Symposium on conservation practice and decision making in modern and contemporary art

Fail Better
VDR-Symposium about Conservation Practice and Decision Making in
    Modern and Contemporary Art
Hamburger Kunsthalle
6-8 December 2013

Conference Language: English

"Try again / fail again / fail better," is a quote by the Irish
writer Samuel Beckett that inspired a recent exhibition at the
Hamburger Kunsthalle in which artists explored the theme of Failure
in both its playful and tragic aspects.

Custodians and conservators of modern and contemporary art are
confronted with the consequences of the exploratory and experimental
approach that has characterized much art of the modern era. Together
they have faced new challenges and developed new responses when
artist techniques and practices have moved from traditional towards
less durable materials and formats. "One More than One" is the title
of an exhibition at the Hamburger Kunsthalle with works by Eva
Hesse--an artist whose works very much reflect this challenge. And
although conservators have benefited from research to improve their
technical capabilities and treatments have become more science
based, it has also become more common to replace unstable or failed
materials in degrading artworks.

The symposium is an opportunity to examine this practice in relation
to sculptural works as it raises difficult questions that challenge
a conservator's aspiration to preserve the original material of an
artwork.

Information and registration at

    <URL:http://www.restauratoren.de>

Barbara Sommermeyer
Hamburger Kunsthalle
Gallery of Contemporary Art
Conservation
Glockengiesserwall
D-20095 Hamburg
+49 40 428 131 243
Fax: +49 40 428 543 409


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 27:12
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