There has been limited research into the role of reconstruction in the preservation of Indigenous... more There has been limited research into the role of reconstruction in the preservation of Indigenous Australian archives, both those created within Indigenous communities, and those created about Indigenous people. Following a phenomenological methodology in which the research question is contested against real world experience, two case studies investigate the potential of reconstruction as a methodology in the conservation of Indigenous Australian archival material and the contexts in which it is created and used. First, a comparative analysis of metadata and documentation practices at the Warlayirti Artists’ Centre archive in Balgo, Western Australia, outlines the role of conservation in supporting the reintegration of access to artist-run archives. Second, an interview with the artist Brook Andrew documents how contemporary Indigenous artists create their own archives to disrupt received notions of identity, and to articulate the archival continuum into which contemporary Indigenous identity develops. This study develops a model of reconstruction to provide theoretical and practical guidelines for understanding the relevance and role of archives, and the significance of archival re-appropriation by Indigenous artists. This paper argues that, in supporting and enabling the process of reconstruction, conservators can work with Indigenous Australian artists to sustain their cultural past and collective memory in different material forms into the present.
Résumé/Abstract Cet article explore quelques-uns des dilemmes reliés à l'existence d... more Résumé/Abstract Cet article explore quelques-uns des dilemmes reliés à l'existence des collections de matériaux culturels et aux efforts pour les préserver. Il examine les questions qui se posent quand s' expriment divers points de vue quant aux origines, à la propriété, à ...
The ideal of art authentication in practice stems not solely from a need to protect market intere... more The ideal of art authentication in practice stems not solely from a need to protect market interests, but from a need to protect the interests of artists and the integrity of their artistic legacies (Spencer 2004). This paper looks at the legal context for the methodologies that underscore art authentication in practice, and the legal framework that should preposition the gathering of evidence, external to a court proceeding. Essentially, it seeks to explore the question: Should the potential for litigious action bind the process of art authentication to a legal evidence-based framework? This paper is presented with regard to the investigations of the oeuvre of the contemporary Australian artist Howard Arkley (1951–1999), currently being undertaken as part of the author’s PhD thesis at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract The conservation profession has well established methods and practices for addressing pr... more Abstract The conservation profession has well established methods and practices for addressing preservation needs. The practicality of these, however, can be called into question when they are applied outside an institutional environment, particularly in a different cultural context. This paper explores the conservation needs of an Aboriginal community art centre. Over several years a partnership between the Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation at The University of Melbourne and Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra, Western Australia, has seen the development of a method for the assessment and care of Waringarri’s permanent community collections. The deterioration factors impacting the preservation of cultural material in the East Kimberley region were considered. Limited documentation arising from a lack of infrastructure, resources and funding was found to be one of the key conservation issues. A strategy is recommended that seeks a national approach to conservation documentation of Indigenous art. This paper suggests that members of the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material (AICCM) form a Special Interest Group, much like the Archives Society of Australia’s Indigenous Issues Special Interest Group, to collaborate with representatives from art centres and to work towards a framework for training, resources and funding to support the preservation of Aboriginal cultural material.
International Journal of Cultural Studies, Jan 26, 2014
This article examines how foresight, hindsight and perception are enabled, modified and compromis... more This article examines how foresight, hindsight and perception are enabled, modified and compromised by competing intellectual traditions and by social and professional exigencies. Focusing on the example of one scholar, Dr Leonhard Adam, and his essay ‘Has Aboriginal art a future?’ this article charts the trajectory of this question from obscurity to celebration. It explores why such a significant question was unable to ignite debate, at a time when there was considerable interest in the role of Aboriginal art in the articulation of national identity. It examines the intellectual and social conditions that framed Adam’s contribution and explores what enabled him, as a relative outsider, to develop such a prescient understanding of the future of Australian Aboriginal art.
Abstract The concept of national significance is used for a number of purposes including access t... more Abstract The concept of national significance is used for a number of purposes including access to funding, across a range of sectors. It is embedded in a complicated set of assumptions that do not align easily with how cultural material held in remote Indigenous communities across Australia is most usefully assessed. In the Aboriginal community of Wadeye (Port Keats) in the Northern Territory the Kanamkek-Yile Ngala Museum supports the preservation of local cultural material. Of particular importance are paintings produced for the altar of the Port Keats Church more than 40 years ago by senior Aboriginal men, and which formed an important aesthetic in the Old Church. Currently under the care of the Kanamkek-Yile Ngala Museum, these paintings remain more or less intact, despite some loss and damage. Their maintenance and conservation, however, presents a range of complex issues, highlighting difficulties encountered in the preservation of cultural material in remote and regional Australia, and suggesting the need for new ways of assessing significance.
