Call for papers--Symposium on wood and furniture conservation

Call for papers

"Material imitation and imitation materials in furniture and
    conservations"

13th International Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation
Stichting Ebenist
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
18-19 November 2016

Professionals and students in conservation and restoration, art
history and materials science are invited to submit an abstract for
a presentation at the upcoming symposium on material imitation in
furniture and interiors.  The imitation of materials in artefacts
appears to be as old as mankind, and the motives for disguising one
material as another can be very different.  The absence of a
particular raw material or the lack of technical knowledge has made
people look for alternative ways to come up with similar products.
This, for example, has long been the case with Asian lacquerware in
the West.  As a consequence, for centuries Western craftsmen have
been producing japanned artefacts.  Gold, precious stones and
marble, exotic woods and other materials that were the exclusive
preserve of kings and other rulers have been produced by local
artisans using nothing more than paint, stained local wood species
and the not so noble metals provided by their own local
surroundings.

The 19th- and early 20th-century discoveries in materials chemistry
brought a flood of new materials to the disposal of artists and
craftsmen.  Even today these new synthetic materials are posing
serious problems for conservators.  Some materials that start out as
an imitation of an expensive or otherwise unavailable material have
successfully lost their initial second-class status and made it into
a proper material in itself.  Due to this emancipation we no longer
regard a colourfully printed vinyl fabric as an imitation of
leather, or cheap laminate flooring in our homes as an imitation of
real wood.  The recent discoveries in computerised production
techniques have also changed our use of materials, and already seem
to present a class of their own.

Among the many topics to consider are:

    Production and analysis of imitation materials, such as European
    'lacquerware' for urushi, stained wood species for ebony,
    marbling and graining, printed oil cloth and vinyl for leather,
    varnished brass and tin for gold and silver, horn or celluloid
    for tortoiseshell etc.

    Treatment techniques and the use of imitation materials to
    restore banned materials such as tortoiseshell and ivory.

    Development of new imitation materials and techniques: 3D
    scanning technology, plastics and metals for 3D printing,
    computerised woodcarving.

    History of imitation materials: cellulose nitrate, Bakelite,
    high pressure laminates in furniture and interior design.

    Art history and sociology of material imitation: faux bamboo,
    gilders compo, papier-mache.  In addition to the 20-minute
    presentations we also welcome flash talks of no more than 5
    minutes, and posters.

Please submit your 300-word abstract to info<-at->ebenist<.>org.  Abstracts
are accepted until May 1, 2016.  Successful applicants will be
required to submit the full text and presentation by November 15,
2016.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 29:43
                  Distributed: Tuesday, March 29, 2016
                       Message Id: cdl-29-43-008
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