February 10, 2010
Condition Reporting Workshop
Posted by Arden Kirkland under Presentation, Workshop | Tags: Chartier, condition reporting, Presentation, Scheer, Workshop |[11] Comments
On Wednesday, February 3rd, we were very lucky to have textile consultants Jonathan Scheer and Rebecca Chartier (of J. Scheer and Co., Rhinebeck and New York) present our first “formal” workshop. First, we met around the big table in the Design Room to introduce ourselves, and then Mr. Scheer spoke about the care of textiles. His talk included an introduction to the factors of textile deterioration, characteristics of fibers, best practice for handling historic textiles, and strategic planning for the care of collections.
His assistant, Rebecca Chartier, also added a great deal to the discussion, particularly concerning environmental issues affecting collections, and how to mitigate some such problems. She also shared a sample condition report and treatment/mounting plan for an object she had worked with at the National Museum of the American Indian (Smithsonian).
Then, after a short break, we moved downstairs to work hands-on with objects from our collection. Participants were divided into seven pairs, and each pair was assigned an object with a particular condition issue. Each pair worked on filling out a condition report worksheet, with close examination of the object. Mr. Scheer and Ms. Chartier circulated around the room to see what the students were discovering, offer guidance for their descriptions, and help with analysis and terminology.
Finally, we brought the group all together again, to talk about how some of the objects on display represented specific condition issues and terms. Mr. Scheer and Ms. Chartier both provided thoughtful answers to student questions, including interesting anecdotes from their personal experiences working with a variety of textiles at a variety of institutions.
The time went by far too quickly, but we are very grateful to Mr. Scheer and Ms. Chartier for this informative presentation!
February 10th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
One of the most important things I took away from the presentation was that similar fabrics should be stored together. As Mr. Sheer and Ms. Chartier said, storing all vegetable based fibers and all protein fibers together is important because it minimizes the risk of damage. For example, if cotton and wool garments were stored in the same box, pests would tear through the vegetable fabrics to get to the protein garments below. Storing the vegetable based fabrics separately will, therefore, ensure their safety, even if an infestation gets into the boxes containing wool and silk textiles. Also, because each of the textiles have different needs, with some needing a moister or a drier environment for example, it is imperative to keep them in separate boxes and store them in their appropriate temperature/humidity.
Although our system of grouping chronologically and by type makes logical sense and provides great ease if a garment needs to be retrieved, the presentation has lead me to think that we need to redo a lot of our hard work in order to serve the best interest of the collection.
February 10th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
I left the workshop with one major question: what is the purpose of our collection?
The workshop provided a great deal of useful information about how to achieve ideal preservation conditions. But aside from the obvious concern, which is that resources limit the extent to which the ideal is achievable, I also wondered whether we might have goals other than preservation.
Under perfect preservation conditions, objects would never be handled. But we need to handle objects to study them, and availability for study is, of course, a significant objective if we want to learn from the collection.
Preservation conditions are undoubtedly important in making the collection last as long as possible. But I also feel that ability to access and learn from the collection is an important reason for having it at all, and shouldn’t be entirely discounted.
February 10th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
I agree with the previous post. As a college, I feel perfect preservation (and thus inaccessibly) of the collection would be an injustice to the student body as there is a vast amount to be learned from observing and handling the objects. Which is why I think the eventual goal of an online image database is really important, so students who don’t spend time in the costume shop know about this great resource on campus.
One thing that I took away from the workshop was how completely one needs to think about the environment in which historical collections are stored. For example, it never would have occurred to me what a potential danger the sprinkler system could be to the collection.
February 11th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
This workshop encouraged me to think about two important questions regarding the collection. The first is the frustrating issue of our budget, and how to plan realistically for our practices without over-spending. While Mr. Scheer certainly explained the best practices, we simply can’t follow all of his suggestions on our budget. We should have a solid plan regarding realistic expenditures, but at the same time this might be a good moment to brainstorm about fundraising. Perhaps there are ways we could make ourselves more useful and visible to the college that would showcase our merit and inspire a larger budget. Maybe there are ways we could reach out to the community to make money, like holding an exhibition and charging a small fee for entrance.
The second issue, as Faren mentioned, is that of the purpose of the collection. While I am dedicated to the preservation of our items for future generations, I do worry that they, like us, will be too preoccupied to fully enjoy, appreciate, and learn from the items.
February 11th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
I was wondering about fundraising as well. We need to have something to SHOW people to get them interested in funding further work on the collection, and hopefully this blog will help with visibility. But what else could we be doing, especially to get the word out to alumni?
