Sarah Barack | Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (original) (raw)

Papers by Sarah Barack

Journal of the American Institute for Conservation , 2024

While much Sustainability dialogue within heritage preservation centers around environmental conc... more While much Sustainability dialogue within heritage preservation centers around environmental concerns, consideration of the business sector’s “triple bottom line” (social, environmental, economic) allows for a deeper understanding of professional activities and their impacts. The paper considers a museum offsite storage facility and assesses the organizational management and social dynamics of both routine management and emergency response. In evaluating the complicated network of care for this space, which relies on specialized staff, equipment, and climate factors, the authors employ social science methods focused on systems and infrastructures, namely autoethnography and assemblage theory. We show that unequal centers of power generated by the demands of highly mechanized systems complicate the social dynamics involved in collections management practices, and argue for a reevaluation of these activities through greater attention to these social systems. An auto-ethnographic analysis demonstrates that both capacity and resiliency are the result of networks of care and deserve investment to ensure organizational and operational sustainability, which benefits both collections and those who care for them.

Studies in Conservation, 2023

Remediation of disfiguring scratches and abrasions on aging plastics challenges even the mostexpe... more Remediation of disfiguring scratches and abrasions on aging plastics challenges even the mostexperienced conservator. This study assesses the effect of three NOVUS polishing products onremediation of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Samples were prepared to mimic thedepth and type of scratches observed during conservation treatment performed onvacuum-formed reliefs from the 1960s. The study compares samples of new/unaged PMMAto naturally aged PMMA samples. Two different methods were successfully used to assessthe polishing efficacy, which is notoriously challenging to document in transparent andreflective media: (1) image segmentation analysis of photographs to yield scratched areafractions, using three approaches (Li-thresholding, random forest, and convolution neuralnetwork); and (2) optical profilometry measurements, which provide surface root-mean-square roughness (RRMS) values. Both methods support the qualitative observations thatpolishing with the abrasive NOVUS products significantly reduced the surface damage;scratch area fractions decreased from 50–60% to 1–5% across the aged PMMA types aftertreatment, corresponding to an∼85% decrease in surface roughness. Critically, the twomethods are complementary: the image segmentation results demonstrated a greatervisible difference between two degrees of polishing treatments on the new material, whileprofilometry results were able to parse differences in the degree of scratch reductionbetween the aged and new materials.

Living Matter:The Preservation of Biological Materials in Contemporary Art An International Conference Held in Mexico City, June 3–5, 20, 2019

Cooper Hewitt’s 2019 Design Triennial, Nature, celebrated designers working at the cutting edge o... more Cooper Hewitt’s 2019 Design Triennial, Nature, celebrated designers working at the cutting edge of synthetic biology, biomedical research, data visualization, urban agriculture, renewable energy, and additive manufacturing, among other design fields. The exhibition highlighted sixty-two projects, including live bacterial cultures, light-emitting textiles, and live plants growing in engineered microclimates. Cross-departmental and inter-institutional collaborations proved integral to the success of the exhibition, and in-depth discussions with the designers themselves minimized ongoing areas of concern. Still, the complex nature of many installations challenged the museum’s conservators and pushed against entrenched paradigms, forcing the adoption of novel approaches to staging and maintaining the pieces.

Recent Advances in Glass and Ceramics Conservation 2022 6th Interim Meeting of the ICOM-CC Glass and Ceramics Working Group • 9–11 November 2022 • Lisbon, Portugal, 2022

Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum holds extensive collections of European decorative arts,... more Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum holds extensive collections
of European decorative arts, including hundreds of objects featuring
allegorical depictions of the Four Continents from the James Hazen
Hyde bequest. Sculptors at different porcelain manufacturers each
developed their own styles, vocabularies, and manners of execution for
representing the Four Continents group, based loosely on print sources.
The representations are highly racialized, providing fertile ground for
reflection and reinterpretation. Curatorial research and technical study
confirmed the attribution of one unmarked porcelain group in the
Hyde bequest to the Porcellana di Capodimonte in Naples, just before
or possibly just after the factory moved to Spain in 1759. This paper
considers this group’s object biography and asks whether we might
reconsider these historical, figural sculptures in light of contemporary
material culture theory as “unruly objects” — as coined by scholar
Domínguez Rubio (2014) — that disrupt institutional structures and
promote change

Journal of the American Institute for Conservation , 2021

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a leader in the field of collecting and displaying co... more Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a leader in the field of collecting and displaying contemporary design across a wide range of media, including born-digital and interactive works, 3D computer-aided designed and printed objects, as well as more traditional materials. As digital acquisitions have increased, an interdisciplinary group was formed in order to best guide this expanding area of collecting. This group worked collaboratively to steer the recent Digital Collections Materials Project, a critical review to develop enhanced protocols for preserving extant digital collections. This paper reports on the results of its collections survey and case studies, demonstrating how theories of contemporary art and time-based media conservation can be applied to the unique needs of a design institution. Concerns circling obsolescence and scarcity – referring both to expert knowledge and replacement materials – are examined with regard to mass-produced consumer electronics and newer born-digital works. In order to unpack these questions in a novel way, the term “riskscape,” borrowed from anthropologist Arjun Appadurai and co-opted by environmental and social disaster studies scholars, is introduced as a tool to better reflect the interconnected nature of commercially produced objects and the processes by which they become institutionalized.

Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 2020

Conservation investigation often includes substantial technical analysis, and digital tools now p... more Conservation investigation often includes substantial technical analysis, and digital tools now permit visitor engagement with this content in museum galleries. Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) and 3D laser scanning were integral parts of a recent technical study of gilt metalwork performed on an early 19th-c. French table centerpiece at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (CHSDM). RTI permitted interactive viewing of surface textures to show toolmarks evident from manufacturing. 3D laser scanning allowed comparison of two closely related figures, one of which is believed to be a surmoulage (replacement cast) made from the other. While historical gilt metalwork has been the focus of conservation research for many decades, these digital tools both support innovative scholarship and provide an entry point for new audiences. CHSDM adapted these digital files to create an in-gallery interactive didactic, allowing visitors to learn more about the conservation project through self-guided content. Given an increasingly digital-savvy museum public, the exhibition didactic allowed the conservators to interface with non-specialists and created a precedent for similar collaboration.

ICOM CC Interim Meetings (Metals and Glass and Ceramics Working Groups), 2019

The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum (CHSDM) recently conserved a spectacular ormolu surt... more The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum (CHSDM) recently conserved a spectacular ormolu surtout de table (ca. 1805) by Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843), chaser-engraver to Napoleon. This elaborate dining-table centerpiece consists of five silver-leaf mirrored trays, which together measure over ten feet long, each set in an ormolu frame. Over 50 gilt-brass elements comprising tiered servers with cut-glass bowls and other decorative elements sit atop the mirrors. The entire object received a detailed conservation treatment, which was presented as posters at two ICOM Conservation Committee Working Group interim meetings

This paper addresses the history, analysis and conservation treatment of a collection of polychro... more This paper addresses the history, analysis and conservation treatment of a collection of polychrome glazed bricks excavated in the first half of the 20th century, at Khorsabad, Iraq. The bricks originally formed part of a tableau that flanked the entrance of the 8th century BC Sin Temple. After excavation in 1933, they were packed in wooden crates and then shipped to the Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago. The bricks remained in storage until 1990, when the first of several crates was opened. Initial consolidation tests were performed at that time. Extensive conservation of the pieces began in 2001 with an analytical study to determine the compositions of the colored glazes. Treatment then focused on the stabilization of the bricks in preparation for their exhibition in the newly reinstalled Mesopotamian galleries.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN CONSERVATION ICOM-CC 18th Triennial Conference 2017 Copenhagen

The American Institute for Conservation’s K-12 Working Group aims to increase awareness of the fi... more The American Institute for Conservation’s K-12
Working Group aims to increase awareness
of the field of conservation among educators
working with students in kindergarten through
high school, in schools, museums, and cultural
institutions. The group provides support and opportunities
for educators to include topics and
case studies from conservation and preservation
in their teaching. This collaboration benefits
both educators and conservators by offering a
unique, arts-focused approach to teaching a variety
of subjects, and promoting the value of cultural
heritage preservation to a wider audience.
This paper provides an overview of the Working
Group’s approach and current activities, with a
focus on the annual teachers’ workshop organized
with local museums in conjunction with
AIC’s Annual Meeting. Directions for future
outreach and community-building actions are
proposed, with consideration of replicating this
model internationally.

This paper explores the use of new 3D scanning and printing technologies for loss compensation on... more This paper explores the use of new 3D scanning and printing technologies for loss compensation on a narrow-necked 18 th century American glass vessel. The glass decanter is part of an 18 th century campaign liquor set originally owned by General Baron von Steuben, a significant Revolutionary War figure, and is now in the collection of the Fraunces Tavern Museum, New York City. A full restoration of the vessel was desired, but filling a closed loss in the body was challenging using standard casting and epoxy filling methods. A project was launched to investigate the applicability of 3D printing to the conservation of glass. The glass was scanned with a white light scanner and multiple prints were made of both the extant glass and the area of loss. A fill was ultimately cast using the printed copy of the bottle, and secured in place on the original bottle with epoxy. This paper addresses the process, with a consideration of its substantial challenges and applicability to the field of conservation.

The Stanton Street Shul, one of the few active historic tenement synagogues on New York City’s Lo... more The Stanton Street Shul, one of the few active historic tenement synagogues on New York City’s Lower East Side, contains in its sanctuary a cycle of zodiac murals that were once com-
monplace in immigrant synagogues but are now very rare. The relationship of the Shul’s congregation to its inherited cultural property, an historically important synagogue construct-
ed in 1913, has proven challenging, with in-consistent approaches to its preservation over the years. Damage to the building envelope allowed water to infiltrate the walls, severely

compromising the condition of the murals and threatening the stability of the structure overall. This paper addresses the interdisciplinary conservation work underway with the murals and the building structure, and the associated challenges and rewards involved with working in an actively-used sacred space.

