Subj:         Care of Outdoor Bronzes: August 1998 Courses
Date:   3/6/98 7:45:43 AM EST
From:   [log in to unmask] (John Scott)
Sender: [log in to unmask] (CONSORTIUM OF ART AND ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS)


New York Conservation Foundation Summer Course

The Care of Outdoor Bronze Sculpture

"The bronze course" is in two parts, each a five-day week. The
logistics of field work limit the second week's registration.

Week one: August 3-7, 1998, open enrollment.

Week two: August 10-14, 1998, limited--six persons continue.

This introductory course is designed to convey basic technical,
logistical, historical, ethical, professional, and administrative
elements of conservation practice in the care of outdoor bronzes.

Course leaders:

John Scott, N Y Conservation Center

Joan Pachner, PhD, Storm King Art Center

Leaders are usually assisted by another conservator, another
sculpture expert and one or two technicians.

Week one, historical and technical contexts:

a. Lectures, discussions and exercises.
b. Field demonstration: survey, documentation, site scouting.
c. Field tour: NYC monuments differently conserved.

Week two, a hands-on field exercise conserving an aesthetically
and historically important bronze monument:

a. Gear, transportation, site setup.
b. Cleaning, stabilization, coating.
c. Breakdown, site clearance, documentation.


The first week provides a conceptual and technical context
comprising historical and contemporary significances of sculpture
and monuments, historical and contemporary foundry practices,
bronze sculpture's diversity of structure and finish, environmen-
tal factors for deterioration, and a review of past and current
restoration practices. The lecture format is "slide talk."
Discussion is open.

We proceed along a balanced path to convey the diversity of
situations and conservation approaches. Different degrees of
intervention are shown for different states of condition. We
discuss professional and business practices, including pertinent
agencies and institutions, and securing and administering public-
and private contracts.

We go onsite to survey, document and scout the monument to be
conserved in the second week. We prepare the examination report
and treatment proposal (provided mid-September in final form with
basic photographs, to all participants). We review and apply our
first-week topics in a tour through New York City's Chelsea and
Greenwich Village districts, where we note and discuss the con-
dition, apparent conservation histories, and future needs of
several city monuments.

The second week's hands-on field exercise gives participants
exposure to basics of field logistics and practice, as well as
experience in preparing project documentation including photo-
graphs. The documentation is finished in our office after the
course concludes, and a copy with photographs is forwarded to
each participant for study and qualified portfolio use.

This summer we expect the course exercise to be in New York
City's Grammercy Park, conserving the Players' Club's Booth
monument. The bronze is in moderately poor condition, needing no
structural restoration; it has had no care for about 20 years.


REGISTRATION

Course fees are $500 U.S. per week, for instruction and materials.

Enroll early: first week before July 1, 1998; second week will
fill quickly. Please pay for each week separately; excess pay-
ments will be returned after the second week is fully enrolled.

Send letter and resume with payment drawn on a U.S. bank, payable
to "New York Conservation Foundation, Inc."

c/o

John Scott, Director                    212 714 0620
New York Conservation Center, Inc.          714 0149 fax
PO Box 20098LT                          [log in to unmask]
New York, NY  10011-0008

Background:

John Scott (MA, MBA, MA-CAS) is a well-known sculpture conservator,
analyst, and lecturer active in bronze care and other areas of
conservation since 1977. He led earlier versions of "the bronze course"
once annually in 1994, 1995 and 1996, as a public service of his firm,
New York Conservation Center, Inc. The not-for-profit New York
Conservation Foundation now administers the course. Conservators,
art handlers, curators, foundrymen, artists and restoration students
from North America and Canada have enjoyed this course.