I already knew the basics of proper storage practices for art in general, and textiles specifically, but it was interesting to hear Jonathon Scheer go into more detail. It was somewhat disheartening at times, hearing that there’s not much to be done if a stain is visible or the silk has already shattered. Hopefully we can at least get some of the garments properly stabilized this semester, and generate broader interest in future preservation efforts.
February 13th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
The suggestions that Mr. Scheer brought up about storage conditions, caused me to be much more aware (in the week following the workshop)of how crowded many of our pieces are. While doing sorting and cataloguing I grew anxious about crushing garments or forcing them back into the drawers, once they had aired out and regained some of their natural shape and volume.
Though during the lecture, many of Mr. Scheer’s ideas seemed like goals for the future, I’m now realizing that we will need to start making storage changes much sooner. Otherwise we run the risk of losing our more fragile pieces.
February 14th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
Regarding how we should re-work our storage classification system for the historic objects, I too thought Jonathan Scheer’s suggestion about storing like fibers with like fibers is really important as we go forward to re-organize things.
However, like some mentioned above, we are not trying to obtain perfect preservation conditions because we will not be able to with our space and budget, and because we want to be able to have objects available for study and exhibition. Plus, I think i’s important to have the objects organized at least partly by time period and occasion, because having those sorts of like objects together would help us have to access fewer boxes if we are taking out a selection of a specific selection of objects pertaining to type or era, so these things wouldn’t be spread around randomly.
Basically, I just think we have to take all the information we get from the workshops and decide carefully which suggestions we can and want to employ, finding a happy medium between successful preservation and accessibility of the collection.
February 15th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
I agree with the idea that the collection should be more visible. I believe the collection is not as well known or used as it possibly should be, especially considering it’s importance as Vassar history, women’s history, and art. The possibilities of showing the collection on campus are certainly available-the Palmer Gallery for one-and maybe during parent’s or reunion weekend’s to increase it’s visibility to those that may be more open to the needs of the collection. It might also be possible to somehow make this a regular class (albeit without the workshops, unless there were some type of fund set up to bring in guest lecturers)-learning the techniques, etc. and preparing and showing the collection as part of the class. It is good to preserve the pieces, but if the pieces are forever hidden away, they really are lost anyway.
February 16th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
It seems from these comments that everyone is thinking about the right issues – we do indeed have many important decisions to make about storage (for preservation) and accessibility. It’s important to recognize the tension between those two issues.
But please remember – that’s exactly what this semester is all about! We don’t have the answers right now (we’ve still just barely begun this project) but the data we are gathering about our specific objects will put us in a much better place to make decisions and move forward.
This also relates to funding – the documentation we will have by the end of the semester is exactly what we’ll need to apply for grants and seek support from donors.
Increased visibility will also help, as several of you have pointed out. So spread the link to this blog, discuss this project with anyone you can, and build some buzz for when we show off our final projects at the end of the semester!
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:59 pm
I found Mr. Scheer and Ms. Chartier’s presentations to be quite surprising. Not because they said anything that didn’t make sense or was provocative, but because they had brought up facts about preserving a collection that I had never really thought about. For instance when we had the workshop and talked about all the different conditions the garments could be in, I hadn’t really thought that some problems could happen after they were stored away (other than from moths who had sadly discovered ravaged a collection of my old clothes a short time ago).
What particularly caught my attention was how things so simple in storage like light and folding could affect a garment. Then when we assessed the conditions of some garments pulled out of the collection for that purpose and saw garments that had unnatural creases or shattered silk, or even faded color from simple lighting, it hit me how fragile some of the collection was even after it has been removed from the strain of normal wear-and-tear.
Sadly I do not know if we have the budget or the space to not overcrowd some of the outfits. However I do think our class is taking a proactive step by assessing the levels of damage in the collection and pulling aside the more fragile pieces for further consideration.
February 28th, 2010 at 4:21 pm
I thought that Becky was really a sweetheart — it was so great to see someone working so hard to achieve the level of schooling needed to pursue her passion. I know that she told several of us that she would be excited to come back and assist. I think that it would be a great opportunity to have a role model that is only a few years ahead of us in school, but who obviously is so knowledgeable, in the shop while we work.
Perhaps this would be a great way to work on making up some of the hours that we lost in the snow, especially because we have moved past the point of inventory into more detailed work cataloging the object. Maybe a group of us could meet Becky to work on a Saturday or two (because Arden works so hard with us during the week!)