Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface xi
Chapter 1 What is conservation? 1
A brief history of conservation 1
Issues in the definition of conservation 7
Too many tasks 7
Too many objects 8
Too many professionals 9
Conservators' conservation 13
A note on the use of the terms 14
Preservation and restoration 15
Preservation 15
Restoration 16
Preservation and restoration act together 18
Preservation and restoration are different 19
Preventive and informational preservation 21
Preventive preservation 21
Informational preservation. 23
Chapter 2 The objects of conservation 27
What shall be conserved? 27
The Mustang paradox 27
The evolution of conservation objects 29
Problems of traditional categories 31
Art, archaeology and antiquities 31
Historic works 35
Riegl's 'monuments' 36
Heritage 37
The nihilist turn 41
The communicative turn 43
What is a symbol? 45
Webs of meaning 46
Too many symbols 50
Refining the communicative turn 50
Symbolic strength as a criterion 50
Which meanings make up a conservation object? 51
Mechanisms of symbolization 55
Changing meanings. 57
Two exceptions: Riegl's 'deliberate monuments' and recent artworks 58
Ethno-historical evidence 59
Summing up 62
Chapter 3 Truth, objectivity and scientific conservation 65
The pursuit of truth in classical theories of conservation 65
Aestheticist theories 67
Scientific conservation 69
An observation on the role of architects in conservation theory 71
What is 'scientific conservation'? 74
The (missing) theoretical body of scientific conservation 78
The principles of scientific conservation 81
Material fetichism 82
Belief in scientific enquiry 87
The pragmatic argument 88
Summing up. 89
Chapter 4 The decline of truth and objectivity 91
The tautological argument: authenticity and truth in conservation objects 91
Legibility 99
The notion of damage under scrutiny 101
The argument of unsuitability: subjective and intangible needs in conservation 105
Chapter 5 A brief excursion into the real world 115
Conservation and science 115
Lack of communication 117
The insufficiency of hard sciences 120
Complexity 120
An infinite variety of objects 125
A vindication of conservators' technical knowledge 129
Lack of technological knowledge 141
Technoscience 144
Chapter 6 From objects to subjects. 147
Radical subjectivism 147
Re-examining the problem: inter-subjectivism 150
The expert's zone: objectivism and authority 153
From the experts' zone to the trading zone: the emergence of the subject 158
Affected people 158
The stakeholders 160
The trading zone 163
Clashes in meanings: inter- and intra-cultural issues in conservation 165
Chapter 7 The reasons for conservation 171
Reasons for conservation 171
From the conservation of truths to the conservation of meanings 173
Expressive conservation 176
Functional and value-led conservation 177
Chapter 8 Sustainable conservation 183
The criticism of reversibility. 183
Minimum intervention. 188
From minimum intervention to maximum benefit 191
The principle of sustainability 194
Chapter 9 From theory to practice: a revolution of common sense 199
Discernible restoration 199
Adaptiv ethics 202
The risks of negotiatory conservation 205
Evidential conservation 205
Genial Conservation 206
Demagogic conservation 208
Exerting authority : the role of the experts in contemporary conservation 209
Conclusion : a revolution of common sense 212
Bibliography 215
Subject index 229
Proper names index 233
Author index 237