Art conservation and restoration

Conservation is the profession devoted to the preservation of cultural property for the future. Conservation activities include examination, documentation, treatment, and preventive care, supported by research and education. (Definition taken from the Core Documents of The American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works - see external links.) Art conservation is not identical to art restoration. Restoration is a process that attempts to return the work of art to some previous state that restorer imagines to be "original". This was commonly done in the past. However, in the late 20th century a separate concept of conservation was developed that is more concerned with preserving the work of art for the future, and less with making it look pristine. Restoration is controversial, since it often involves some unreversable change to the original material of the artwork with the goal of making it "look good."

Art conservation can involve the cleaning and stabilization of art work. Ideally, any process used is reversible, departures from that ideal not being undertaken lightly. Cleaning is not a reversible process and can sometimes be controversial due to fears that cleaning would damage a piece, or on the grounds that damage or residue forms part of the history of a given piece and should not be modified. The statue of David has undergone two cleanings to remove dirt that had accumulated on the statue's surface.

In North America, only four colleges/universities offer a graduate degree in art conservation:

The University of Delaware (in association with Winterthur Museum)
Buffalo State College, New York
Queen's University, Ontario
New York University

In addition, the Getty Museum, in combination with UCLA is starting a program in Archeological Conservation, which is Art Conservation.

The opposite of art restoration is art destruction.

External links

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See also

External links