This week we are launching a new monthly feature on our blog entitled ‘Meet the Committee’. First up is Nora Frankel, Textile Conservation Student from the University of Glasgow…
Icon Scotland Group Student Representative, Nora Frankel
What is your main area of Conservation?
Textiles
What is your position within the Icon Scotland Group?
ICON SG Student Representative/Events Team
How did you first become interested in Conservation?
I remember first becoming aware of conservation when I visited the Musée de Cluny as a child, and learned about the re-weaving of the famous unicorn tapestries. The fact that the restored areas faded differently from the original weaving really struck me. When I was volunteering at my undergraduate college’s art museum (Smith College Museum of Art), I learned about their frame conservation program. I enrolled, and it was love at first cotton swab.
Describe your typical day at work.
As a second year student of University of Glasgow’s MPhil Textile Conservation Program, my typical day involves a combination of lectures on science, techniques, ethics, and practice, as well as object treatments.
What has been your favourite conservation moment?
During placement at the Rijksmuseum, I had the pleasure of working on a really lovely tapestry from Spiering’s Delft studio. The object was stunning, and it was such a wonderful project to quietly stitch and become engrossed in the detail.
Conservation is often misunderstood by those outside the profession. What would you like to tell the world about Conservation?
Textile conservators aren’t just trained to mend or hem your old trousers (but we might do it for a bottle of wine). Conservation treatments that may appear very minimal are often complex, and involve a wide variety of skills, knowledge, and ethical consideration. Sometimes the most invisible treatments are those that are most successful.
