The collections in the museum are catalysts for research into scientific and technical developments, and their conservation is one of the ways in which they are made available for study and enjoyment. Processes of conservation take place largely “behind the scene”. This paper is an attempt to highlight the role of conservation more importantly preventive conservation for effective curating in the museum. It is influenced by my view that we should not only display museum object but make them physically accessible through handling and investigation.
Conservation today has evolved from the narrow purpose of practical repair to a well developed discipline with its own ethics and philosophy. In major museums, conservators work as part of a wider team, including curators and scientists - each member contributing to an understanding of the whole object, and to conservation decision.
In this difficult financial times, it is important than ever to manage money carefully. Curators who do not do so are vulnerable to losing their audience and visitors, hence the need for preventive conservation for effective curating.
A museum curator is a person who works in a museum and is responsible for curating collections, exhibits and other artifacts that will be displayed at the museum. These professionals play a large role in how museum’s visitors experience the materials they see.
Museum curators are responsible for overseeing museum collections by supporting the acquisition, display, preservation and development of objects for exhibitions. It is common for museum curators to specialize in a particular discipline such as science and technology, natural history, decorative arts or cultural heritage. Museum curators typically work in museums and arts galleries but may be required to travel to inspect or acquire new collections or items. In other words, the museum curator has the task and duties of:
- Resending and negotiating acquisition of items for museum, either permanently or for a set period of time, ensuring the careful display, care and storage items.
- Identifying, classifying, documenting and conserving items and collections.
- Maintaining organizational records and overseeing the display and education programme exhibition.
Some schools of thought or museum professionals have also argued that the museum curator, no matter what his/her scholarly research, exhibition and educational functions may be, is responsible for the safety and good condition of the museum objects entrusted to him. He/she will of course be sure that the museum administration provides fire protection and security precautions. After seeing that proper control has been obtained of humidity, temperature, atmosphere, pollutions and lighting, the museum curator, institutes regular procedures that will ensure that the controlled environment is maintained to protect the objects no matter where they may be found in the museum.
The role of the professional curator as much as the environment in which the curatorial work takes place from hoarding of objects judiciously selected to furnish funerary chambers in ancient world, to the formation of collections of curiosities and rare commodities, methodically, gathered by learned collectors in the 17th century. (Ambrose and Paire, 2006) regardless of the online reforms of the 21st century, the curator is still known as a selector and an interpreter of objects and works of arts, as well as a mediator to communicate and establish conceptual or intellectual relations and to engage in a dialogue between the works of art and the audience (George, 2015).
With a closer look at the history of exhibiting collections and the responsibilities of those who act as “keeper” of collections, one would conclude the “modus operandi” of the curator has been changing as a response to broader socio-cultural change in the ways the public interact with the collection.
It is on above changing roles of the curator and curating in a global and economic challenging time that the essay seeks to consider the issues of conservation and preventive conservation in particular as a tool for effective curating in the museum.
Conservation according to some conservation bodies is a broad approach of preserving what is already there and due care and attention to protecting it for the future. It is also dedicated to restoring something to a natural state and maintaining equilibrium. It is a practice and philosophy, utilizing scientific tools and methods with applied ethnics where necessary regulation and environmental law to limit the use of certain materials. Some other schools of thought have also looked at conservation from the point of view of the fact that it is the act of guarding, preserving and protecting the keeping (of a thing) in a safe or entire state.
Conservation no doubt can apply to many areas not just the natural environment. Typically it covers three broad areas. First, is cultural heritage (tangible and intangible cultural heritage, ICH) and the built environment of archeological monuments, buildings of historic importance and landscapes. This promotes cultural awareness and respect and preserves a built heritage for future generations to enjoy. Conservation of ecology and resource conservation are the other types of conservation but these are not the subject of our discourse in this article.
Another area of conservation, although more related to preservation and very helpful for effective curating in the museum is restorative conservation. This typically applies to cultural works such monuments or historic artifacts which have degraded or become damaged. This can be the repair of cultural artifacts (for example, replacing worn or rotten cotton thread in tapestry with new materials to restore it to former state) or other forms of restoration conservation in natural environment.
Most conservation programs are reactive happening after the fact to restore something to an original state or taking measures to mitigate further degradation. However, preventive conservation anticipates potential problems and does something known as “collection care” and is an area of artifact (archaeological) or objects conservation. Preventive conservation is cost effective and important in effective curating in the museum because it affords the curator the opportunity to arrest slides or deterioration in objects or artifacts before they occur.
In order to preserve objects for the future, museum, libraries and other collecting institutions utilize collection care practice also known as preventive conservation. It is “the mitigation” of deteriorations and damage to cultural property through the formulations and implementation policies and procedures for the following: appropriate environmental conditions, handling and maintenance procedures for storage, exhibition, packing, transport and use of integrated pest management, emergency preparedness and response, and reformatting/duplication. Therefore preventive is an ongoing process that continues throughout the life of cultural objects in a collection. In the long term, it (preventive conservation) is the most efficient form of conservation and curating, not only for museum but for libraries and collections of ethnographic, natural history and ecological materials. With comprehensive preventive conservation, the need for individual treatments can over time be reduced to more manageable levels putting personnel and financial resources to more effective use. In other words, preventive conservation allows the curator to better manage their available resources when it comes to caring for their collection Here preventive conservation becomes necessary and important and futuristic because all measures and actions aimed at avoiding or minimizing future deterioration or loss.
In recent times, object conservation practices, has shifted increasingly and concentrated on aspects of preventive care rather than remedial treatment because of its cost implications and effectiveness in a challenging economic environment like ours. The approach has been specifically important in responsible caring for the vast archaeological, historical and ethnographic collection in museums across the country. The curator staff should be aware of these skills and responsibilities for effective curating. The success of studies carried out on implications of preventive conservation has enabled and should encourage curators to develop skills and methods to involve other members of the staff to develop measures that are less intrusive and which better reflect specific preservation goals.
In conclusion, the curator should know that the impact of preventive care approach for objects also is dependent on the development of effective methods for assessing needs and producing stage implementation plans. The effectiveness of these preventive conservation plans additionally is dependent upon his involvement of as many staff as possible especially the professional conservators in the planning process. In this mode the approach is less reactive and more readily accepted.
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