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Intermuseum
Conservation
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January 2008
 - Vol 2, No 1
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The Vitrolite Building, ICA's Cleveland home.


A common misconception about conservation centers is that they deal only with a wealthy clientele. Nothing could be further from the truth. The ICA provides preservation and conservation assistance to anyone with a need, and we are committed to public service. This month's issue highlights some recent ways in which we have engaged our community: restoring WPA-era murals for reinstallation in new public housing; partnering with a state preservation organization to offer free educational programming; providing free materials information to students, artists, and other interested parties; and completing free surveys of two public museum collections. Outreach is at the core of our mission.
Leroy Flint's Bas Relief Tile Map Before Treatment
By Jennifer Lis,
Paintings Fellow

A damaged WPA-era bas relief map once graced the wall of the community center at the Valleyview housing project. Over the years, the map and other artwork at the complex suffered at the hands of humans and nature alike. That changed when the ICA came to its rescue a few years ago. However, the story of the artwork began decades before.

On June 5, 1940, Valleyview Home Estates opened in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland. Valleyview was the first public housing facility in Cleveland to be completely funded and supervised by the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA). Ernest Bohn, Director of Public Housing, championed support for funds to embellish public housing.

Under the direction of the Public Works Administration, local artists produced murals, outdoor animal sculptures, and ceramics for Valleyview. Elmer Brown, one of only two African American artists to paint murals in the Cleveland area, painted two murals in the community center. Artist Louis Grebenak painted a mural in the offices.

On the wall of the community center was a bas relief map of the housing project. Leroy Flint designed the map and created it out of 200 glazed terra cotta tiles. At the bottom of the map, Flint sculpted large figures of the workers involved in the development and construction of Valleyview. Twenty-four decorative glazed terra cotta tiles created by Henry Keto hung in a breezeway in the community center. The tiles depicted the past and present social and economic development of Tremont.

Many ceramists also generated artwork for Valleyview. Eight cast stone animals embellished the play areas for children to climb upon. Grace Luze, Edris Eckhardt, and other artists sculpted ceramic figures which decorated the nursery. The tiles depicted children playing and animals.

Over the years, the condition of the buildings and the artwork deteriorated. CMHA decided to demolish Valleyview and construct new homes. The ICA spearheaded an effort to save the murals, sgraffito tiles, ceramic tiles, and bas relief map. The artwork was deinstalled, then spent several years in storage. Last fall, treatment of the map, sgraffito tiles, and ceramic tiles began. ICA painting and object conservators collaborated on the restoration, which is now complete. The conserved pieces will be re-installed into the new CMHA development, now called Tremont Point. ICA conservators will begin the restoration of the murals in 2008.
Ohio Preservation Council
The ICA has recently entered into an exciting long-term partnership with the Ohio Preservation Council, in an effort to spread both organizations' common message on the critical importance of safeguarding Ohio's irreplacable cultural heritage.

ICA's Field Services Officer will work closely with OPC members to develop a traveling "road show" of resources available to all individuals who own or are responsible for the management of material culture collections. The program is intended to provide an overview of preservation, conservation, disaster response, and grant resources, among other topics.

Though still in the planning stages, the ICA and OPC hope to begin offering the program in the late spring of 2008. Sessions will be presented all over the state, and will also be available on demand, all absolutely free of charge. Check the ICA and OPC websites for future updates.
AMIEN
The Art Materials Information and Education Network (AMIEN), the newest educational feature of the ICA, has recently passed its first anniversary. Though officially founded in September 2006, AMIEN's website and extensive discussion forums were launched in December 2006. Traffic on the site and a high number of requests for educational programs suggest that AMIEN has had a successful first year.

Co-Director Mark Gottsegen has been invited to present lectures every month since January 2007, and is currently "booked up" through August 2008. Some lecture engagements for 2009 are also in the works. The website has had an average of nearly 7,000 visitors per month. AMIEN is clearly meeting a need among artists and other constituents.

As 2008 begins, Gottsegen will be permanently relocating to northeast Ohio and joining the ICA as a full-time staff member. He has several initiatives planned, including materials research projects; answering an invitation from the Getty Foundation to apply for financial support for the program; and the on-going development of relationships with colleges and universities in the Cleveland area, with the eventual goal of offering AMIEN internships.
19th-Century Sampler
On Saturday, February 2nd, the ICA will host Camille Myers Breeze, nationally-known textile educator, as she presents a full-day workshop on the care and handling of historic textiles. The workshop will be held in the ICA Conservation Center in Ohio City, and is limited to 20 participants to maximize student/instructor interaction. Participants will receive sample archival storage materials, including Hollinger polypropylene textile boxes and acid-free packing tissue.

This workshop is only the latest in a series of educational programming offered by the ICA. It was made possible, in part, through the generosity of Mr. Richard Horvitz and Ms. Erica Hartman-Horvitz. If you believe that the preservation of our common cultural heritage is a vitally important undertaking, and you would like to support the ICA's educational endeavors, please contact Field Services Officer Nicole Hayes.
CCAHA
The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, ICA's sister lab in Philadelphia, recently offered a very successful two-day conference, "A Race Against Time: Preserving Our Audiovisual Media."

The conference was held at ICA member-institution The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and was attended by more than fifty people; most were from Ohio and the Midwest, but some came from as far away Georgia, Massachusetts, and Nairobi, Kenya!

Topics included audio recordings, motion picture film, videotapes, and how to reformat (and pay for the reformatting of) all these types of media. PALINET served as a national co-sponsor of the conference, which was also offered earlier this year in Washington D.C.

The ICA was pleased to act as a local co-sponsor for this important program and hosted a welcome reception and lab tour in our Ohio City facility.
Paintings Conservator Heather Galloway at work.
As reported in our April 2007 issue, the Oberlin Heritage Center and the Massillon Museum were both awarded fully-funded conservation surveys after submitting outstanding applications for the ICA's "Subsidized Survey" program.

