This is a summary of the one-day Art Handling Workshop that PACIN co-sponsored on Friday November 14th at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.
The workshop was co-sponsored and organized by RC-WR (Registrar’s Committee Western Region), CAM (Californian Association of Museums), CERA (California Exhibition Resources Alliance) and PACIN. Sharing the organization of the Workshop made for an efficient, cost effective and well promoted event. In total 131 delegates attended. In initial planning we were expecting 50-75 delegates.
Having all four organizations involved in planning and implementation will enable future workshops on this and other subjects and will enable a more broad outreach by efficiently pooling both resources and networks.
Speakers and the topics they presented were:
Jacqueline Cabrera, Chair - Registrar Committee Western Region & Associate Registrar for the Getty Villa was the moderator for the workshop. She also spoke about "Emergency Plans & Damage Procedures" which covered the basics of policies and procedures which need to be in place prior to a possible disaster. In the disaster situation one has to be prepared for the actual disaster, the assessment once the disaster occurs and the recovery process for both large and small types of disaster scenarios.
Brent Powell, Chair - PACIN & Head of Preparation, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco introduced the workshop with an "Overview of the Profession" which looked at how institutions have evolved with hiring and training of specialized staff to ensure proper care of their collections. In the afternoon Brent spoke about "Job Descriptions, Training, and Collection Manuals". This presentation dealt with the elements of writing job descriptions and hiring of preparation staff; training and educational opportunities; and the basics of how to create a collection handling manual.
Joe Fronek, Paintings Conservator, L.A.C.M.A. Conservation Center presented "Paintings Overview". Joe presented a thorough basic explanation of different painting materials; their application; and various types of structural support commonly for paintings. He presented examples of x-rays of painted surfaces so we could see some damaged areas before they were restored. Joe followed this with presentation of the basic principles of proper handling techniques to mitigate the risk of damage of handling, transport and storage.
Kevin Marshall, Lead Preparator for the Getty Villa, J. Paul Getty Museum presented an overview titled “3D objects" (sculpture, metals, glass etc.) In his presentation Kevin covered the basics of handling object most commonly found within a collection. A strong focus was placed on the antiquities from the Getty Villa collection with many examples of handling large oversized objects.
Chail Norton, Assistant Conservator, L.A.C.M.A. Conservation Center presented an overview on "Works on Paper", covering the correct handling and how to protect WOP from UV deterioration. Chail showed many images of handling techniques and the specific effects of miss-handling and storage. This presentation included short videos of the techniques of proper handling and movement of a WOP from one point to another.
Robert Hollister, Director of Collections and Registration, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles spoke on the topic of "Loan Conditions & Loan Agreements" and the issues related to safe handling when artworks are outside your general control. This was a step by step explanation of the loan agreement specifics which require that proper procedures and polices are followed to ensure proper handling and care when your object is in the shipper’s and the borrower’s care.
Angela McGrew, Associate Conservator, Autry National Center, Los Angeles presented an overview of "Ethnographic Objects". Angela focused on the basic and common sense approach to making effective storage housings and handling devices for diverse objects found within an ethnographic collection. Angela gave actual demonstrations of how to make simple tissue supports; how to roll a textile properly; and also supplied the delegates with samples of bean bags and other quality storage materials.
Breakfast and lunch were generously sponsored by Cooke's Crating & Fine Art Transportation Inc., Los Angeles.
Based on general feedback and a follow up survey by CAM, this workshop was well received by everyone who attended. You can find more information and images from this workshop on the PACIN Website, just follow the links.
Click here to view speaker’s handouts and presentations.
We are planning on having this workshop presented at other venues across the US, taking it on the road so to speak. Venues and audiences will change and the workshop will continue to evolve with different speakers adding their experiences.
Brent Powell, PACIN Chair
Speakers and Topics:
Workshop Introduction
Jacqueline Cabrera
Chair, Registrar Committee – Western Region
Associate Registrar for the Getty Villa
J. Paul Getty Museum
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1000v
Los Angeles, CA 90049
T: 310-440-7225
Overview of the Profession
Brent Powell
Chair, PACIN
Head of Preparation
Asian Art Museum
200 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
T:415-581-3550
Paintings Overview
Joe Fronek
Conservator, Paintings
L.A.C.M.A. Conservation Center
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
T: 323 857-6000
3D objects (sculpture, metals, glass etc.)
Kevin Marshall
Lead Preparator for the Getty Villa
J.Paul Getty Museum
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1000v
Los Angeles, CA 90049
T: 310-440-7058
Works on Paper
Chail Norton
Assistant Conservator, Paper
L.A.C.M.A. Conservation Center
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
T: 323-857-6167
Loan Conditions
Robert Hollister
Director of Collections and Registration
The Museum of Contemporary Art
250 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
T: 213-621-1704
Ethnographic Objects
Angela McGrew
Associate Conservator
Southwest Museum &
Autry National Center
234 Museum Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90065
T: 323-221-2164 x250
Job Descriptions, Training, and Collection Manuals
by Brent Powell
Emergency Plans, Damage Procedures and Closing Remarks
by Jacqueline Cabrera