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November 19, 1998
CONTENTS:
- Theft From Courtauld Art Gallery (Geoff Goodrich)
- Sprinkler discussions (Tom Dixon)
- Information response (Ken Vail)
- MSN Exchange re Sprinklers (William A. Heidecker)
- Re: MSN Exchange re Sprinklers (Robin Rogers)
- RE: more emotional responses on MSN (David Liston)
- WWII / Holocaust Stolen Art (Part 1 - History)
From: "Goodrich, Geoff" ggoodrich@phxart.org
Subject: Theft From Courtauld Art Gallery
My condolences to John Murdoch and the staff at the Courtauld on
their loss. I hear often of the losses in the European museums and
feel for them. This loss however has a direct effect on us here in
Phoenix. We will be opening an exhibition in December titled, "Copper
as Canvas". This exhibition as many are has been in development for
many years and will highlight the use of copper as a medium, for its
unique qualities that allowed the artistes to achieve tremendous
detail on very small scale paintings. One of the works stolen from
the Courtauld, Entombment attributed to Hans von Aachen was to be
part of our exhibition. As one might imagine the design, layout and
other measures associated to an exhibition due to open in just a few
weeks have long been set in place and now must be re-arranged to
accommodate for this sad loss. It is my prayer that the Courtauld
recovers this and the other two objects not just to ease our dilemma
but more importantly for their own collection.
I wanted to send this comment along to the readers, as many times we
read items and do not always realize that past the cultural,
financial and personal loss felt by an institution, there are many
outlying effects that also pertain to others. Daily something is
happening to someone somewhere and we must never let our attention
sway from the task at hand, and be willing to assist others in our
mutual efforts to provide a safe and secure environment for our
collections, staff and visitors.
We currently are exhibiting the, "Splendors of Ancient Egypt" a
collection of over 200 objects from the Roemer - Pelizaeus Museum in
Hildesheim Germany. We have had a tremendous response (over 80,000
since Oct 4th) after completing a 165,000 sq. ft renovation in 1996
this has been our first "blockbuster" exhibition in the new space. If
any of you are in the Phoenix area I invite you to come by for a cup
of coffee and a visit to the exhibition and our Museum .
Again my best to the Courtauld and all those who have recently
suffered losses.
Sincerely,
Geoff Goodrich
Chief of Security/Facility Manager
Phoenix Art Museum
ggoodrich@phxart.org
From: Tom Dixon tom.dixon@ngv.vic.gov.au
Subject: Sprinkler discussions
18 November 1998
I have been following the great sprinkler debate on the list for the
past several days. Writing as a conservator who championed the
installation of a wet pipe sprinkler in my institution about 15 years
ago, may I say I have lost friends in the discussions about the pros
and cons and half way in betweens. To me it is a technical issue
which was well summed up in Peter Canon-Brookes article some years ago
titled "Choose Wet or Burned Objects". Peter is so brilliant that you
needn't read the article- just After we installed our system, we had a
major lender refuse to lend to us because of it. I called my
counterpart at that institution, who I had known for many years and
highly respected, and told him bluntly to go talk some sense into his
Director. I ate a lot of humble pie when he, as I recall, snapped
back, that it was not the Director's policy, but his- this followed by
a mini lecture on why sprinklers were so horrible and the question of
what fool put them in. I was able to recover somewhat and we f It is
a difficult call to be a censor and, while no one likes to be
villified in public, I would be disappointed if opposing views could
not be made in a forum such as this. Perhaps one key is to do this
with at least the appearance of respect for, if not the opposing
opinion, at least the person who expresses the opinion. Terms like
crock of **** don't belong in serious discussion.
Thomas Dixon
Chief Conservator
National Gallery of Victoria
Melbourne Australia
From: "Ken V." Kenmtb1@email.msn.com
Subject: Information response (Ken Vail)
One of the great advantages of this list is the ability to share - and
challenge - the ideas of others. That includes those of diverse
perspectives and different backgrounds. Anyone seeking total consensus
with one's own ideas should probably not attempt to contribute in this
type of forum. The feedback is nearly immediate, and the reality of it
can be harsh. What worked well & what was considered to be state of
the art - even five years ago - may be obsolete today. As long as
arguments are presented thoughtfully, and with enough detail so that
the reader can follow the logic involved and the rationale for the
argument, I may have something to learn. At the very least I can
question my assumptions. Ton, we are all quite fortunate to have a
forum like this to share with and learn from. Thanks. Yes, it can be a
cold blast of reality to have one's perspectives challenged. So be it.
From: "William A. Heidecker" heideckerwa@worldnet.att.net
Subject: MSN Exchange re Sprinklers (William A. Heidecker)
Attn: Robin Rogers at riskmgmt@lava.net and Ton Cremers at
TonCremers@museum-security.org
Let me begin by apologizing. My intention was not to offend, but to
inform. In the enthusiasm to do one, I have apparently done the other.
I am a risk assessment consultant, loss prevention specialist, fire
protection specialist, and someone who believes very deeply that every
culture has an obligation to protect its heritage from loss.
Therefore, I feel a deep obligation to ensuring that those whose
expertise is in other areas receive the benefit of my knowledge. The
comments to which I responded suggested that you may not have had the
same technical background in fire protection matters. More to the
point: the gist of your message was that installing automatic
sprinklers was not a good approach. The arguments you put forward
were, in my judgement, specious. The museum curator/conservator, whose
expertise is not in fire protection, would have been misled by the
information you offered. I felt obligated to correct this information.
