Art + Work = Artwork

Artists groups like New York’s AWC (Art Workers Coalition) and, closer to home, WAG (Working Artists Group), have long sought to investigate the different types of labor that surround art — its production and industry — by way of the producer-artist. Institutional critique has also ventured to similarly expose artistic labor processes and its mechanisms within the institution through the agency of the producer-artist and the “artwork-critique.”

In both instances the idea of other laborers besides the artist-laborer is touched on but not probed: administrative and support staff, volunteers, care, maintenance and informal workers, all enliven the discussion but do not necessarily take part in it.

The following questionnaire is an attempt to contribute to the multiple views on the subject and offer other ways of seeing and understanding this idea that we call an artwork.

The questionnaire was sent to Rod, a conservation technician who specializes in paper. Rod is also an installer with an exceptionally precise eye who has worked with almost all types of media from painting to sculpture and installation art. He has been working in a museum for 28 years.

THE PHILIPPINE STAR: What do you call your work in the museum, how long have you been doing it and how did you find yourself in this kind of work?

ROD: I am a senior conservation technician. In 1989 I went in as a janitor/messenger. I was trained in paper conservation in 1995 and started out as an assistant. It was only five years later that I would formally work in conservation.

What was the first artwork that you handled?

I handled a work on paper by Simon Flores owned by a private collector called “Portrait of a Girl.” It had a lot of foxing (spots or browning on paper). The first thing we did was photodocumentation then cleaning. After that we did mechanical and chemical washing to remove the acid. We then stabilized the artwork and framed it.

Which artworks are difficult to install or handle and why?

In conservation it depends on the damage of the artwork but I think, in general, paper is the most difficult because you cannot reverse the process. It’s very delicate and unforgiving, mistakes are easily seen. In handling, it’s the heavy artworks and those with complicated hanging requirements from the owner that are challenging… you really need to study it. In conservation the leaf casting machine is essential because it makes patching objects easier.

What do you feel would make the work that you do better?

In terms of tools a spotlight for the camera would be nice to have for documenting objects. I also think that more training and exposure to other museums would be helpful. It would be good to learn how other institutions handle works and take care of their collections.

Could you tell us more about your museum visits to Singapore?

When we went around I saw a lot of materials and equipment for conservation that would make the processes for preserving objects faster and more efficient. It was there that I saw the leaf casting machine, a camera for documentation, a mylar sealer...

Which do you prefer, installation or conservation?

I really like conservation, but sometimes I take on installation work to recharge the mind. I enjoy the process of preserving artworks in conservation. Installation is good too because you consider so many things — the space, the light, how to view or approach an object better...

What are your views on the discipline of art handling/conservation/installation in the country?

It’s good that now there are more people who are aware of art-handling and taking care of objects. There’s also people whom you can call to handle or transport artworks, these are noteworthy things...

Do you have any concerns or thoughts about the art scene today?

I feel like today, the scene can be very cliquey (grupo- grupo) or that people are wont to keep to themselves (kanya-kanya)… I hope we would just work together and help each other, specially those in the provinces — I see their collections and feel that some of them seem to have been neglected or are in bad shape.

Before you went into this kind of work what did you think of art? Have your views changed since?

Before, when I saw artworks I didn’t really mind them much but now I get engrossed with looking — I immediately check where the artwork is placed and positioned, is it near or under sunlight?, I check the lighting system, the hanging… Before art was just ordinary, they were just displays… now I see how difficult and expensive it is to care for them.

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The author is the winner of the 2015 Ateneo Art Awards-Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Prize for Art Criticism.