School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Research Publications

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    Authentication, Attribution and the Art Market: Understanding issues of art attribution in contemporary Indonesia
    O'Donnell, E ; Tse, N (ACAH: The International Academic Forum, 2018)
    The widespread circulation of paintings lacking a secure provenance within the Indonesian art market is an increasingly prevalent issue that questions trust, damages reputations and collective cultural narratives. In the long-term, this may impact on the credibility of artists, their work and the international art market. Under the current Indonesian copyright laws, replicating a painting is not considered a crime of art forgery, rather a crime of autograph forgery, a loophole that has allowed the practice of forgery to grow. Despite widespread claims of problematic paintings appearing in cultural collections over recent years, there has been little scholarly research to map the scope of counterfeit painting circulation within the market. Building on this research gap and the themes of the conference, this paper will provide a current understanding of art fraud in Indonesia based on research undertaken on the Authentication, Attribution and the Art Market in Indonesia: Understanding issues of art attribution in contemporary Indonesia. This research is interdisciplinary in its scope and is grounded in the art historical, socio-political and socio economic context of cultural and artistic production in Indonesia, from the early twentieth century to the contemporary art world of today. By locating the study within a regionally relevant framework, this paper aims to provide a current understanding of issues of authenticity in Indonesia and is a targeted response to the need for a materials evidence based framework for the research, identification and documentation of questionable paintings, their production and circulation in the region.
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    Bundengan: Social media as a space for collaboration in the conservation and revival of an endangered musical instrument
    Cook, R ; Chakim, L ; Abdulloh, S ; Tse, N ; Kartomi, M ; Kurniawan, DF (ISI Press, 2017)
    The widespread use of social media in cultural heritage and conservation projects principally makes use of its capacity for public-facing engagement and the promotion of cultural institutions and events. Its potential as an inclusive, accessible and dynamic research output is less well-established. This paper focuses upon the potential of social media as a complementary form of conservation documentation, in response to the use of interdisciplinary and cross-cultural collaboration between source communities and collecting institutions as a means to preserve both material and intangible cultural heritage. Using the conservation of a rare and endangered musical instrument called bundengan as a case study, this paper will assess the uses of social media platforms in both documenting and enabling collaboration between the source community in Wonosobo, Java, Indonesia, and academic researchers based in Indonesia and Australia.
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    Investigating Vynol: Australia’s first artists’ acrylic and vinyl-acrylic emulsion paints
    Rajkowski, R ; Tse, N ; Nel, P ; Brigland, J (Pulido & Nunes; ICOM Committee for Conservation, 2017)
    Vynol Paints, established in 1964, was the first manufacturer of artists’ acrylic paints in Australia. However, it has received minimal recognition in the art historical, conservation and technical art research fields. It is the aim of this paper to address this research gap by considering its relevance to material knowledge and conservation practice, as part of a broader investigation into the relationship between acrylic paints and the Australian colourfield painting movement. Vynol was found to be used by artists featured in the seminal exhibition, The Field (1968), at the National Gallery of Victoria. This interdisciplinary study presents archive material, interview findings and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis of Vynol paints, showing connections between the movement’s artists and the manufacturer. It reveals that, during the 1960s, Vynol produced vinyl-acrylic paints – copolymers of polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) and an acrylate monomer, a formulation that was likely used by some of the artists associated with The Field exhibition. Hence, identification of the PVAc/acrylic copolymers using FTIR spectroscopy is explored.
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    Collections of paint colour charts, paint tins and paintings as a source for developing an understanding of paint making history
    Dredge, P (Museums Australia, 2011)
    A project looking at a collection of painting items from a studio used by the artist Sidney Nolan (1917-1992) from 1951 to 1953 is beginning to grapple with the subject of house paint technology from the pre World War II period up to the mid 1950s. Sidney Nolan was particularly engaged with house paint as an artist’s medium, and it seems sought information from paint makers to obtain a deep technical understanding of these complex paint systems. A number of additional collections of paint material held in Sydney museums have been identified that hold potential to provide new information on paint resins and pigments. A collection of historic paint colour charts which use the paint itself in the swatches of colour, and a collection of early synthetic paint resins from 1934-1937, are both valuable sources for analytical standards and the dating of technologies in Australia.
