Photography carries a technical dimension and a visual syntax that make it unique. Considering this premise, the ninth semester students of 2023 of the Bachelor’s Degree in Restoration at the Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía “Manuel del Castillo Negrete” (ENCRyM, INAH) submitted intervention proposals for the conservation of images both from the...
This text analyzes the exhibition Becoming Earth by artist Ursula Biemann, presented in 2024 at the Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (University Museum of Contemporary Art of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, MUAC-UNAM). The exhibition is framed within a type of artistic practice developed from an ethnographic and...
Following a long and critical path which began in 2018, the Archive at the National Museum of Interventions (MNI) was inaugurated in 2020. This report aims to illustrate the process implemented to achieve this and, at the same time, highlight how important it is for institutions to be involved in the safeguarding their own history. It is believed that this experience, taken as a...
An element of Western funerary culture that transformed customs imposed by Christianity was the introduction of cremation in the late 19th century. This practice disrupted traditions and gave rise to a new architecture whose ruling elements are the place of the crematory furnace and especially the chimney, which plays a fundamental role due to its size. This article1 explores the...
This research examines the environmental elements crucial for conserving collections. It centers on the Contemporary Art collection of Casa das Onze Janelas in Belém do Pará, Brazil. The aim is to foster critical analysis and offer insights into the preservation challenges of this collection in the Amazonian climate. Data were collected over three months using data loggers and...
Based on archival information, historiographic sources, bibliography, and characterizations carried out in professional conservation projects -in particular, El Caballito, by sculptor and architect Manuel Tolsá- this article examines the evolution of the technological styles used in the production of monumental equestrian sculptures made of copper alloys using the lost-wax...
This text explores the potential of historical buildings as catalysts for aesthetic experiences and presents a curatorial proposal aimed at integrating visitor’s subjective and intersubjective perspectives. Drawing on theorists such as Foucault, Bachelard, and Dewey, it examines how emotional interaction with architectural heritage can enrich narratives and disrupt the linearity...
The following is a brief review about the creation process of the Sala del Pueblo Sami (Sami People’s Hall) in the Museo Nacional de las Culturas (MNCM, National Museum of World Cultures, Mexico City), of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH, National Institute of Anthropology and History). The purpose of this work is to reflect on this type of experiences as...
The present contribution systematizes our working experiences, since 2018, regarding the production and planning of a cycle of temporary exhibitions in the Museo del Área Fundacional (MAF, Foundation Area Museum) in Mendoza, Argentina, whose topics had a historical context. From the theoretical-methodological perspective of research-action-creation, we developed three temporary...
This work describes the conservation practice carried out in the Lighthouse in the El Morro Castle in San Felipe, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico; located in a 16th century fortification that went through two phases of construction, whose different materials now present deterioration specific to coastal environments: humidity, salinity, and wind erosion. As a building listed in the...
One of the main causes of loss of historical heritage in museums is an insect attacks. At the Museo del Convento de los Descalzos in Lima, Peru, this is a severe problem, particularly in its choral books, which date from the 17th to 19th centuries, due to the materials used in their manufacture. Some disinfestation treatments for objects require compounds that either damage them...
The following article aims to explain the restoration process carried out during 2021 of the panel painting Christ Tied to the Column, an unprecedented work by Luis de Morales. After its discovery in the town of Alba de Tormes (Salamanca, Spain), probably coming from the church of San Juan Bautista in the aforementioned town, this work is now part of the permanent exhibition...
Textile collections vary, depending on their temporality, their typology, and their material characteristics. When people approach our work, they often ask what we find fascinating about restoring textiles. For us, the answer is clear: they weave the secrets of history into their seams. In the following pages, we will expose a subtle idea regarding the restoration of a dress that...
This paper is a preliminary study detailing the results of a chemical-physical analysis executed on 20 fragments of archaeological glass from Mexico City. The analysis was carried out using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray microanalysis, two techniques not previously applied in Mexico for this purpose. Both the content of oxides and the sample’s physical...
This review of the Jorge A. Vivó Escoto Map Library (MJAV by its acronym in Spanish) of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP, Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla, Mexico) presents a brief description of the activities and outlines some of the collections that conform its documentary archive. Among these we find maps, plans, aerial photographs, as well as...
This review reports on the work carried out in the From Space to Data: Smart Survey Methods in Architecture and Archaeology course, taught by Hungarian specialists Dr. Zsolt Vasáros and Master Mór Bendegúz Takáts, from January 9 to 18, 2023 at the Museo Nacional de Historia (MNH), Castillo de Chapultepec (National Museum of History, Chapultepec Castle), and organized by the...
In this SHOWCASE, considerations are made regarding the production of the novohispanic imagery, implying the combination of the carving and the polychrome, which uses as an axis the sculpture of San Elías, from the temple of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Our Lady of the Assumption), Tlapanaloya, State of Mexico. First of a group of five images restored in the Seminario-Taller de...
This RESEARCH addressed the implementation of biosensor prototypes to detect microbiological risks in environments with organic collections. During the first phase, different combinations of supports, culture mediums, and pH indicators were tested in order to design the prototypes in the laboratory, while the second phase saw the prototypes tested in collection storage...
Technological innovations have become part of everyday life, making it impossible to manage collections without considering its benefits. This RESEARCH ARTICLE discusses the implementation of Tainacan, a computerized museum documentation system in the Natural Heritage Collection of the Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará), in the Brazilian Amazon...
This essay presents a series of concerns about the museum as an institution, which has been validated by patriarchal and heteronormative strategies, such as looting, invasion, objectification, and exclusion. From this, the idea of queering the museum and reversing its normative effects emerged, aiming to achieve inclusivity and to bring dignity to the bodies and subjectivities...
In the field of South American textile conservation, the lack of courses in Spanish and the difficulty of connecting with other professionals in the international community are challenges faced in the attempt to update knowledge within the area. With this premise, the Comité Nacional de Conservación Textil (CNCT, National Textile Conservation Committee)-an institution that brings...
The present ACADEMIC REPORT examines the integration of knowledge and the development of digital preservation competencies within academic programs in information science, including the conservation of documentary heritage. Certain document management activities in Mexico are explained to highlight the need to incorporate the teaching of computing methods and management for...
The following paper presents the results from the physical characterization and subsequent application of yarns made from Japanese paper, whose features and properties in the field of conservation-restoration have proved useful for the intervention of archaeological objects of organic origin. This RESEARCH ARTICLE describes the process of thread elaboration as well as the...
This article takes a deeper look at the harpsichord in the collection of the Museo Casa de la Bola, a unique example of its kind in Mexico City. Since the origin of the instrument is unknown, we first need to determine its geographic provenance. To obtain this information, a thorough study was carried out to analyze, on the one hand, the structural characteristics of the...
In 1907, artist Gerardo Murillo, Dr. Atl, made an inventory of a 295 piece collection donated to the state by Alejandro Ruiz Olavarrieta, a businessman and politician from Puebla. This RESEARCH proposes an approach to this compilation from the analy sis and systematization of said relationship, through the titles and attributions established by the artist, as well as from the...