Wednesday 24th August between 1-2pm

SPEAKER:
Professor Ellen Pearlstein - UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials.
When: Wednesday, 24th August 2016
Time: 13:00 - 14:00
Where: Iziko South African National Gallery

Assessment of significance and decision-making in object conservation

Conservators make decisions based on the historic, aesthetic and social significance of the heritage objects with which they work. This informs what is prioritized in the treatment and display of these objects, and in turn influences their presentation and interpretation. In a class designed to teach the non-neutrality of decision-making, conservation students performed significance assessments on family heirlooms and used these to inform treatment and display. This talk will include an analysis of the impact of significance on a range of conservation decisions.