Many conservators have been involved with students and teachers in their local school systems for... more Many conservators have been involved with students and teachers in their local school systems for years, but it is only recently that our professional dialogue has extended to include this form of outreach. The increased funding for and public interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education makes this a particularly fruitful time for these initiatives, as conservation is an ideal framework for teaching applied science concepts to a wide range of age groups. There are a number of points in the educational system at which conservators can connect with these audiences. Mentoring projects are attractive ways to reach individual students; these are generally at the high school level, and allow an in-depth exploration of particular conservation-related topics. This type of outreach is a significant time commitment, but allows for a deep connection to be made. Classes offered through museum education departments, such as those developed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, extend to a larger audience, though they generally reach only a self-selected group of museum-familiar students. A class requires a significant start-up effort to develop, but is then readily reproducible. Stepping out of the studio or museum lab to work within the public and private school systems allows conservators to introduce conservation concepts to an even wider audience, one usually less familiar with the field. Teacher workshops, classroom visits, and even integrated curriculum development offer this sort of opportunity. Finally, initiating projects at an organizational level – working with school administrations and educators’ associations – has the potential to reach the broadest demographic. This paper addresses some of the educational outreach efforts made by the authors and concludes with a discussion of the recent development of a K-12 Educational Outreach committee within AIC, which aims to support and develop conservation outreach projects at all of these various levels.

As conservators, we necessarily immerse ourselves in the material nature of artwork, always holdi... more As conservators, we necessarily immerse ourselves in the material nature of artwork, always holding the physical concerns of the work paramount. These efforts have an ambitious goal: to preserve the creator’s original intent, or, as is often the case with archaeological or ethnographic objects, to preserve information that communicates an object’s original use or purpose. Yet, however present the actual work of art may be, our efforts are challenged by the incontrovertible fact that often, the intangible aspects of the work’s creation are necessarily lost when the object is removed from its original context, or when that context itself evolves over time.
Today, new media tools, for instance interactive tablet applications, podcasts, videos, and even augmented reality, offer an effective means by which context might be suggested in experiential, holistic ways. Such didactics can be thought of as a more conceptual restoration, one that approaches the object from other vantage points than its materiality. The information available to the conservator’s eye is crucial to these efforts, as the physical traces of the object’s past environments are readable on its surface, and the details of an object’s creation so often reveal the thoughts, influences, and unique approaches of its creator. For an audience accustomed to seeing art objects cleanly divorced from their original context, this information places the object back into the real world and thus allows an entirely different experience. This paper presents selected examples of projects that work to connect an object’s physical nature with its original context, and discusses ways in which conservators are, and should continue to be, part of this conversation.

Conference Presentations by Sarah Barack

32 AIC 47th Annual Meeting -Research and Technical Studies Specialty Group Postprints, 2020

Aging plastics create challenges for conservators attempting treatment, with scratches, abrasion,... more Aging plastics create challenges for conservators attempting treatment, with scratches, abrasion, discoloration and other condition issues often arising. While cleaning and/or polishing these surfaces may improve the appearance, questions remain regarding which protocol to follow. This ongoing technical study of aged Cellulose Acetate Butyrate (CAB) evaluates a commercial product marketed for plastic/acrylic objects, the NOVUS 7100 Plastic Polish system, which includes three compounds (1, 2, and 3) meant to be applied in sequence. Between 2013 and 2018 SBE Conservation LLC, a Brooklyn-based private objects conservation firm, conserved three vacuum-formed reverse painted UVEX (a commercial name for CAB) sculptures by Tom Wesselmann, created in the mid-1960s. These complex, large-scale objects presented a range of condition issues, including those related to fabrication stress, expected plastics degradation, and past restorations. The conservation treatments focused on overall stabilization of the fragile objects, visual reintegration of areas of plastic loss, surface cleaning and polishing, and replacement of the deteriorated backing. This comprehensive project served as the impetus for the study, which utilized samples of both discarded, aged CAB and recently manufactured "fresh" CAB. Samples of both plastics were abraded with 800 and 1500 grit Micro Mesh, in a uni-directional pattern, and then polished with the NOVUS system. Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) was used to document the qualitative results of polishing. Optical profilometry was used to characterize the surface morphology and quantify the surface roughness; specifically, height profiles were obtained using a Nanovea ST400 optical profilometer, which uses chromatic confocal microscopy to determine pixel heights. Results showed that treatment with Novus 1 alone was not very effective as the difference in surface roughness between scratched and treated samples was minimal. Polishing with the addition of Novus 2 and 3 was much more effective as the roughness decreased significantly in these cases. Preliminary contact angle measurement

Books by Sarah Barack

Living Matter:The Preservation of Biological Materials in Contemporary Art, 2019