Stories Images Tell Us: Reflections on the Activities Performed at the Seminar-Workshop on Photograph Conservation at the ENCRYM

Showcase Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 ENERO-JUNIO 2025 JANUARY-JUNE 2025 OJS Stories Images Tell Us: Reflections on the Activities Performed at the SeminarWorkshop on Photograph Conservation at the encrym Ir a versión en español Índice / Contents DOI: 10.30763/Intervencion.315.v1n31.94.2025• YEAR 16, NO. 31: 284-291 Submitted: 03.12.2024 • Accepted: 05.02.2025 • Publicado: 01.07.2025 Claudia María Coronado García Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía (encrym), Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (inah), México | orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0233-2098 Translated by Paola Salinas ABSTRACT 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 photographic collection of the institution—based on the diagnosis they conducted—and those recovered in 2023 from the time capsule buried in the current headquarters 20 years ago, including one of its founder, Manuel del Castillo Negrete, which, when intervened, led to a reflection on the meanings and connections images evoke. KEYWORDS photography, conservation, technical dimension, emotional significance THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THE TEXT hen interpreted as historical documents, photograph conservation poses a significant duality: the technical dimension of their intervention and the humanistic reflection inherent in their conservation. In this regard, the report W Stories Images Tell Us: Reflections on the Activities Performed at the Seminar-Workshop on Photograph Conservation at the CONVOCATORIA 2025 CALL FOR PAPERS 2025 encry m 284 Showcase Intervención carried out by Marcela Vázquez Bárcena and Julia Andrea Vilchis Villavicencio (2023) as part of their social service at the Laboratory on Photograph Conservation (Seminario-Taller de Conservación de Fotografías, stcf, in Spanish) at the encrym illustrates in detail the conservation processes applied to the work, particularly to the portrait of conservator Manuel del Castillo Negrete, founder of the eponymous Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía “Manuel del Castillo Negrete” (encrym, inah). The work of the students, who examine every stain, crack and alterations in the image with an almost forensic approach, allows them to work in detail on the signs of aging and wear that accumulate over time (Figure 1). With tools such as brushes, solvents and Japanese paper, they face the challenge of removing the photograph from the base and recovering the missing gelatin, not only restoring its physical integrity, but also reestablishing it as an object bearing historical significance and community value. ISSN 2448-5934 ENERO-JUNIO 2025 JANUARY-JUNE 2025 OJS Índice / Contents FIGURE 1. Marcela Vázquez Bárcena working on the photograph (Photo: Claudia María Coronado García; courtesy: Laboratory on Conservation of Photographs). Stories Images Tell Us: Reflections on the Activities Performed at the Seminar-Workshop on Photograph Conservation at the CONVOCATORIA 2025 CALL FOR PAPERS 2025 encry m 285 Showcase Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 ENERO-JUNIO 2025 JANUARY-JUNE 2025 OJS Índice / Contents Is a photograph solely a material object? This question invites us to go beyond technical aspects, and consider the deep meanings it carries, which, in my opinion, are the immaterial piece that encourages its conservation, the piece that reminds us that photographs are not only “read”, but also “felt.” Photographic collections thus acquire a unique dimension as guardians of stories and memories, fostering an emotional connection between the image and the person who observes it. As Liliana Dávila (2015, p. 148) points out, they embrace a technical dimension and a visual syntax of their own that make them unique, grounding them in a context and linking them to a specific origin. However, one of their main values does not lie in their materiality, but in the emotional response that photographs arouse in those who collect, preserve and contemplate them. In the practice of conservation, it is possible to decipher the message of an artistic object with the right information. But is it the same in photography? Even without written sources, is it possible to interpret what it depicts, who is in it, or even discover what gave rise to the image? The answer is affirmative, although this requires a different type of skills and knowledge that I will further explain. DECIPHERING THE MESSAGE It is precisely this emotional connection that drives the ninth semester students of 2023 to carry out photograph conservation activities in late 2023 and in early 2024. They enthusiastically proposed to apply the knowledge acquired at the Laboratory on Photograph Conservation (stcf) as part of their undergraduate studies at the encrym to identify photographic techniques, carry out diagnoses and develop intervention proposals for the conservation of images requiring it. First, they explored the encrym Library’s photographic collection and, to the object of study, they later incorporated a special collection of images from a time capsule created by the encrym at the inauguration of its current headquarters in 2003, and which was opened almost 20 years later, in the fall of 2023. These photographs were added to the project for diagnosis and conservation, making it possible to note how much—or how little—the field of restoration has changed in two decades. Through a visual comparison and a memory exercise, these images prompt reflection on the evolution of the discipline. This is how we could reminisce what the spaces sheltering the Centro de Estudios para la Conser- Stories Images Tell Us: Reflections on the Activities Performed at the Seminar-Workshop on Photograph Conservation at the CONVOCATORIA 2025 CALL FOR PAPERS 2025 encry m 286 Showcase Intervención vación “Paul Coremans” or Centro Churubusco1 looked like, as well as the working methods, attire and hairstyles of the time, yet we were far from being able to identify individuals who were students, faculty and professionals at the time. However, among the selected pieces was a portrait of Manuel del Castillo Negrete, eponymous founder of the encrym (Figure 2): a print on RC paper created using the silver technique with monochromatic gelatin, 60 cm high by 40 cm wide. It was an impersonal image, similar to that of an official ID photograph, such as those used in passports: a white background, no shadows, uncovered face, no glasses, and no expression—since smiling distorts the face.2 Paradoxically, this type of photograph—the least artistic—is often the one that officially portrays us as citizens. ISSN 2448-5934 ENERO-JUNIO 2025 JANUARY-JUNE 2025 OJS Índice (...truncated)