate the TRUE conservators from the
imposters. Yes, there are a lot of imposter conservators who are not
necessarily fully trained and do not necessarily abide by the Code of Ethics,
but they see the benefit of calling themselves conservators. Another of
the Code's concepts is the free exchange of knowledge. Conservators are
encouraged to publish, give talks at conferences, and give of their time in
educating the public, including museum staff. Someone who is hesitant to
share their knowledge is probably not a real conservator.
Fourth, conservators do not have "high hourly rates"
considering the amount of training they have. How much does your local
auto repair shop charge per hour? Mine is $95. A mechanic does not
have four years of undergraduate study, followed by three years of graduate
study. But, they are charging the same as many conservators. The
closest educational parallel is lawyers, who also have four years of
undergraduate and three years of graduate study. Does anyone know of a
single lawyer who charges anywhere near $100 per hour? My college roommate
went to law school at the same time I was in conservation grad school, and we
graduated the same year (actually, my program ran three months longer than
his). He charges $300 per hour. I have never charged more than 1/3
of that. Conservators in private practice also have significant fixed
costs, which includes various insurances, rent, utilities, supplies and
equipment. And, generally they can only bill about 20-25 hours per week on
average, as the rest of the time they must do administrative and marketing work
that is not billable. Add to that the fact that there are occasional gaps
between projects with no billable income, and that vacation and sick time are
unpaid, and most conservators probably have a net annual income of $30,000 -
$50,000. And, in this economy, many are below this. So, looking at
the whole picture, I don't think many would conclude that conservators are
highly paid.
That's all, folks!
Marc
American Conservation Consortium,
Ltd.
4 Rockville Road
Broad Brook, CT 06016
www.conservator.com
860-386-6058
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, March 21, 2010 10:07
AM
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Leather
conservator
I agree that a trained and experienced
conservator is always best way forward, but for many sites that cannot
afford one, is it not better to follow guidelines from conservators
who actually share their knowledge than let an object deteriorate
further?
I searched many journals about the benefits and
potential harms of Klucel-G and Mowital - products used by
professional conservators at the Biltmore. As the chemical actions of
those products were reversible in ethanol, we proceeded with caution.
We tested it first. Likewise, the information came from trained
conservators who agreed to help as questions arose in the process as a
professional courtesy. It was a like for like process- leather
chairs.
I agree that saddle leather is quite different to
leather used in books or in furniture, and thus, the same
method should not be used without consulting an
expert.
Another point I would like to make is that many
conservators do not share their knowledge, and thus, are able
to maintain their high hourly rates, which are deserved if
they are well trained. I believe in paying for expert
knowledge and used many conservators - Gentle Arts in New Orleans for
example - but the same principles for the care and preservation of
objects used by conservators should be known by curators of smaller
sites who may risk losing an object forever for the lack of any
action. Certainly they should know and understand the nine agents of deterioration, and methods of mitigation and
control. Likewise, most sites will have far too many
textiles to send to a conservator and a well-informed and trained
curator or museum technician can be trusted to use orvus paste, for
example, on specific textiles that require cleaning.
I am reminded of the many Victorians who acted
with all the best intentions and ended up causing more damage to
paintings than if they had done nothing at all. So, I do agree that it
can be dangerous to proceed without fully weighing the pros and cons
of any contact/action with objects.
Whenever I have shared the method we used with
others, I have always prefaced it by stating that I was not trained
specifically as a conservator though the method, materials and process
did come from them.
Sincerely,
Ware
Petznick |
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