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The first paper, by Jonathan Ashley-Smith and Lynda Hillyer from
the Victoria and Albert Museum, outlined three themes that recurred
throughout the symposium: conservation staff cannot be devoted exclusively
to practical intervention (senior staff spend time planning, supervising,
and training, and junior staff are being appraised and trained);
no collection is static (in achievable display and storage conditions
deterioration continues as conservation materials and treatments
have limited lifetimes); and museums are not static (new objects
are continually being acquired; objects are being rotated between
storage and display to avoid excessive exposure; and there are temporary
exhibitions, renewed displays, and loans to reach new and greater
audiences, and to tell new stories). These conditions exist even
for institutions where there is no conservation staff per se. Many
institutions have no budget specifically for conservation, and conservation
occurs only when a specific artifact is identified for treatment
in order to be used for an exhibit. A common condition for budgeting
for conservation is that the artifact be used in a travelling display,
which is frequently not in the best interest of an unstable object.
Obviously, the reality of textile conservation today is far from
optimum. The theme of exhibition perspectives was continued by Christine
Paulocik as she introduced us to the collections and exhibits at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute. The Costume Institute
has a very busy mandate, opening three exhibits a year with little
time between shows for preparation. To make the exhibit a success
Chris stressed the "necessity of teamwork and flexibility on the
part of those working to produce the show(s)."
Three papers discussed the problems historic houses pose for the
long-term preservation of textiles. Abby Sue Fisher of the United
States National Park Service discussed the necessity of open dialogue
among those involved in exhibitions in historic sites in order to
satisfy everyone, including the viewing public. Jennifer Iredale
of the Southwest Okanagan Region, Heritage Branch, Government of
British Columbia, described a conservation cleaning program implemented
at her sites to ensure preventive conservation measures. This program
included regular cleaning and inspection of artifacts and the storage/exhibit
room. Deborah Lee Trupin of the New York State Bureau of Historic
Sites - Peebles Island discussed display options when few original
pieces remain. The solution in such cases is to substitute reproductions,
but these are expensive and also require long-term preservation.
Deborah Bede from the Minnesota Historical Society dealt with long-term
considerations in her very frank paper detailing how her institution
developed a system for rotating or removing exhibit textile artifacts
before they had been exposed to amounts of light that would cause
serious deterioration. This system worked in theory but was difficult
to put into practice because of the time and labour required. Complicated
display case construction made it impossible to follow the schedule.
In the future, conservation staff will consult on all levels of
planning and construction so that cases are designed with ease of
access and the use of props wherever possible.
A number of papers examined the exhibition environment. Toby Raphael
introduced the new "Conservation and Exhibits: A Handbook Incorporating
Conservation into the Museum Process," published by the United States
National Park Service. Toby has taken the guidelines for exhibits,
published 10 years ago, and incorporated the subsequent developments
in preservation awareness. This will be a valuable tool for all
involved in exhibit design and construction. Scott Williams of CCI
introduced us to some of the problems we can expect from plastics
used in textiles. Conservators have been aware of the problems associated
with plastic artifacts in collections for a number of years now.
Plastics started appearing in textiles in the 20th century and these
unstable components have become a concern for textile conservators.
Scott discussed the potentially destructive plastics in exhibition,
storage, or packing materials. Very useful tables were included
in his paper on types of plastics, their deterioration characteristics,
and the damage they can inflict on neighbouring textile fibres.
Stefan Michalski of CCI presented a very comprehensive paper complete
with tables and graphs that can be used to determine appropriate
light levels for exhibiting textiles in collections. Larry Bowers
of the United States National Park Service introduced us to the
many virtues of fibre-optic lighting. He described the different
types of fibre-optic systems and demonstrated some of their uses.
The ideas presented in his paper were reinforced with demonstrations
showing examples of various systems.
Travelling a collection is currently very common. Many of the agencies
that assist with funding for exhibit development ultimately require
the displays to travel to increase public exposure. Exhibitions
that would not normally be considered for travelling are now being
moved across countries and continents, for display in places not
equipped or staffed for handling artifacts. Elizabeth Lominska Johnson
and Darrin Morrison of the University of British Columbia Museum
of Anthropology presented a paper describing the process they had
followed to develop a travelling exhibition of Cantonese Opera costumes.
The Chinese community in Vancouver had been involved to ensure accuracy
of the display. Description of the exhibit and packing techniques
and materials conveyed ideas that were both imaginative and practical.
Carol Brynjolfson of the Vancouver Museum explained the difficult
process of preparing a clothing exhibit for travel. The exhibit
had custom-made mannequins with porcelain heads, forearms, and chests.
The mannequins were so difficult to dress that they travelled wearing
the costumes; quilted covers were made for the costumed mannequins
and full-sized crates with internal supports were used for shipping.
Carol concluded with some very useful suggestions for travelling
exhibits of textile artifacts.
The dilemma for present day conservators is slowing artifact deterioration
in a speeded up world. Textile Symposium 97 offered suggestions
and ideas for handling and displaying sensitive textile collections
in innovative ways.
There are many important textile artifacts in the Yukon collections.
Attending this symposium was an opportunity for me to discuss developments
in textile conservation with conservators from large museums and
institutions throughout the world. Remaining abreast of new developments
will enable me to use the most up-to-date practices in caring for
the textile collections in the Yukon.
The CMA Bursary Program and the Museums Assistance Program of the
Department of Canadian Heritage provided financial assistance for
me to attend Textile Symposium 97; I would like to thank them.
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