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    The use and characterisation of aluminum-based metallic paints in Australian paintings of the first half of the twentieth century
    Allen, L ; Dredge, P ; Sawicki, M ; Puskar, L ; Wuhrer, R ; Chemello, C ; Collum, M ; Mardikian, P ; Sembrat, J ; Young, L (Smithsonian Scholarly Press, 2019)
    This paper presents the results of research into the composition and use of metallic aluminum paints in three paintings by Australian artists from the first half of the twentieth century as well as a contemporary can of aluminum stove paint. A brief history of the development of aluminum paint and its uses is presented. The material characteristics of aluminum powders and binders used with them are described, as well as the effects variations of components have on resulting paint films. Analyses found leafing aluminum flakes and nitrocellulose binder on two paintings and identified coumarone as the binder for the stove paint.
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    Predicting the Past: A critical examination of current art history and conservation curricula.
    Wu, C ; Dalivalle, M ; Dempster, A ; de Ghetaldi, K ; Griener, P ; Roberts, M ; Sharp, J ; Skelton, S ; Sloggett, R (AiA, 2016)
    This document is a critical analysis of the current status of art education in art history and art conservation as it relates to the concept of authenticity (as defined as “authorship”). It has been constructed by students and professionals from different specialities and continents. The headline problems, raised by current art history students, have been observed in several art history and conservation programmes by the Work Group, who suggest potential solutions. These are targeted at the Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral levels.
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    Building evidence for use in criminal cases – standard practice and methodologies: a case study in Australia
    Sloggett, R ; Kowalski, V (AiA, 2014-05-07)
    In criminal and civil investigations relating to art fraud, the question of how evidence is gathered is as relevant as the question of what is gathered. The sensitive nature of the evidence also means that often the sharing of information between professionals, such as curators, gallerists and art historians is minimal and restricted. Sometimes art historical accounts provided as evidence can be difficult to verify against properly referenced data, while the materials analysis data can be open to various interpretations. In addition, assertions of art fraud have been met with action for libel. As a result, the lack of an integrated analytical and investigative methodology can hamper investigation, making conviction difficult. As an interdisciplinary study conservation is seen to provide ‘objective’ scientific data that can explicate and verify propositions about the source or history of an artwork. Drawing on work undertaken at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation (CCMC) this paper discusses the development of standards, methodologies and guidelines for data collection to strengthen prosecution procedures and meet the evidentiary requirements of the courts, and explains why conservation provides the critical and objective procedures useful in bringing forward a successful prosecution for art fraud.
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    Assessment of the effect of nitric oxide-based treatments on biofilm formation: A comparison with biocides used in paint formulations and the treatment of cultural heritage
    Kyi, C ; ROUSE, E ; Sloggett, R ; Cather, S ; SCHIESSER, C (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 2013-10-22)
    Biocides are chemical substances used in the treatment of damaging biological growth. They are commonly added as ‘preservatives’ to paint formulations to prevent biofouling. They are also applied in the control of organisms responsible for the biodecay of cultural material. The demand for sustainable, low-toxic alternatives to conventional biocide use, requires a more sophisticated approach to biocidal systems (Denyer & Stewart 1998). We have investigated how the anti-bacterial properties of the free-radical molecule nitric oxide (NO•), when used in combination with commercial biocides, can enhance their efficacy.
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    Building a legacy in contemporary art in Timor-Leste
    YEATS, L ; PATERSON, F ; Sloggett, R ; Danabere, I ; Simaun, M ; Bridgland, J (Pulido & Nunes; ICOM-Committee for Conservation, 2014)
    Arte Moris is an artists' collective that was established in Dili after the destruction that resulted in the aftermath of the Popular Consultation. In 2012 a series of interviews were conducted with staff in Arts Moris. These interviews identified youth-oriented art programs as an effective framework for building cultural and educational product in a future Timor-Leste.
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    Evidence and authenticity: the problem of cultural relativism in conservation decision-making
    Sloggett, R ; Mairesse, F ; Peters, R (ICOFOM & ICOM-CC, 2019)
    Cultural materials conservation is, at its essence, concerned with knowledge transmission, with the construction of authenticity providing confidence in the security of this transmission. Discourse around cultural difference often problematizes attempts to provide singular approaches to conservation decision-making. Examining how an authentic record is constructed in diverse communities in Australia and Southeast Asia demonstrates the use of the same methodologies used to verify authenticity, thereby contesting cultural relativism as a useful construct in conservation decision-making.