OHC asked ICA to help it identify preservation priorities for the wooden furniture that fills its historic house museums. Conservator Andrea Chevalier spent two days carefully examining over one hundred pieces and determined that the collection is in such good repair that only six items required any treatment!

Massillon Museum has an extensive object and image collection. They identified a subset of their paintings collection, works by the artist William T. Mathews (1821-1905), as being particularly important to the history of their community and the region. Paintings conservator Heather Galloway and paintings fellow Jennifer Lis worked for one and a half days examining twenty-six of Mathews' portraits and landscapes.

Now that the object surveys are complete, the ICA's conservation staff is producing written documentation on the condition of the pieces, and proposals for possible treatment. If Oberlin and Massillon choose, they can use these documents to seek grant monies to support the costs of further conservation and preservation activities.

All of these services--multiple-day on-site surveys, condition documentation and reporting, and preparation of treatment proposals--were provided to these two organizations absolutely free of charge through this special program. Both museums demonstrated a commitment to collections care, and each has made great strides in improving the quality of its storage environments and care and handling procedures in recent years. The ICA will continue to assist them in the months to come, as they move forward in implementing recommendations.

For additional information on obtaining a collection survey for your organization, contact Field Services Officer Nicole Hayes.
ICA staff salvaging water-damaged blueprints.
Do you know the risks to your collection from fire and floods? Have you been meaning to develop or update an emergency plan but just haven't had the time? Do you know where to begin or what resources you need to get started?

A new pilot program from Heritage Preservation can help. The Risk Evaluation and Planning Program (REPP) is looking at how museums with limited resources can better prepare for emergencies. It will fund a risk evaluation, the crucial first step in developing an emergency plan, and then provide expert guidance in developing a plan. Fifteen institutions in Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas will be accepted into the program.

The program begins with an on-site evaluation by a team of two professionals: a conservation expert and a local emergency preparedness official. After the site visit, each participating museum will receive a report with practical, cost-effective recommendations for reducing risks to collections and a packet of resources for planning, training, and funding. The evaluation team will use the report to help the museum develop an emergency plan.

Go to the Heritage Preservation website for information on eligibility requirements and an application. The application will be available January 4, 2008, and will be due March 31, 2008. Sign up to receive reminders of the application availability and deadline at www.heritagepreservation.org/REPP/inform.html. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or call 202-233-0800.

The Risk Evaluation and Planning Program is funded with a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Ohio Historical Society
The Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary source of federal support for the nation's museums and libraries, has recently announced that it is conducting an online survey and offering a series of public hearings to learn "the ways in which public funds are used, and whether there are gaps between expectations for the Institute's authorizing legislation and the capacity for museums to meet their public service role."

One of three national hearings will be held at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus, Ohio on March 10, 2008 (date subject to change).

For more information on the study and the reasons behind it, please visit the IMLS website.
The Ohio Museums Association, of which the ICA is a proud member, recently released its first "Museum Perks Booklet." The booklet contains "25 special offers from OMA member institutions all over the state, and is available only to Ohio Museums Association members." The special offers include free admissions, free concessions, and free and reduced prices on merchandise.

Though the hardcopy version of the 2008 booklet has already been sent to members, the OMA is inviting ongoing submissions for addition to their website. Members can visit the site and print coupons at their convenience. The ICA has submitted a coupon for a free consultation with a conservator already available through the online edition.
Looking for that interesting article on the Saul Steinberg mural treatments, but can't find the email? We have recently added a new feature to our website that will help you in your search. An archive of all past issues of ICA News Online has been placed on the ICA Home Page. Issues are listed by date and each link includes a brief description of the major topics covered that quarter. Future issues of the e-newsletter will also be added to the archive.
One of Sol LeWitt's "49 Three-Part Variations"
January 20-22, 2008
American Society for Testing and Materials Bi-annual Meeting
(Paints, Appearance, Weathering and Durability Committees)
Fort Lauderdale, FL
ASTM International is one of the largest voluntary standards development organizations in the world--a source for technical standards for materials, products, systems, and services. Topics for this meeting include the proposed development of standards for inkjet printer inks. Meetings are free and open to all interested parties.

January 25-26, 2008
The Object in Transition: A Cross Disciplinary Conference on the Preservation and Study of Modern and Contemporary Art
Getty Center
Los Angeles, CA
ICA Paintings Conservator Heather Galloway and Allen Memorial Art Museum Director Stephanie Wiles will be participating in a panel discussion on the treatment of Sol LeWitt's 49 Three-Part Variations on Three Different Kinds of Cubes. This conference is free and open to the public, though advance registration is required.

February 2, 2008
Textiles: From Household Goods to Museum Artifacts
ICA Conservation Center
Cleveland, OH
Spaces are still available for this hands-on workshop, taught by nationally-known textile educator Camille Myers Breeze. Register now!

February 7-March 13, 2008
The Artist's Book
Notre Dame College Performing Arts Center
Cleveland, OH
ICA Paintings Conservator Wendy Partridge will be one of the artists whose work is on display in this exhibition.

March 9-10, 2008
Ohio Museums Association Annual Conference
Dayton Marriott
Dayton, OH

March 10, 2008 (subject to change)
IMLS Hearing on Museum Funding
Ohio Historical Society
Columbus, OH

SAVE THE DATE!
April 11, 2008
Photographic Processes: History and Identification
ICA members and friends will soon receive information about this hands-on one-day workshop, taught by photography expert Gary Albright. Registration is required and forms will be posted to the ICA website when available.

Nicole Hayes, Field Services Officer
Intermuseum Conservation Association

216-658-8700
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