Journal of The American Institute for Conservation, 1998
Conceptual artwork presents particular problems for conservators. Decisions about treatment canno... more Conceptual artwork presents particular problems for conservators. Decisions about treatment cannot necessarily take as a central construct the concerns raised by material degradation. Issues of material may be irrelevant or inappropriate as a basis for treatment ...
In Launceston, in October 1995, the Federal Government launched Australia's National Conserva... more In Launceston, in October 1995, the Federal Government launched Australia's National Conservation Policy for the Conservation of Movable Cultural Heritage. This policy, developed for the Cultural Ministers Council (Australia), was one of the very few national materials conservation policies in the world. The associated strategy led to the development of important frameworks and tools for significance assessment, conservation planning, training, disaster preparedness and environmental guidelines, and in identification of skills gaps and research needs. The political, economic and technological environment in which conservators operate has changed considerably since 1995, and, with the majority of conservators engaged by public institutions, many constituencies in Australia remain relatively untouched by the work of the profession. As a result there exist many new opportunities for conservators to engage with individuals and communities, but a national focus is required to most effectively garner resources, avoid duplication and take advantage of new technologies. This paper examines the case for a new iteration of a national policy for the conservation of Australia's cultural heritage material, and outlines the work needed to achieve this.
Proceedings of the Symposium on the Care and Conservation of Middle Eastern Manuscripts The Melbo... more Proceedings of the Symposium on the Care and Conservation of Middle Eastern Manuscripts The Melbourne Journal of Technical Studies in Art, 26-28 November 2007, Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, The University of Melbourne, pp. 87-93 When Prof. John Bowman developed the Middle Eastern Manuscript Collection for the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Melbourne, his focus was the language and the meaning of the texts, rather than the information encapsulated in the material and methods of manufacture. Nevertheless this extraordinary collection of Qur'ans and related texts, books of poetry, astrology, grammar, mathematics, logic dictionaries, prayer books, biographies and books of sayings which include Arabic and Persian manuscripts as well as several Syriac, Urdu, Ethiopic, Sanskrit and Turkish texts presents a wealth of information about the production of such manuscripts. When the collection was assessed for conservation and preservation requirements a study was also undertaken of the materials and techniques of the texts. This included macro, micro, and nano investigation; and in this respect Raman spectroscopy has proved to be a useful tool by which to analyze pigments are used in the illuminated texts, as it provides a non-invasive analytical technique. This paper provides an overview of the materials and techniques investigation of this collection, undertaken as part of the preservation program, and characterizes some of the pigments used in the production of these volumes. It discusses the issues that arose during the analysis and identifies further areas of investigation.
There has been limited research into the role of reconstruction in the preservation of Indigenous... more There has been limited research into the role of reconstruction in the preservation of Indigenous Australian archives, both those created within Indigenous communities, and those created about Indigenous people. Following a phenomenological methodology in which the research question is contested against real world experience, two case studies investigate the potential of reconstruction as a methodology in the conservation of Indigenous Australian archival material and the contexts in which it is created and used. First, a comparative analysis of metadata and documentation practices at the Warlayirti Artists’ Centre archive in Balgo, Western Australia, outlines the role of conservation in supporting the reintegration of access to artist-run archives. Second, an interview with the artist Brook Andrew documents how contemporary Indigenous artists create their own archives to disrupt received notions of identity, and to articulate the archival continuum into which contemporary Indigenous identity develops. This study develops a model of reconstruction to provide theoretical and practical guidelines for understanding the relevance and role of archives, and the significance of archival re-appropriation by Indigenous artists. This paper argues that, in supporting and enabling the process of reconstruction, conservators can work with Indigenous Australian artists to sustain their cultural past and collective memory in different material forms into the present.
Résumé/Abstract Cet article explore quelques-uns des dilemmes reliés à l'existence d... more Résumé/Abstract Cet article explore quelques-uns des dilemmes reliés à l'existence des collections de matériaux culturels et aux efforts pour les préserver. Il examine les questions qui se posent quand s' expriment divers points de vue quant aux origines, à la propriété, à ...
