Reflectance Transformation Imaging Conservation School Pilot Program

Funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation
		In partnership with  the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Building on Cultural Heritage Imaging’s (CHI’s) experience with museum conservators and with training museum professionals and archaeologists, CHI will work with the Kress foundation and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco to produce multimedia content that demonstrates how Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) can be used in the conservation of cultural heritage objects. The 'Reflectance Transformation Imaging Conservation School Pilot Program', includes the documentation and analysis of six objects from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The resulting content will include photos, RTIs, screen captures from the RTIs, written material and video documentaries.

While producing RTIs of the objects, CHI will work with the conservation staff to evaluate the RTI and how the images can be used to aide conservation activities. The videos will feature conservators discussing the effectiveness of RTI in conservation. The package of materials will build on and reference information CHI has already produced about RTI methodology including capturing, processing and viewing RTIs. All content will be reviewed throughout the production phase and in a planned focus group to be held near the end of the project.

Our work with painting conservators indicates that their honed visual inspection skills can leverage RTI surface enhancement in ways never imagined by RTI’s inventors. Part of our work with conservators is to disclose these new applications and share them with others in the field.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, FAMSF, will provide the objects to be photographed, will analyze the resulting RTIs, and will provide feedback on the results. The conservators will select the objects to be imaged, Susan Grinols will coordinate the FAMSF team of art handlers and conservation staff, and will work with the CHI team to photograph the selected objects. She will also help the CHI team with the interview process.

Deliverables for this program are:
		Video documentaries, including interviews, setups, processing and analysis
		Image and produce RTIs for six objects
		Photos of objects, contexts, setups, working shots (photo-journalism)
		Supplemental materials. For example, additional short videos, written docs, podcasts as time and budget allows
		Focus group to review deliverables (video, RTI's, supplemental materials). 1/2 day at CHI office in San Francisco

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) is comprised of the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park. Founded in 1895 the de Young is San Francisco's oldest museum. In 2005, the de Young reopened in a state-of-the-art new facility designed by the renowned Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron and Fong & Chan Architects in San Francisco. The new de Young provided San Francisco with a landmark art museum to showcase the museum’s priceless collections of American art from the 17th through the 20th centuries, and art of the native Americas, Africa, and the Pacific.

The California Palace of the Legion of Honor is an exact replica and sister institution of the Palais de la Legion d'Honneur in Paris which Napoleon used to honor French soldiers. Dedicated on November 11, 1924, Adolph and Alma Spreckles gave the California Palace of the Legion of Honor to the people of San Francisco in honor of the Californians who died in the First World War. Its collections include European decorative arts and paintings, ancient art, and one of country's largest and finest collections of works on paper (prints, drawings, photographs, books).

Susan Grinols : FAMSF Project Lead
Director, Photo Services and Imaging, FAMSF
For this project Susan will coordinate the FAMSF photo shoots, provide content for the videos, and photograph the objects. She has an MFA in Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Susan began her career at FAMSF as a conservation assistant, where part of her duties included photographically documenting conservation treatments. As Director, Photo Services and Imaging, Susan oversees a department of two photographers and a handful of volunteers. She also manages the museums’ photographic assets and handles rights and reproductions.

Cultural Heritage Imaging Publications (authored and co-authored papers)
	"Image-Based Empirical Information Acquisition, Scientific Reliability, and Long-Term Digital Preservation for the Natural Sciences and Cultural Heritage -- Eurographics 2008, Crete, Greece
	"Open Archaeology: Fundamentals of Intellectual Property and Open Source" -- CAA 2008, Budapest, Hungary
	"A Digital Future for Cultural Heritage" -- CIPA Athens 2007, Athens, Greece
	Lighting & Byzantine Glass Tesserae" -- EVA London Conference, 2007, United Kingdom
	"The Simultaneous Capture of Spectral and Textural Information" -- IS&T, Society for Imaging Science and Technology, 2007, Arlington, Virginia, USA
	"New Reflection Transformation Imaging Methods for Rock Art and Multiple-Viewpoint Display' -- VAST 2007, Cyprus, Greece
	"Reflection Transformation Imaging and Virtual Representations of Coins from the Hospice of the Grand St. Bernard" -- VAST 2005, Pisa, Italy