Practice

Due to the unpredictability, ephemerality and changeability of the works of contemporary artists, today’s conservator does more than merely repair and restore works, sticking bits on or replacing elements. Often, side by side with the artist, the conservator takes part in the creative process itself at each stage in its creation or, under the guidance of the artist, reconstructs, re-installs or re-arranges multi-element works, or, on the basis of the existing documentation, recreates works which no longer exist or else takes up any manner of activities that at times seem to have little in common with the work of the art conservator as we know it.

In this section you will find examples of the conservator’s strategies in the broadest sense of the word, illustrated by short films which enable the viewer better to come to grips with the specifics of the job. Unlikely as it might seem at first glance, a conservator is truly indispensable in a museum of contemporary art.