IIC Congress

IIC Congress
Call for Papers

Los Angeles
12-16 September 2016

Los Angeles: home to Hollywood and cinematic legend, to a long
celebrated music industry that has formed the backdrop to the lives
of millions and to a dynamic, cutting edge artists' community, the
city is also home to hundreds of museums and galleries--from the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Norton
Simon Museum and the Hammer Museum to the LA Museum of Contemporary
Art and the newly opened Broad Museum of Contemporary Art.

Arguably one of the great creative cities of the world, Los Angeles
is the location for the 2016 IIC Congress, organised in
collaboration with INCCA, the International Network for the
Conservation of Contemporary Art, Saving the Now: Crossing
Boundaries to Conserve Contemporary Works.  Reflecting one aspect of
the rich and varied history of the city's architectural styles, the
congress will be held at the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel,
situated in the centre of the vibrant downtown and arts district.

Saving the Now: Crossing Boundaries to Conserve Contemporary Works

The diversity of materials, processes and modes of creative
expression that make up our contemporary cultures present ever more
complex challenges for the conservation profession.  Whether
considering works of art, architecture, products of contemporary
design, or other media, the profession is having to adapt to an
expanding set of values and demands, while attempting to maintain
existing ethics, philosophies and best practices.  Nowhere is this
seen more clearly than in navigating the delicate balance between
the artist's or creator's intent and the preservation of original
materials and procedures when these appear to be in direct conflict.

Conservators working in this area do so without the benefit or
comfort of well-established hierarchies of values often afforded to
colleagues preserving more traditional heritage objects.  Faced with
the uncertainty of judging which aspects of contemporary culture
will be valued by future generations, the conservation profession
has responded to date by encouraging stronger dialogue with artists,
carrying out unprecedented levels of documentation and adopting an
increasingly interdisciplinary approach to conservation with, for
example art historians, architects, curators, engineers, scientists
and fabricators.

While such approaches have undoubtedly resulted in an improved
interpretation of contemporary cultural heritage, and vastly
increased volumes of information for future generations of
conservators and curators, relatively little progress has been made
in assessing the likely impact of making certain decisions, or
undertaking specific treatments on contemporary works today.  What
will be lost if the major guiding principle for conservators remains
the artist's intent?  What is the consequence of avoiding treatments
due to the unavailability of established procedures?  Has the debate
on replicas already become too polarised?

One potential avenue for advancing the field is to explore and
compare different philosophies and approaches to conserving
contemporary culture utilised in different disciplines, markets,
countries and cultures.  Can ethics and values adopted by the built
heritage sector assist in conserving moveable heritage, and vice
versa?  Can approaches used for ethnographic collections be
integrated more broadly into contemporary art practice?  Can the
different issues posed by public art, or the art market, help
influence Institutional thinking?  Can non-materialistic
philosophies help to move the field forward in broader terms?

IIC and INCCA, international organisations with members worldwide,
are coming together to offer opportunities for conservators of
contemporary culture to cross such boundaries and engage with
diverse approaches to ethics, values and conservation approaches
from a variety of cultures, disciplines and geographical regions.

Simultaneous Call for Papers and Posters

We now invite the submission of proposals for papers and posters to
be presented at the 2016 Congress.  Please note that on this
occasion we are issuing a simultaneous call for paper and poster
proposals: there will be no later separate call for posters.  We are
looking for new and original, unpublished work, relevant to the
Congress theme and to conservation.  We are also looking for an
awareness of the need for ethical treatments. Multidisciplinary
proposals are encouraged.  A requirement of submission is that one
of the authors of each selected paper or poster must attend the
Congress to present the work to the audience.

To make your submission please go to the Congress page of the IIC
website

    <URL:https://www.iiconservation.org/congress/>

We look forward to seeing you in Los Angeles.

Graham Voce
Executive Secretary
International Institute for Conservation
of Historic and Artistic Works
3, Birdcage Walk
London SW1H 9JJ UK
+44 20 7799 5500
Fax: +44 20 7799 4961


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:42
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