The ideal of art authentication in practice stems not solely from a need to protect market intere... more The ideal of art authentication in practice stems not solely from a need to protect market interests, but from a need to protect the interests of artists and the integrity of their artistic legacies (Spencer 2004). This paper looks at the legal context for the methodologies that underscore art authentication in practice, and the legal framework that should preposition the gathering of evidence, external to a court proceeding. Essentially, it seeks to explore the question: Should the potential for litigious action bind the process of art authentication to a legal evidence-based framework? This paper is presented with regard to the investigations of the oeuvre of the contemporary Australian artist Howard Arkley (1951–1999), currently being undertaken as part of the author’s PhD thesis at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract The conservation profession has well established methods and practices for addressing pr... more Abstract The conservation profession has well established methods and practices for addressing preservation needs. The practicality of these, however, can be called into question when they are applied outside an institutional environment, particularly in a different cultural context. This paper explores the conservation needs of an Aboriginal community art centre. Over several years a partnership between the Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation at The University of Melbourne and Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra, Western Australia, has seen the development of a method for the assessment and care of Waringarri’s permanent community collections. The deterioration factors impacting the preservation of cultural material in the East Kimberley region were considered. Limited documentation arising from a lack of infrastructure, resources and funding was found to be one of the key conservation issues. A strategy is recommended that seeks a national approach to conservation documentation of Indigenous art. This paper suggests that members of the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material (AICCM) form a Special Interest Group, much like the Archives Society of Australia’s Indigenous Issues Special Interest Group, to collaborate with representatives from art centres and to work towards a framework for training, resources and funding to support the preservation of Aboriginal cultural material.
International Journal of Cultural Studies, Jan 26, 2014
This article examines how foresight, hindsight and perception are enabled, modified and compromis... more This article examines how foresight, hindsight and perception are enabled, modified and compromised by competing intellectual traditions and by social and professional exigencies. Focusing on the example of one scholar, Dr Leonhard Adam, and his essay ‘Has Aboriginal art a future?’ this article charts the trajectory of this question from obscurity to celebration. It explores why such a significant question was unable to ignite debate, at a time when there was considerable interest in the role of Aboriginal art in the articulation of national identity. It examines the intellectual and social conditions that framed Adam’s contribution and explores what enabled him, as a relative outsider, to develop such a prescient understanding of the future of Australian Aboriginal art.
Abstract The concept of national significance is used for a number of purposes including access t... more Abstract The concept of national significance is used for a number of purposes including access to funding, across a range of sectors. It is embedded in a complicated set of assumptions that do not align easily with how cultural material held in remote Indigenous communities across Australia is most usefully assessed. In the Aboriginal community of Wadeye (Port Keats) in the Northern Territory the Kanamkek-Yile Ngala Museum supports the preservation of local cultural material. Of particular importance are paintings produced for the altar of the Port Keats Church more than 40 years ago by senior Aboriginal men, and which formed an important aesthetic in the Old Church. Currently under the care of the Kanamkek-Yile Ngala Museum, these paintings remain more or less intact, despite some loss and damage. Their maintenance and conservation, however, presents a range of complex issues, highlighting difficulties encountered in the preservation of cultural material in remote and regional Australia, and suggesting the need for new ways of assessing significance.
Journal of The American Institute for Conservation, 1998
Conceptual artwork presents particular problems for conservators. Decisions about treatment canno... more Conceptual artwork presents particular problems for conservators. Decisions about treatment cannot necessarily take as a central construct the concerns raised by material degradation. Issues of material may be irrelevant or inappropriate as a basis for treatment ...
In Launceston, in October 1995, the Federal Government launched Australia's National Conserva... more In Launceston, in October 1995, the Federal Government launched Australia's National Conservation Policy for the Conservation of Movable Cultural Heritage. This policy, developed for the Cultural Ministers Council (Australia), was one of the very few national materials conservation policies in the world. The associated strategy led to the development of important frameworks and tools for significance assessment, conservation planning, training, disaster preparedness and environmental guidelines, and in identification of skills gaps and research needs. The political, economic and technological environment in which conservators operate has changed considerably since 1995, and, with the majority of conservators engaged by public institutions, many constituencies in Australia remain relatively untouched by the work of the profession. As a result there exist many new opportunities for conservators to engage with individuals and communities, but a national focus is required to most effectively garner resources, avoid duplication and take advantage of new technologies. This paper examines the case for a new iteration of a national policy for the conservation of Australia's cultural heritage material, and outlines the work needed to achieve this.
