In August of 2007, the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) was awarded funds by the United States Library of Congress through its National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) for the Digital Photography Best Practices and Workflow (dpBestflow®) project. ASMP assembled a team of experts and thought leaders to research ways to streamline and improve the process, production and preservation of commercial digital artwork.
Archive
Experimental Recordings from the Volta Laboratory
A partnership between the Smithsonian Institution, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Library of Congress has recently demonstrated that current technologies can play back experimental recordings made in Washington DC between 1881 and 1885 by the Volta Laboratory Associates. With the support of a Lemelson Center Fellowship and the help of curator Carlene Stephens, I spent approximately ten weeks between October and December 2011 studying all of the experimental sound recordings preserved in the collections of the National Museum of American History. By combining direct artifactual evidence with laboratory notebooks and other written sources, I’ve been piecing together a more comprehensive history of the Volta group’s work in recorded sound than has been available in the past, as well as identifying the place of many individual recordings within it. Here’s what I’ve concluded so far about the six specific recordings played back as part of the recent pilot project.
Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materia
The Conservation Department employs 20 staff, including professionally qualified conservators and technicians who are responsible for the conservation and restoration of works in the collection. The Department is divided into five sections: Paintings, Objects, Textiles, Paper and Preventive Conservation. The Department is concerned with the treatment, display and storage of works in the collection. In addition, works of art in national and international exhibitions are prepared for travel. The conservator's job is to stabilise the object's condition and slow down the natural deterioration processes. This is done through a variety of treatments of varying complexity, and through preventive conservation measures. The conservation approach to each object will vary depending on factors such as its physical nature, its cultural significance and artistic intent. All treatments and scientific investigations are documented; all materials used in conservation treatments are tested for long-term stability and reversibility in the future.
Twilight of the West: Contemporary solutions for some contemporary problems
Getty Open Content Images
The Getty adopted the Open Content Program because we recognized the need to share images of works of art for free and without restriction, so that all those who create or appreciate art—scholars, artists, art lovers, and entrepreneurs—will have greater access to high-quality digital images for their studies and projects. Art inspires us, and imagination and creativity lead to artistic expressions that expand knowledge and understanding. The Getty sincerely hopes that people will use the open content images for a wide range of activities and that they will share the fruits of their labors with others.
Giant Crinoid Fossil Slab
Truly a museum grade display fossil CRINOID slab of impressively large proportions, this is an amazing ENORMOUS natural association of a concentrated group of large and complete prehistoric SEA LILIES of the species Scyphocrinus elegans. The massive slab was formerly the bottom of the Silurian sea where a number of these creatures died and became buried still in their original articulated positions as they were when once alive. The relief and detail of this amazing specimen must be seen in person as it looks so much more impressive than the photos convey. While still alive today, sea lilies were much more prevalent in the ocean in prehistoric times. Whether destined for a prime spot in a major museum, educational exhibition or private interior, this is one piece that will most definitely leave its viewers with an incredible impression of how bizarre ocean life was and still is today! How much more impressive would this three dimensional ORIGINAL AND AUTHENTIC giant slab of prehistoric marine life be compared to a painting? It is as flat as a painting and can easily be mounted to a wall with metal brackets as it averages only 1.5 to 2 inches thick.