Research Network for Textile Conservation, Dress and Textile History and Technical Art History
The Centre for Textile Conservation and Technical Art History was awarded a grant from the Getty Foundation in 2010 to set up a research network. The network encompasses the three fields of:
- textile conservation
- dress and textile history
- technical art history
Our international advisory panel (pictured) met in March 2011 to help draw up plans for the network.
Network Meetings
Five themed network meetings will be held during 2011 and 2012 with the aim of bringing together researchers in these three fields to initiate new projects and to apply for research funding. We already have some ideas for research topics, as listed below, but welcome other suggestions - we anticipate the development of exciting interdisciplinary projects.
The aim is to keep numbers quite low for the network meetings in order to allow discussion to reach a more detailed stage. Please see below for contact details if you are interested in attending.
Research themes and network meeting dates, with some initial ideas for research topics
1. Modern Materials - 10 June 2011
- Manufacturing, marketing, consumption
- Modern and contemporary art: making and meaning
- Twentieth century dress
- Sustainable practices
2. 'The Real Thing': the value of authenticity and replication - 7 October 2011
- Dress historians and re-enactors: different approaches to research
- Digital transformations: the danger of loss of the ‘real thing’
- Authenticities and appearances
- The ‘fashion show’ : wearing objects
- Copying, replicating, emulating in 16th and 17th century Europe
3. Technical studies: exploring concept, practices and results - 5 December 2011
- Dyestuffs in textiles and fine arts
- Painted objects, interiors and artefacts
- ‘Cross-over’ artists rooted in practical tradition
- Traditional multi-media works of art
- Historiography of technical art history
- Painted textiles
- Red dyes
4. Enhancing the value of collections: investigation and preservation - 30 March 2012
- Translating cultures: China and the West: meaning, conservation, vocabularies
- Tapestry research
- Re-evaluation of treatments
- Object investigation: biography and provenance
- Skills – professional, value, vocabularies
5. Connected histories: making, meaning, interpretation - 14 May 2012
- Stoddard-Templeton Carpets
- European regional fashion
- Terminology of colour
- Embroidery, late 16th century- 17th century needlework
'The Real Thing' international conference - December 6-7 2012
Call for Papers - deadline was 17 February 2012 and selections have been made
The network will culminate with a two-day international conference on 6-7 December 2012 – everyone is welcome to attend, whether you are an active researcher or an interested observer. The theme for the conference will be 'The Real Thing? The Value of Authenticity and Replication for Investigation and Conservation. Further details and a booking service, will be published in the late spring of 2012.
Costume Colloquium III: Past Dress - Future Fashion - November 8-11, 2012
Florence, Italy
Costume Colloquium III: Past Dress – Future Fashion is the third in a series of bi-annual international, interdisciplinary and intercultural conferences dedicated to the discussion of fashion, fabric, styles, techniques, conservation and the many topics associated with dress history and contemporary costume creation, use and design. Costume Colloquium I (2008) was a tribute to renowned dress historian Janet Arnold, while Costume Colloquium II (2010) centered on themes related to Dress for Dance. The 2012 edition will focus on the broader analysis of historical styles and their influences on current and future fashion trends. This Colloquium is presented by the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation in collaboration with the Association of Friends of the Costume Gallery of Florence.
Programme details and Registration on-line on www.costume-textiles.com
Further information: info@costume-textiles.com
Contact Details
If you have a research idea you would be interested in developing in conjunction with the University of Glasgow and are interested in taking part in any of the network meetings, please contact:
Frances Lennard (Frances.Lennard@glasgow.ac.uk) or Erma Hermens (Erma.Hermens@glasgow.ac.uk).