Autoethnography as a new approach in conservation

In this lecture Sanneke Stigter will explain the idea of autoethnography as a new approach for conservators. This allows for a process-based assessment that foregrounds the conservator’s personal input during conservation treatments and installation procedures. It addresses the cognitive processes that steer a conservation treatment towards the desired result in a chain of micro-level decisions. It helps clarifying the co-constructed nature of the artist interview as a negotiated text. The methodological approach of autoethnography enforces the reflexivity that is needed in conservation. The idea of a conservator’s testimony is not only valuable for complex artworks, but it enriches the conservation of cultural heritage in general.

Sanneke Stigter is Assistant Professor in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage at the University of Amsterdam and directs the specialisation in Contemporary Art. After receiving her graduate degree in art history at the University of Amsterdam, she went on to complete the five-year postgraduate training program in conservation of modern art at the SRAL. She headed the conservation department of contemporary art and modern sculpture at the Kröller-Müller Museum for nearly eight years.