Seeking submissions for the concurrent general session at AIC’s 47th Annual Meeting 2019
New Tactics: The Evolving Role of the Conservator of Contemporary Art
A newly forming network, the Contemporary Art Network (AIC-CAN!), is seeking papers for a session at AIC’s 47th Annual Meeting in New England 2019, to discuss the shifting roles of the conservator in contemporary art, and to foster interdisciplinary collaboration; recognizing that the theoretical, philosophical, and practical challenges of contemporary art conservation cross material specialty lines. New Tactics: The Evolving Role of the Conservator in Contemporary Art is intended to frame and launch CAN! as a new platform of expertise, reflection and innovation embedded within the larger AIC-community. We explicitly welcome all participants and attendees to engage in discussion and exchange around the session itself, as well as on further developing/defining the future of AIC-CAN!. Submissions are due September 15th 2018.
Possible topics include: relationships between artists and fabricators; processes of artmaking today and the possible roles of conservators therein; decision-making/negotiation in collaborative settings; reproduction, replication, exhibition copies and the question of authenticity; a conservator’s place in the process; challenges of preserving nontraditional materials and techniques; understanding and preserving ephemerality; documentation of complex and variable media, such as installation and performance art; and, does conservation affect the value and/or meaning of an artwork?