Email digest for the Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList) egroup. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Le temps des épreuves: ouverture de l'appel à contribution / The age of photographs symposium: call for papers 2. RE: Query: Dense Black Patinas Incorporating Carbon Pigments 3. Preventive Conservation Assessments Workshop ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.From: Marie-Angélique Languille Posted: Thursday November 6, 2025 8:21 AM Subject: Le temps des épreuves: ouverture de l'appel à contribution / The age of photographs symposium: call for papers Message: English below -------------------------------------- Chères et chers collègues, Nous avons le plaisir de vous annoncer l'ouverture de l'appel à contributions du symposium international « Le temps des épreuves. 50 ans de préservation des photographies » qui se tiendra à Paris du 9 au 11 novembre 2026. Ce symposium s'inscrit dans le cadre de la célébration du bicentenaire de la photographie organisée par le ministère de la Culture. Destiné aux scientifiques de la conservation, conservatrices et conservateurs, responsables de fonds, conservatrices-restauratrices et conservateurs-restaurateurs de photographies, ainsi qu'aux historiennes et historiens de la photographie, ce symposium contribuera à construire le récit de cinquante années de recherche en conservation-restauration du patrimoine photographique. Il s'attachera à présenter un état des lieux des recherches récentes sur la matérialité des photographies et les conditions de leur conservation. Vous pouvez soumettre votre contribution via le site internet suivant avant le 15 janvier 2026 : https://tempsepreuves.sciencesconf.org/ <https://tempsepreuves.sciencesconf.org/> Au plaisir de vous rencontrer à Paris, à l'automne 2026 ! Le comité d'organisation, Christine Barthe et Anne Gianotti-Laban (musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac), Céline Daher (Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation), Agnès Gall-Ortlik (Département pour la préservation du patrimoine photographique de la Ville de Paris), Stéphanie Grison (Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation), Marie-Angélique Languille (Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation), Bertrand Lavédrine (Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation), Isabelle-Cécile Le Mée (Ministère de la Culture) et Bertrand Sainte-Marthe (Archives nationales). ------------------------ Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce the opening of the call for papers for the international symposium, "The Age of Photographs: 50 Years of Image Preservation", which will be held in Paris the 9th, 10th and 11th of November 2026. This symposium is part of the events celebrating the bicentenary of the invention of photography organised by the French ministry of Culture. Intended for conservation scientists, curators, managers of photographs collections, conservators as well as historians of photography, this symposium on photographic heritage will recount fifty years of research into its preservation, and present an overview of recent research on the materiality of photographs and their conservation conditions. You can submit an abstract before the 15th of January 2026 here : https://tempsepreuves.sciencesconf.org/?&lang=en <https://tempsepreuves.sciencesconf.org/?&lang=en> We look forward to seeing you in Paris in the autumn of 2026 ! The organising committee, Christine Barthe et Anne Gianotti-Laban (musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac), Céline Daher (Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation), Agnès Gall-Ortlik (Département pour la préservation du patrimoine photographique de la Ville de Paris), Stéphanie Grison (Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation), Marie-Angélique Languille (Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation), Bertrand Lavédrine (Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation), Isabelle-Cécile Le Mée (Ministère de la Culture) et Bertrand Sainte-Marthe (Archives nationales). 