Call for papers--Multidisciplinary conservation in historic house museums

This is a call for papers for a joint conference of ICOM-DEMHIST and
three ICOM-CC Working Groups, to be held at the Getty Research
Institute in Los Angeles, November 6-9, 2012 entitled:

"The Artifact, its Context and their Narrative: Multidisciplinary
    conservation in Historic House Museums"

ICOM-DEMHIST, the international committee for historic house
museums, and three ICOM-CC working groups Sculpture, Polychromy, and
Architectural Decoration, Textiles, and Wood, Furniture, and Lacquer
are collaborating in the organization of a conference to be held in
November 2012.  This four day conference will be hosted by The Getty
Research and Conservation institutes in Los Angeles.

Past conferences organized individually by ICOM-DEMHIST and ICOM-CC
working groups have already focused on conservation of collections,
structures and settings and the importance of a multidisciplinary
approach. In this new collaboration we aim to promote the concept of
multidisciplinary conservation within the specific context of
historic house museums.

The theme of the symposium will focus on managing the inevitable
deterioration of structure and materials in historic house museums,
while balancing the need for public access with current standards of
practice in conservation. Historic houses remain in constant use
throughout their lifespan and their interiors consist of diverse
materials often altering dramatically due to change imposed by
society, their environment and function. The proper care for
historic interiors and their edifices draws from many conservation
specializations as well as from many other fields. Therefore it is
essential to approach each project in a holistic manner using a
multidisciplinary collaborative approach involving all stakeholders.
It is intended that posters and papers selected for the upcoming
symposium will focus on the following key issues:

   "The Historic House Museum as an artifact": This theme relates
    to all issues encountered when the house itself is a significant
    historic artifact and how to balance public access with current
    standards of practice in conservation.

   "The artifact within its context": This topic concerns the
    historic house museum as a vessel in which a collection is
    presented. Focus will be given on balancing the individual
    conservation needs of solitary objects within the context of an
    integrated collection and its setting.

   "Conservation and the "narrative" of the Historic House": This
    theme will delve into how conservation and its discoveries can
    play a role in engaging and educating the public, both in the
    narrative presented on public tours and by demonstration of
    conservation techniques

Authors are invited to submit abstracts related to these topics by 1
March 2012 to

    Artifact.Context.Narrative<-a t->gmail< . >com

All work submitted must be original and not have been published
elsewhere. Abstracts of no more than 500 words should include the
title, authors' names, profession, ICOM registration number and
relevant committee / working group, e-mail and address of the
corresponding author. We kindly request that all submissions be
proof read by a native English speaker.

Selection will be based on the relationship to the theme of the
meeting, with an emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach,
originality, and addressing the context of historic house museums.
We encourage the submission of papers that result from collaborative
projects that echo the multidisciplinary approach of the conference.
Preference will be given to ICOM members.

All final papers and posters will be peer reviewed by an editorial
committee prior to the conference.

Selections will be made by 1 April 2012, authors will be informed
accordingly.

Proceedings of the symposium will be made available to delegates and
members of ICOM-CC and ICOM-DEMHIST.

Programme: Presentations will be held over three days and delegates
will be given the opportunity to continue the theme of the
discussions during the excursions. Posters will be exhibited during
the symposium and a dedicated poster session will highlight their
content. The language of the symposium and proceedings will be
English.

The venue: The Getty Research and Conservation Institutes are
located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles California (USA) and are
world renowned institutes dedicated to furthering the knowledge and
understanding of visual arts on a theoretical and technical level.

Jonathan Gration


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:29
                 Distributed: Sunday, December 18, 2011
                       Message Id: cdl-25-29-007
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