Newsletter September 2005

  1. We are expanding our selection of electronic publications for conservators
  2. Workshop Microbiology for conservators, Oct 20-21, 2005
  3. A first in Germany: a master’s program in conservation and restoration
  4. Hildesheimer World Heritage for Pre-University Students
  5. Preview: International symposium concerned with the materiality of  surface of the Modern Movement architecture and its conservation
  6. The Hornemann Institute at the 14th Triennial Meeting of ICOM_CC in The Hague
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Dear newsletter recipients,


1. We are expanding our selection of electronic publications for conservators:
We are presently updating our website. As of October, you will be able to access free of charge, in addition to university papers, resp. abstracts, essays, conference reports and project documentations.
Our theses database is constantly growing, meanwhile containing about 700 sets of data as well as some final papers from this year. In addition to an abstract, illustrations, a list of contents and contact information, some complete texts will be offered for downloading. The increasing number of hits on the database and the increasing contacting of the authors demonstrate the great interest in this mode of exchanging information among experts.
For information concerning the database and how to enter your data see our website under http://www.hornemann-institut.de/english/e_publication.php

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2. Workshop Microbiology for Conservators, Oct 20-21, 2005:
The Hornemann Institute offers 2005 some workshops for restorers-conservators.
The "Workshop Microbiology" is for anyone interested and professionally confronted with microbial contamination of cultural objects. The participants will learn about the detection of various species of microbes, sampling techniques and the preparation of samples for shipping. Finally, different tests will be studied for the classification of microbial activities and the application of biocide.
The learning group is limited to ten persons.
If you are interested please email: service@hornemann-institut.de

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3. A first in Germany: a master’s program in conservation and restoration:
Beginning with the winter semester 2005/06, the HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen, Faculty of Conservation will offer Germany’s first master’s program in conservation and restoration. The Hildesheimer master’s program will give students the opportunity to choose their own focal point and major in one of five core subjects (book and paper; polychrome wooden objects and paintings; furniture and wooden objects; stone; murals/architectural surfaces) or natural sciences or art history, finishing their studies with a master’s thesis.
The program is intended for conservators who already have a university degree in conservation or restoration. Giving credit for the completed four-year program of study, the master’s program will take one year. As of the winter semester 2007/2008, when the first students of the three-year bachelor program “Preventive Conservation” will graduate, the master’s program will continue as a regular two-year course. For further information see: http://www.fh-hildesheim.de/.

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4. Hildesheimer World Heritage for Pre-University Students:
December 6, 2005 is the twentieth anniversary of the Cathedral of Hildesheim and St. Michael’s Church being taken up in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites. 
Realizing the futility of our efforts to preserve our heritage if our children are unable to relate to it, the Hornemann Institute is taking this anniversary as an occasion to work closely with educators to compile educational material on the Hildesheimer World Heritage Site and make it available to teachers free of charge. The aim is a collection of practice-oriented material showing the various approaches (aesthetic, historic-genetic, ecclesiastical-educational, etc.) to the world heritage site. This material should facilitate including the Hildesheimer World Heritage Site creatively in the regular curriculum (history, art, religion, Latin, etc.)

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5.  Preview: International symposium concerned with the materiality of  surface of the Modern Movement architecture and its conservation, April 2006, Brno/ Czech Republic:
The Hornemann Institute is helping to organize a large international symposium on the surfaces of classical modern architecture to be held in Brno in April 2006 in connection with the recent joint research project conducted on the Tugendhat House in Brno(CZ) by the HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen. Conceived and constructed by Mies van der Rohe between 1928-1930, the Tugendhat House ranks as one of the most important modern European buildings. In 2001, it was taken up in UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites to protect it for posterity.

The goal of the symposium is to gather worldwide all the information available on the materials and techniques used in classical modern structures and their decoration and to initiate discussion on international practice in conserving and caring for the surfaces of these buildings. With this, for the first time, a symposium focuses scientifically on the original architectural surfaces and the original interiors (in particular on the materials used, wood, linoleum, metal, glass). Prof. Dr. Ivo Hammer of the HAWK Faculty of Conservation is responsible for the scientific concept of the symposium.

In order to permit as many as possible interested parties to participate in the discussion, the Hornemann Institute will open a “virtual conference” in the internet where the abstracts of the papers presented at the symposium and abstracts by other, not present, scientists will be published (or more comprehensive texts can be downloaded) inviting for comment. A summary of this internet discussion will be given at the conference discussion.

A highlight is the venue itself: Brno, the capital of Moravia, which in the 1920s experienced a period of unprecedented scientific and cultural prosperity. Hardly any other European city possesses as many preserved examples of classical modern architecture.

The following institutions helped organize the symposium:

  • HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen, Faculty of Conservation
  • Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture
  • City of Brno
  • National Technical Museum, Prague

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6. The Hornemann Institute at the 14th Triennial Meeting of ICOM_CC in The Hague:
We will be happy to present our Online documentation database hericare at the
14th Triennial Meeting of the International Council of Museums - Committee for Conservation, be held from 12 - 16 September 2005 in The Hague (The Netherlands).

This is a perfect opportunity for all who are interested to look at our online database and to become acquainted with our documentation software. The graduate conservator Cord Brune will present the databe during the documentation WG session.
We look forward to your visit.

Further information: http://icom-cc.icom.museum/TriennialMeetings/

Best regards,
the team of the Hornemann Institute

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