2.From: Robert Price Posted: Thursday November 6, 2025 2:57 PM Subject: RE: Query: Dense Black Patinas Incorporating Carbon Pigments Message: Dear Caitlin, Thank you for pointing out Joanna Rowntree's 2002 OSG abstract - what a shame there isn't more. Generally, torch applied black patinas produced with cupric nitrate and black pigment are quite stable, especially if waxed properly and maintained. Andrew Baxter and Steve Roy, who just taught at the Getty's second Bronze Patination for Conservators Workshop, regularly apply this patina and can speak more authoritatively about its longevity based on their decades of experience. In terms of patinas "popping off", as Rowntree describes, densely applied patinas can potentially spall or flake off but this is usually connected to application technique rather than the chemicals or pigments used. As for the issue with cupric nitrate patinas on silicon bronze resulting in the formation of cuprite, which has been described in Patrick Kipper's Patinas for Silicon Bronze, this does not always occur and appears to be somewhat dependent on environmental factors. Lots to discuss here, so please feel free to email or call me directly. ------------------------------ Robert Price Associate Conservator J. Paul Getty Museum Los Angeles United States [email protected] ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 11-05-2025 16:39 From: Caitlin Gallupe Subject: Query: Dense Black Patinas Incorporating Carbon Pigments Dear Conservators, I'm a recent Objects conservation graduate working with a private conservator, and I've encountered a bronze sculpture featuring a dark, dense surface patina composed of a mixture of cupric nitrate and a carbon-based pigment. I'm hoping to locate more information on this patination technique and I'd be very grateful for any articles, case studies, experiential anecdotes, or references to related research on pigmented patinas and their issues/aging. So far, the only reference we've been able to locate is an intriguing abstract by the late Joanna Rowntree "Issues of contemporary patination on outdoor bronze sculpture" from AIC 2002 Objects Specialty Group Postprints, which mentions similar black patinas that incorporate carbon-based pigments. Thank you for any resources you can share, Caitlin Gallupe Victoria BC Canada [email protected] <[email protected]> 3.From: Sarah Saetren Posted: Thursday November 6, 2025 7:18 PM Subject: Preventive Conservation Assessments Workshop Message: FAIC is excited to present the "Preventive Conservation Assessments <https://learning.culturalheritage.org/products/preventive-conservation-assessments>" workshop taking place February 4-6, 2026, in Puerto Rico. The workshop is free and participants will receive a travel stipend and complimentary accommodations. Space is limited to five participants and interested individuals must apply by December 7, 2025. In a general preventive conservation assessment, two preservation professionals provide an overview of an institution's collections, buildings, and building systems, as well as policies and procedures related to collections care. The assessment can help the institution prioritize their collections care needs, facilitate the development of a long-range preservation plan, and serve as an advocacy and fundraising tool for future collections stewardship improvement projects. General preventive conservation assessments provide an incredible service to collecting institutions, particularly small and mid-sized institutions that do not have access to conservation and preservation professionals on a regular basis. This workshop will train individuals how to perform preventive conservation assessments in collaboration with another assessor. The workshop will be structured as an actual assessment site visit, with the instructors guiding participants through staff interviews, site tours, and other elements of an assessment. After the site visit, the group will debrief together, and each participant will be given a section of the report to write. The instructors will review and edit the sections, and the final report will be given to the museum. Additionally, online webinars will take place in January prior to the in-person workshop. Participants will be required to view the webinars before attending the workshop. Participants will be selected based on the usefulness of the training to their work and on their geographic location, with preference given to individuals located in areas where few professionals offer general preventive conservation assessments (e.g. Puerto Rico, the Midwest, and Mountain Plains, and other areas as determined by staff overseeing FAIC's Collections Assessment for Preservation program). Efforts will be made to include both collections and building professionals. For more information, visit https://learning.culturalheritage.org/products/preventive-conservation-assessments <https://learning.culturalheritage.org/products/preventive-conservation-assessments> ------------------------------ Sarah Saetren FAIC Education Manager ------------------------------ You are subscribed to "Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList)" as [email protected]. To change your subscriptions, go to http://community.culturalheritage.org/preferences?section=Subscriptions. To unsubscribe from this community discussion, go to https://community.culturalheritage.org/HigherLogic/eGroups/Unsubscribe.aspx?UserKey=d16eaa87-0f69-494b-9f2f-303dbc1222e1&sKey=fab9aa4f27a04c5d876e&GroupKey=757a8f16-505f-4323-8e74-e376757aa9f7.
