From Sharks to Sugar: Addressing Conservation Issues of ... - incca

materials. Now there is more awareness in the field of health hazards to
both the conservator and the environment, and more interdisciplinary
research has been conducted. (Hill Stoner, 2005, p.53)
The author speaks of a turning point in modern conservation when
more value began to be placed on consultation with living artists:
In a landmark conservation conference in 1980 at the National
Gallery of Canada, conservators, artists, scientists, and curators
discussed issues relevant to the conservation of contemporary art.
Several conservators spoke about their collaborations with living
artists and the importance of interviewing artists to ascertain their
views about materials and addressing damages to their pieces.
Consulting and working with artists or collaborating with native
Americans have been categorized together as acknowledging the
cultures of origin, yet another important new direction for
conservation. (Hill Stoner, 2005, p. 55)
The notion of the interviewing the artist to aid in conservation decisions is
not new, yet it is still not consistently practiced in the museums that hold
contemporary artwork.
Conservation Field Addresses Artist Intent
Steven Dykstra discusses the history of art conservation and the
split between aesthetic and scientific art conservator. He explains the
history of debates within the art conservation profession and also in other
professional fields about interpretation of artist intent. He addresses the
ambiguity of the term “artist intent” and breaks it down into eleven
variations of its definition. Placing this discussion into an art conservation
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