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Iwona Szmelter, The Phenomenon of Visual Art and the Meanders of their Conservation; The Philosophy and Elements of the New Theory and Practice of Conservation.

Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warsaw, 2020
Grażyna Korpal
Bibliographical reference

Iwona Szmelter, The Phenomenon of Visual Art and the Meanders of their Conservation;

The Philosophy and Elements of the New Theory and Practice of Conservation.Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warsaw, 2020, ISBN: 978-1-909492-70-7.

Full text

1The timeless meaning of the inscription Conservatio est aeterna creatio above the entrance to the building of the Warsaw Department of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art does not remain indifferent to Professor dr Iwona Szmelter, an academic teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. It is not surprising, therefore, that her rich scientific and conservation work in recent years has been dominated by issues relating to the preservation of cultural heritage, especially from the point of view of its deontological dimension. The reviewed text is the result of numerous dissertations, speeches and articles published in the world forum of conservators, artists, scientists and specialists in the field of world heritage preservation. The Author's fascination with the broadly understood protecion of heritage in the aspect of preserving the visual arts has resulted in a broader reflection, critical analysis and, most importantly, an answer to the questions bothering contemporary conservation. Showing the phenomenon of the visual arts in the light of an expanded understanding of cultural heritage in the twenty-first century, the Author presents a new philosophy of heritage preservation, especially raising awareness of the importance of art processes in the landscape of culture.

2The Author shows the development of conservation thought in an interesting way, keeping the chronology, especially phenomena related to contemporary art in the aspect of reinterpretation of the functions, patterns, dogmas and doctrines of conservation, treatment of historical matter and its intangible meaning. She explains the use of the term visual arts as their fuller form, created in search of a modern and universal language of art. Reaching back to the history of conservation theory, she cites the classics from the perspective of changes in the valuation of works of art, shaping the approach to the problem of material authenticity and ethical categories. Addressing intellectual threads, ranging from aspirations to restore the creative climate of the time of the work's creation, through past tendencies to make the material the fundamental issue of art, as well as fundamental efforts to preserve the integrity of the object, she shows that current conservation theories and practices are currently undergoing a dematerialization. She emphasizes how the laboratory-based scientific orientation of conservation has significantly departed from the image of the discipline. The current situation of the transdisciplinary discipline, built around a broadly defined heritage, means that the traditional understanding of conservation is no longer sufficient, and that conservation practice is not currently limited to the material of the objects to be protected. Also in this context, she refers to the concept of authenticity, presenting a concise cross-section of views on this subject and the difficulties of theoretically combining authenticity with the protection of intangible heritage. She proposes the development of a new methodology of the conservation research process. The text presents not only a new look at the forms of materiality of art, but also shows the need for introducing non-traditional practices with a new understanding of the ethical side of possible solutions for preserving the work and the evidence of its origin. The protection of cultural heritage also requires a reflection on the terminology from the perspective of the changes in valuing works of art. At the same time it forces us to reflect on the dematerialization of works of art of past epochs, makes us think, and at the same time provokes us to verify previous trends, findings and theories of conservation in the context of contemporary visual arts. Impermanent forms of contemporary art, dependent on the place of presentation, often provisional, subject to operational activities, do not guarantee material durability. Like no other period in art, contemporary art evokes controversy related to the preservation of the legacy of rapidly passing time. In ontological terms, contemporary art is " not so new". In our tradition art has always been a virtual reality being an alternative to the existing world. Nevertheless, the problem of preserving the testimony of works of art of the last half century is one of the significant factors restoring the humanistic aspect of considering the idea and material of objects. The Author proposes to extend the formula of valuing and proceeding according to her proposal of a conceptual framework for the preservation of visual arts, open in an adequate way to the works to which it refers. This requires decoding the work in its entirety, taking into account all its contexts so as not to lose the intentio operis. Such a broad identification of an object makes it possible to recognize its complexity at the junction of tangible and intangible culture, making the meaning of visual arts clear for future generations.

3The Author's passion becomes part of the readers’ experience as they are introduced to the phenomenon of constant changes in visual arts, at the same time becoming aware that reality demands a holisitic approach to the unceasing creation of art, and hence to the creative and open process of conservation.

4The bold and broad presentation of this difficult subject makes the book an immensely significant publication, especially that the Author goes beyond the so-far-dominant conventional way of thinking, provoking discussions. At the same time it reveals that Polish artists, art conservator-restorers, do not treat conservation dogmatically, and do not turn only to the vicious circle of old art, to travesty Umberto Ecco situated in a language that is already very worn out, they do not choose to remain silent.

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References

Electronic reference

Grażyna Korpal, “Iwona Szmelter, The Phenomenon of Visual Art and the Meanders of their Conservation; The Philosophy and Elements of the New Theory and Practice of Conservation.”CeROArt [Online], 12 | 2020, Online since 28 January 2022, connection on 18 January 2026. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/ceroart/8318; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/ceroart.8318

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The text only may be used under licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. All other elements (illustrations, imported files) may be subject to specific use terms.

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