Proceedings of the Symposium on the Care and Conservation of Middle Eastern Manuscripts The Melbo... more Proceedings of the Symposium on the Care and Conservation of Middle Eastern Manuscripts The Melbourne Journal of Technical Studies in Art, 26-28 November 2007, Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, The University of Melbourne, pp. 87-93 When Prof. John Bowman developed the Middle Eastern Manuscript Collection for the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Melbourne, his focus was the language and the meaning of the texts, rather than the information encapsulated in the material and methods of manufacture. Nevertheless this extraordinary collection of Qur'ans and related texts, books of poetry, astrology, grammar, mathematics, logic dictionaries, prayer books, biographies and books of sayings which include Arabic and Persian manuscripts as well as several Syriac, Urdu, Ethiopic, Sanskrit and Turkish texts presents a wealth of information about the production of such manuscripts. When the collection was assessed for conservation and preservation requirements a study was also undertaken of the materials and techniques of the texts. This included macro, micro, and nano investigation; and in this respect Raman spectroscopy has proved to be a useful tool by which to analyze pigments are used in the illuminated texts, as it provides a non-invasive analytical technique. This paper provides an overview of the materials and techniques investigation of this collection, undertaken as part of the preservation program, and characterizes some of the pigments used in the production of these volumes. It discusses the issues that arose during the analysis and identifies further areas of investigation.
This document sets out key issues identified in the final plenary session at the AIATSIS research... more This document sets out key issues identified in the final plenary session at the AIATSIS research symposium on Information Technologies and Indigenous Communities (ITIC).
More than 70 papers were presented at ITIC on the use of information technologies by Indigenous peoples. Illustrating the strength and vibrancy of the sector, presentations were delivered on programs, projects and research being implemented and undertaken by a range of community organisations,institutions and researchers across Australia.
ITIC demonstrated the growing presence of an impressive and exciting IT sector in which digital media is being used in diverse and creative ways by Indigenous Australians to support, for example, innovation, employment, training and governance, as well as the production, maintenance and transmission of culture. The sector builds on more than 30 years of cultural and social capital in IT and Indigenous communities. The use of digital media was showcased in a range of programs and initiatives spanning education, language, health and wellbeing, local and national digital archiving repositories, and the burgeoning creative industries and broadcasting sectors.
The symposium highlighted the ability of IT to generate unique opportunities for income generation and local enterprise development. In particular, ITIC demonstrated the key capacity of IT to engage young people, particularly in creative media, thus providing new platforms for formal and informal training to support personal and career development.
Overall, the symposium revealed not only the extent and variety of services already provided through IT by Indigenous people for the communities (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous) in which they live, but also the clear benefits arising from increasing engagement with digital media and the digital economy, and the potential for future growth. IT harnesses many crucial aspects associated with the economic future of Indigenous communities across the country.
Audiovisual materials have been produced and stored by remote Indigenous media and cultural organ... more Audiovisual materials have been produced and stored by remote Indigenous media and cultural organisations in Australia for over thirty years, representing a distributed national collection of high cultural, linguistic and national significance. However, technical obsolescence of analogue materials, harsh environmental conditions and limited access to technological and financial resources in many remote communities present serious risk of information and knowledge being lost forever. This report outlines a collaborative project undertaken by the Melbourne Networked Society Institute and researchers from the University of Melbourne’s Australian Indigenous Studies Unit, Research Unit for Indigenous Languages and the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation. In partnership with the Kanamkek-Yile Ngala Museum, Wadeye, NT, and the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, the researchers investigated how culturally significant and endangered Indigenous audiovisual archives could be effectively preserved and transmitted to current and future generations using innovative digital technologies.
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Papers by Robyn Sloggett
More than 70 papers were presented at ITIC on the use of information technologies by Indigenous peoples. Illustrating the strength and vibrancy of the sector, presentations were delivered on programs, projects and research being implemented and undertaken by a range of community organisations,institutions and researchers across Australia.
ITIC demonstrated the growing presence of an impressive and exciting IT sector in which digital media is being used in diverse and creative ways by Indigenous Australians to support, for example, innovation, employment, training and governance, as well as the production, maintenance and transmission of culture. The sector builds on more than 30 years of cultural and social capital in IT and Indigenous communities. The use of digital media was showcased in a range of programs and initiatives spanning education, language, health and wellbeing, local and national digital archiving repositories, and the burgeoning creative industries and broadcasting sectors.
The symposium highlighted the ability of IT to generate unique opportunities for income generation and local enterprise development. In particular, ITIC demonstrated the key capacity of IT to engage young people, particularly in creative media, thus providing new platforms for formal and informal training to support personal and career development.
Overall, the symposium revealed not only the extent and variety of services already provided through IT by Indigenous people for the communities (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous) in which they live, but also the clear benefits arising from increasing engagement with digital media and the digital economy, and the potential for future growth. IT harnesses many crucial aspects associated with the economic future of Indigenous communities across the country.
Unit, Research Unit for Indigenous Languages and the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation. In partnership with the Kanamkek-Yile Ngala Museum, Wadeye, NT, and the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, the researchers investigated how culturally significant and endangered Indigenous audiovisual archives could be effectively preserved and transmitted to current and future generations using
innovative digital technologies.