Day 1, Group 1

... The interviews were conducted with Daniel Dion and Jacques Perron, for their respective works The Moment of Truth and Défilement, both of which are part of the collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. By studying the distinctive nature of works featuring visible technological components, the meetings enabled the identification of aspects that contribute to the integrity of the work, as well as an assessment of their degree of importance. The presentation highlights the way in which the dialogue between artist and conservator, made possible by an interview, enables a mutual understanding of conservation issues specific to a work. In the two interviews examined, various conservation and preservation strategies were proposed to the artist in order to identify those best able to guarantee the work’s integrity by prompting the artist to examine its long-term maintenance.

Richard Gagnier is the Head of Conservation at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts since Fall 2007. He graduated from the Université de Montréal with a B.Sc. (Honours) in Chemistry, and a minor in Art History, with a strong component on modern and contemporary art, theory and discourse. He completed the course requirements of the Masters program in the Art Conservation (MAC) Research stream at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. In 1984, he joined the team of the Restoration and Conservation Laboratory, at the National Gallery of Canada, where he successively developed an expertise as Assistant Conservator and Conservator of Contemporary Art until 2007. His practice encompasses contemporary art media, such as painting, sculpture, installation, as well as timed-based media. He is currently a researcher within DOCAM, where he leads the activities of the sub-committee Case studies – Conservation. He is the Canadian representative for INCCA in North America (INCCA-NA).

Émilie Boudrias earned in 2002 a Bachelor’s degree in Communication (Multimedia profile) from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). She is currently a Master’s student in the Communications program at UQAM. Her thesis focuses on the conservation of interactive media. Prior to beginning her Masters program, she worked for more than three years with the Elektra Digital Arts Festival as a development officer. While pursuing her studies, Émilie is participating as a research assistant in the DOCAM Conservation and Preservation Committee, which is chaired by Richard Gagnier.