Preservation Fair @Carnegie Museum

As if you didn't need a reason to visit the Carnegie Museum, here's another one! There will be a Preservation Fair at the Carnegie Museum this Saturday --

Over 30 individual conservators and vendors of conservation supplies and services will be on hand to address your conservation issues. Bring books, photographs, film, letters and other documents, paintings, textiles and family treasures for free conservation advice. No appraisals or valuations will be given.

The featured speakers will be Rick Prelinger, of the Prelinger Film Archive, speaking on the value of preserving film as a cultural artifact and Tom Clareson, of PALINET, with advice on preserving your family treasures in times of disaster. These talks will be held in the Museum’s Earth Theater, from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM.

The fair has a broad appeal, with an emphasis on family treasures. But that covers a lot of ground, with exhibitors from local museums, galleries and universities. Here is a list of the exhibitors that will be on hand to discuss art conservation issues --

* Carnegie Museum of Art
Ellen Baxter (paintings)
Michael Belman (objects)
Carnegie Museum of Art, Conservation Dept.
* Christine Daulton (paintings)
* Concept Art Gallery (paintings, photographs, art on paper)
Charles Biddle
* Rikke Foulke (paintings)
* Rhonda Wozniak (fine and decorative art, ethnographic and archaeological materials)

In addition to art conservation, exhibitors will also be on hand to discuss film preservation, photography and furniture restoration. Check here for a full list of exhibitors. All in all it sounds like a really full day.

Preservation Fair
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh.
Saturday, February 28, 2009, 10 AM – 4 PM

Co-sponsored by Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh

50 Works For Fifty States: Will Pittsburgh Get A Vogel Gift?

At a time when most people are sure that collecting art is all about money and important collections are only built by rich people, It's good to remember Herbert & Dorothy Vogel. I think Herbert was a postal worker or something and Dorothy was a librarian, but somehow through years of commitment, they developed one of the most important collections of minimal and conceptual art at a time when few people thought it was hot and artists were happy that someone was interested in their work.

"Works collected by the Vogels have appeared in numerous exhibitions throughout the world, including two major exhibitions the Gallery organized and presented that were selected solely from their collection. In 1994, From Minimal to Conceptual Art: Works from the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection was on view at the National Gallery of Art. It was also seen in 1997 at the Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery in Austin, and the Portland Art Museum in Oregon. In 1998, the exhibition traveled abroad to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel, and the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art, Turku, Finland. In 2002, Christo and Jeanne-Claude in the Vogel Collection was on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego."

The Vogels, and the National Gallery have announced that that an institution in each of the fifty states will get a work from the collection.

One still sometimes can see Herbert and Dorothy at openings in NY, where they are loved by both dealers and artists.

A Personal Story

A month ago, I got an email from a private art dealer friend of mine about an art auction in the middle of New Jersey. She was shocked, that a legendary art collector named Ken Freed, who had supported so many artists seemed to be dumping the bulk of his collection, which included my work, at once. The personal story behind that sale is a striking comment on the recent changes in the art world and its effect on one collector.