April 4, 2001
CONTENTS:
- Fire causes damage to floating museum
ConsDisList:
- Security strips
- Fire damaged paintings
- Survey on safety training
- Jail for opera arsonists (1996 La Fenice fire)
- The Elgin Marbles (the sun may have set on the British Empire, but imperial habits die
hard. Britain's continuing refusal to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece is a case in point)
Fire causes damage to floating museum
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) -- A blaze on the retired aircraft carrier USS Lexington burned hot enough to warp parts of the ship's steel floors, firefighters said. The historic ship, now a floating museum, was to be closed Tuesday while damage was assessed.
"I can only tell you this is my worst nightmare," Sandi McNorton, marketing director of the Lexington Museum on the Bay, told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times in Tuesday's editions. A maintenance worker spray painting the navigation room on the superstructure's fifth floor Monday created a spark that started the fire, said Assistant Fire Chief Eloy Ceballos. The man was not seriously injured. No visitors were on board. The fire damage was contained near the top of the ship. "The two floors where they have hangars and have all their exhibits, those were untouched," Ceballos said. Thick clouds of smoke almost wiped out the view of the World War II aircraft carrier from shore. The Lexington participated in every major naval campaign from Tarawa to Tokyo and was hit twice. The carrier was nicknamed "The Blue Ghost" by the Japanese propagandist Tokyo Rose because she never wore the typical camouflage paint of all the other U.S. aircraft carriers. The Lexington was decommissioned in 1991 and placed in Corpus Christi Bay as a museum in 1992. Portions of the movie "Pearl Harbor" were filmed on the vessel last summer.
http://www.nj.com/
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From: Hilda Abreu Utermohlen hilda@codetel.net.do
Subject: Security strips
The planning of the new Centro Cultural Eduardo Leon Jimenes, in Santiago, Dominican Republic, is underway. It will include collections related to the Dominican culture, such as: prehispanic archaeological collection (ceramics, stone, shell, wood, and bone), archaeological collection of underwater artifacts, ethnographic collection, contemporary fine art collection (paintings, sculpture, works on paper), archival collection (maps, documents and books, photographs, slides), and magnetic media (audio and videotapes).
The security consultant for our institution is proposing placing electronic tags on the collections, in order to protect them from theft. We are aware that there are a many kinds of objects which, due to their type cannot be safely tagged without damaging them or promoting future damage. We would like to hear from anyone who has had experience on the types of artifacts that can be safely tagged in some way for electronic protection, and of alternative means of theft protection.
Hilda Abreu Utermohlen
Conservation Consultant
Proyecto Centro Cultural Eduardo Leon Jimenes
Santiago, Dominican Republic
809-537-3300
Fax: 809-537-2580
From: Dennis A. Baltuskonis dbaltusk@trinity.edu
Subject: Fire damaged paintings
Does anyone know of any research which has been published on general cleaning treatments for fire damaged, heat scorched, soot covered paintings? Over the past ten years I've treated numerous paintings which 'appear' to have minor damage, but are extremely problematic to even clean. The results I've had are so unpredictable, (even from top to bottom, or side to side of the same painting), that it is almost impossible to predict beforehand. I was thinking that somewhere, someone has probably performed systematic research on the subject and could, at least model, what happens to a typical painting as it is exposed to heat-soot-and/or fire.
Please advise.
Dennis Baltuskonis
Paintings conservator in private practice
San Antonio, TX 78213-3024
From: Catharine Hawks cahawks@aol.com
Subject: Survey on safety training
Survey of Museum Health and Safety Education Needs for Museum and Safety Professionals, and Students in Museum-Related Programs
Safety issues have become increasingly common in museums and other collecting organizations. To understand the range of concerns and the potential need for educational opportunities to address safety in museum environments, we would appreciate the assistance of those who face museum health and safety issues in their work. This questionnaire is brief, designed to be confidential, and can be completed in less than 5 minutes.
The questionnaire can be returned electronically by cutting and pasting it into an email addressed to cahawks@aol.com or to eohdfg@gwumc.edu
Please place an 'x' before your answer(s) to each question.
Survey is not available on line. Requests for more information:
Catharine Hawks, Conservator
Collections Care Internship Coordinator
Museum Studies Program
The George Washington University
2035 F Street NW
Washington DC 20052 USA
703-876-9272 or 202-994-7034
David F. Goldsmith, MSPH, PhD
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
The George Washington University
2300 K Street NW, Suite 201
Washington DC 20037 USA
202-994-1734
Fax: 202-994-0011
Jail for opera arsonists
Two electricians who set fire to Venice's 18th-century La Fenice opera house in 1996 have been jailed by an Italian judge. A Venetian court condemned Enrico Carella to seven years in prison while his cousin and assistant, Massimiliano Marchetti, received a six-year sentence, according to BBC news reports. The men are believed to have set fire to La Fenice because they were facing heavy fines over delays in the renovation process being carried out at the time. Eight other people on trial for negligence – including the city's former mayor, Massimo Cacciari and La Fenice's former director, Gianfranco Pontel – were all acquitted. The convictions follow last week's announcement by Paulo Costa, current mayor of Venice, that the consortium responsible for rebuilding the opera house has had its contract rescinded (click here for previous story). German-Italian consortium Holzmann Romagnoli is accused of damaging the public image of the opera house and faces a ItL500bn ($230m) law suit.
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/
The Elgin Marbles
THE SUN may have set on the British Empire, but imperial habits die hard. Britain's continuing refusal to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece is a case in point.
The Marbles -- the elegant, fragmentary remains of a magnificent frieze that once adorned the Parthenon atop the Acropolis in Athens -- were looted by Britain's Lord Elgin 200 years ago. They are now on display in London's British Museum. For generations, Greece has asked for their return, and in 1997, Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labor Party took office on a platform that included a pledge to send the Marbles back to their rightful home. This promise has acquired special urgency now, with Athens preparing to host the 2004 Olympics. What better time for Mr. Blair to honor his word? But as we all know, campaign pledges are made to be broken. Recently, Mr. Blair announced -- in Athens, of all places -- that he has no intention of returning the Marbles to Greece. His reason? They are being well-looked-after where they are. Besides, more people can see them in London. This stance fairly drips with imperial condescension, implying that the Greeks cannot take care of their own national treasures. It's also illogical: If the number of potential viewers is the basis for holding cultural artifacts, why not send Britain's Crown Jewels to Tokyo or Mexico City -- or New York City? More people can see them there. Mr. Blair should keep his promise and send the Marbles back to Athens -- the birthplace of the very democratic principles that put him into office.
http://www.bergen.com/