If in doing so, I offended, then I apologize.
In any event, whatever fault that attaches to the publication of my
response rests with me, not with Ton, who has undertaken the
formidable task of providing a forum for these exchanges. Regardless
of what you think of me, please take a more kindly view of Ton's good
work.
William A. Heidecker
From: Robin Rogers riskmgmt@lava.net
Subject: Re: MSN Exchange re Sprinklers
All I can say is that my experiences are different than yours. Each
example is factual and come from real life situations. The fact of the
matter is that artist do expose their wares to unreasonable and harsh
environments every day. Many times it is a lack on knowledge. I have
two cases going on right now involving sprinklers and art and poor
planning.
It is not my intent to say sprinklers are bad, it was my intent to
say people who have them need to be aware how to service them and how
to turn them off when there is an event. If all of your clients know
this, then I guess you have done your job. I see many that do not. And
I do not live in an ideal world. I see my job to educate and prepare
people for the disaster that will occur.
One last comment: Ton has been writing about art that is disappearing
all over the world from Museums that have consultants that sell the
top of the line safety services. They too are probable telling their
clients that everything is ok. Then we, the investigators and
adjusters, get to come in afterwards and evaluate the holes that could
have been prevented if people had a little less idealism and a littler
more reality in their breakfast.
Enough said. I have un-subscribed and will only look in from time to
time.
R.Rogers
Date sent: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 11:47:43 -0500
From: "David Liston" Listond@ic.si.edu
RE: more emotional responses on MSN,
with the last one repeated here
to review and maybe learn from. It is partial and without names at the
end of this entry for those who missed the exchange. Sometimes these
things are difficult to follow.
THIS MSN discussion list will not satisfy all persons all of the time
- but be professional, please. Your entries reflect on the individual
and the business or organization that you represent.
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, but it is all that we have: MSN operates from
Amsterdam under Ton Cremers' "Dutch" sense of international
professional etiquette, which may not be yours or mine. Not all of us
may want to experience every exchange, but in a discussion list, you
don't know what comes next. Moderate persons may be astonished or
ashamed to read some of the exchanges, which I think is one reason why
ICOM\ICMS does not work with MSN. Personally, I find MSN and his
website moderation more tolerant of opinion THESE EXCHANGES give MSN
its "professional character or flavor" and also its reputation - good
and bad. MSN is Ton's website to moderate under his best sense of
judgement, for all of us. Regular readers of MSN might learn to
respect Ton's neutral and consistent toleration, even when he
privately is frustrated in the middle of emotional exchanges. Keep it
up, Ton. Don't take this personally. You don't have to explain
yourself every time this happens. It will happen again. We are adults
in a business world. INTERNET ETIQUETTE is what we agree it should be,
such as: http://www.albion.com/netiquette.
Earlier this month, a posting included:
"What a crock of S**T! Excuse my language. Yes, sprinkler systems can
be a bad idea if an idiot buys junk, and a fellow idiot put them in,
fails to maintain them, fails to inspect them, chains the valve open,
etc. etc. etc. Who do you suppose reads this newsgroup? Idiots?"
A later posting included:
"I guess I misunderstood the purpose of your forum. I thought it was
to share ideas and not really to attack one another. Since you chose
to publish the response to mine, I must assume I misunderstood your
forum. ..... It is clear the gentleman has not the same experiences.
But since you published his thoughts it must be you hold his opinion
in some regard. ..... So please remove me from your mailing list and
future correspondence. I do not think I want to be affiliated with an
organization that support such responses.
WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF PROFESSIONAL WORK to do in the future, which
includes dealing with each other on Internet. That is why Ton Cremers'
Internet address continues to spell: SECURMA exists for all, in the
Netherlands.
From: Jonathan Sazonoff saz@kwom.com
Subject: WWII / Holocaust Stolen Art (Part 1 - History)
Dear Subscribers,
Examining the archives of the Museum Security Network one can't help but
be struck by the many postings concerning art stolen in WWII. Soon, a
conference on Holocaust assets will take place in Washington D.C.
http://www.state.gov/www/regions/eur/wash_conf.html
In order to provide some context, for those interested, we submit the
the first of three (3) postings devoted to WWII / Holocaust stolen art.
We hope you find this information useful.
Saz Productions, Inc.
www.saztv.com
Part I. History of WWII / Holocaust Looting:
The Nizkor Project dedicated to the remembrance of the victims of the
Nazi Holocaust, and to the refutation of those who say it never
happened; presents scholarly documentation in, "The Plunder of
Art Treasures" by Einsatz Rosenberg.
http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/imt/nca/nca-01/nca-01-14-plunder-01.html
A good book on the subject, "The Lost Museum" by Hector Feliciano
http://www.hcacademic.com/catalyst/B5041949.HTM
An interesting map locating Nazi treasure
http://www.xs4all.nl/~odu/kaart.html
A picture (worth a thousand words) April 1945 - Eisenhower Inspects
Stolen Art Treasure:
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ikeart.htm
An artist's presentation on the subject - Vera Frenkel - Body Missing
http://www.umoncton.ca/gaum/veraf.htm
The wider scope of European looting will be addresses in future posts;
but a good start is an outline of the Bremen Meeting 11/30/94 - 12/2/94
http://www.dhh-3.de/biblio/bremen/treasures/contents.html
More to come…
Part II. Stolen Art Lists
Part III. Restitution Efforts
Main Indexpage
