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ICA News Online
January, 2016
Vol 10, No 1
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| This month ICA highlights two iconic pieces visiting our ICA labs from the Rock Hall, and six free community programs being offered in January and February. Read on to see all of the ways we're working to improve the preservation of this region's shared artistic and cultural heritage. |
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A Bit of "The Boss" Visits ICA
Last month ICA's Paper and Textile labs received two objects from the canon of recording and music video history: the red baseball cap and studded leather belt worn by Bruce Springsteen in the iconic Annie Lebovitz photo for his first album, Born in the USA. Both are currently undergoing examination for potential treatment.
The baseball cap is a recurring prop in the music video for Glory Days, a semi-autobiographical song about a man looking back on his high school days.
Today, music video scholars study the visual details and aesthetics of these "illustrated" songs and the stories they tell. The Rock Hall needed assistance in preparing these time-worn items for safe display in an upcoming exhibition, so they could tell their stories again.
The black leather belt studded with plastic jewels and metal conchos has wear along its outer edges. Loss of grain skin was a concern and there are some corrosion issues within the silver decorations. Surface cleaning and stabilization of loose elements would preserve the appearance of the belt, while insertion of a clear polyester film barrier within the belt loops of the jeans would reduce the friction between materials, allowing it to be safely displayed on the pants.
Even in the 1985 video the cap had a frayed visor, and damage to the sweatband fabric is apparent in the album cover photo. Thirty years later, the plastic visor liner is split and delaminating, the nylon sweatband material is mostly missing, and fine plastic coating particles are being shed. Protective overlays of polyester gauze sewn to the sweatband and visor lining can eliminate the risk of further loss of material; an archival support for the hat could restore shape and prevent further distortion while on display.
While the effects of aging and deterioration can't be stopped, certain preventative measures can allow these objects to be displayed in a way familiar to the stories they illustrate-- the belt looped through those jeans, and the time-worn cap looking like "The Boss" just took it off.
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Works on Paper
Panel Discussion/Q&A
Saturday, January 16th, 2:00 PM FREE!
Prospect Contemporary Art
2731 Prospect Ave, Cleveland
In conjunction with the exhibition Works on Paper, ICA Paper Conservator, Jamye Jamison, will be participating in a panel discussion along with a representative from the Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory in the galleries at 2731 Prospect Contemporary Art. The panelists will discuss longevity and preservation issues surrounding the creation and display of works on paper. There will be plenty of time for a Q&A session following the presentations. Light refreshments will be served.
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Wednesday, January 27th
6:30 - 8:00PM
FREE!
Artists Archive of the Western Reserve
1843 East 123rd Street, Cleveland
Confused about adhesives? Wondering about paint selection? What is an "archival" paper anyway? Stretcher versus strainer? Should you varnish that oil painting? Not sure how to mount your work now so that it will still look great for your career retrospective?
An extended question and answer session will follow so come prepared.
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Care of Military Textile Collections
Monday, February 1, 2016
6:00 - 8:00 PM
Cleveland Grays Armory
1234 Bolivar Rd, Cleveland
Cleveland Grays Armory Museum is pleased to host ICA's Textile Conservator, Jane Hammond, for a public lecture on appropriate care and handling of military textiles. Topics will include best practices for storage, cleaning, and display. There is no charge for this program, but seating is limited, so reservations are required.
Please RSVP to Cleveland Grays Armory Museum at (216) 621-5938, or email your reservation to grays1837@yahoo.com.
Learn more about the Cleveland Grays at their website: http://graysarmory.com |
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These programs are offered as part of ICA's public preservation education initiative, and are made possible in part through grants from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and Ohio Arts Council.
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Do you have a stash of framed objects and old frames and don't know what to do with them? This webinar will focus on the ways that smaller institutions can care for those frames and their contents safely and economically. Topics will include storage tips on a budget; whether to use glass or Plexiglas®; the nuts and bolts of framing hardware; caring for period frames; and the advantages of using standard frame sizes.
ICA conservators Wendy Partridge and Paper Jamye Jamison will lead the program through the national initiative Connecting to Collections Care. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion at the end. For more information, or to register for this free program, please visit the Connecting to Collections website:
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Funding for Conservation
& Preservation Projects
Jennifer Souers Chevraux
Education Outreach Officer
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
10:00 - 11:30 AM
Foundation Center, Cleveland
1422 Euclid Avenue, Suite 1600
Does your museum or heritage organization have collection treasures in need of conservation or preservation but, doesn't have the funds to make it happen? Learn how to plan your project and find funding opportunities to make your conservation and preservation initiatives a reality. Topics covered will include:
conservation/preservation basics, project refinement, funding sources, and grant assistance programs.
To register for this program, click the link below:
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NEH Preservation Assistance Grant Application Deadline is May 13th!
There's still plenty of time to get your project plans together, and ICA's conservation staff will review your grant application before final submission, if we receive a draft by April 15th.
Preservation Assistance Grants help small and mid-sized institutions-such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, cultural organizations, town and county records offices, and colleges and universities-improve their ability to preserve and care for their significant humanities collections.
These may include special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine art objects, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, historical objects, and digital materials.For more information on eligible projects and how to apply, visit NEH's Preservation Assistance Grant website.
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