The OBELISK Publishing House

The AHVT has settled the problems of further publishing activity by participating in the renewal of the arts and architecture publishing house – OBELISK, closed for political reasons soon after 1969. The Archives of Historical Art Technology made contact with the Union of Czech Artists, the Institute for the Reconstruction of Historical Towns and Buildings, the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and the J. A Comenius Academy: the OBELISK Publishing Consortium was founded on 6th May 1990. OBELISK uses the publishing code of the Union of Czech Artists; TECHNOLOGIA ARTIS 1 was therefore actually the first publication of this renewed publishing house, before it was formally founded. The programme of OBELISK is to produce publications of highest quality, with special attention to art technology; transformation to a joint-stock company is planned to include printing houses and foreign participants.

The Association of the AHVT

The Archives of Historical Art Technology came into being gradually from 1988 as an independent interdepartmental initiative in the course of preparation of the yearbook. The composition of the first Council of the Archives was confirmed by the Restorers' Commission of the former Union of Czech Plastic Artists on 13. 11. 1989 and in the course of time was supplemented by further members. The constitution of the Council of the AHVT was preceded by negotiations of an initiative-taking group of restorers on 29th May 1989 with the Art History Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences with which cooperation was agreed and gradually realised in practice. A further agreement was concluded on 20th February 1990 with the Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Professor Milan Knížák - on the locating of the Archives in the Academy and the payment of the activity of the Archivist.

Further agreements are being prepared with the National Gallery in Prague, the State Institute for the Care of Historical Monuments, the Chemical-Technological University and others. In January 1990 we also proposed that the field of »Historical Art Technology« be represented in the Scientific Collegium of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences by Academic Painter Mojmír Hamsík and this proposal was accepted by the Praesidium of the ČSAV on 18th April 1990.

The AHVT also supported in December 1990 the further development and expansion of the activity of the European Culture Club (at its Congress), an organisation established for the creation of closer contact among countries and cultures with the aim of preparing the way for a future united Europe. Historical art technology is a field which has an acute need for this concentration of European forces and knowledge. Contacts were formed with the European University Centre in Ravello (see further information) and a number of further institutions whose programme includes also historical art technology.

We associated and now legally associate by law for this field through a special form of membership which does not count on financial contributions but with a share in real work devoted to this field. For this reason the AHVT is not a professional (or departmental) organisation, but a research and specialised organisation. The individual professions are equal in the AHVT and their representation in the Council of the AHVT is counted according to the actual percentage composition of membership. At the meeting of members of the AHVT on 11th April 1991, which took place in the premises of the European Culture Club (Prague 1, Malá Strana, Valdštejnská 14 – Pálffy Palace), a new Council of the AHVT was elected:

ak. mal. Vlastimil BERGER, ak. mal. Josef ČOBAN,
ak. mal. Mojmír HAMSÍK, PhDr Ivo HLOBIL,
PhDr Luděk JIRÁSKO, PhDr Vojtěch KROB,
ak. soch. Petr KUTHAN, ak. mal. Jaromír LAUDA,
ak. mal. RNDr Milena NEČÁSKOVÁ,
prof. PhDr Jaromír NEUMANN,
ak. mal. Antonín NOVÁK, Dorotea PECHOVÁ,
ak. mal. Zuzana POLÁKOVÁ, ak. mal. Petr PROKOPEC,
prof., ak. mal. Karel STRETTI, PhDr Miloš SUCHOMEL,
RNDr Jindřich TOMEK, ak. mal. Jiří TŘEŠTÍK,
ak. mal. Anna TŘEŠTÍKOVÁ, PhDr Jakub VÍTOVSKÝ.

As statutary representatives were elected Antonín NOVÁK (Chairman), Petr Prokopec (Executive) and Josef Čoban (Editor). Elected members of the Auditing Commission were Acad. Sculptor Alena Nováková and Acad. Painter Alena Veselá.

After thorough discussion of the text of the Statutes, registered with the Czech Ministry of the Interior on 7. 11. 1990 under the file No. VSP/1-3093/90-R, several partial changes and additions were approved. »Provisions on Archive Materials» were adopted as an indivisible part of these Statutes. Of the provisions adopted we consider particularly important the membership of citizens of other states, which might be the start of a wider international association of research workers in our field.

On 13th April 1992 the following change was made in statutary representatives of AHVT:
Věra Frömlová – Chairman,
Petr Prokopec – Executive,
Antonín Novák – Chief Editor.

Selected Statutes of AHVT

(3) The AHVT deals with the following activities:
– the concentration of materials documenting studies and research work in the sphere of historical art technology, specialized literature and other documentary materials
– making the above material accessible for professional study
– the publication of a yearbook and possibly other non-periodical printed matter in this field

(4) Eligible for membership of the AHVT are professional restorers, art historians and natural scientists or experts from other fields who are studying problems connected with historical art technology... Citizens of other countries may also become members.

(5) The supreme body of the AHVT is the members' meeting... A plenary meeting is called by the Chairman at least once in two years.

(6) The executive body of the AHVT is the Council of the AHVT, elected by the meeting of members for a two-year period.

(8) The association is not a profit-making organisation... The sources of financial funds of the AHVT are in particular:
– profits from publishing activity of members of the AHVT which they donate to the yearbook
– profits from the sale of the yearbook
– grants awarded by the government, contributions from individuals, trusts, gifts and bequests

(9) The members of the AHVT cooperate closely with the Academy of Fine Ans in Prague and with the Institute for An History of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and also with other professional subjects interested, on the basic of agreements on cooperation. Publishing activity is realized through the Union of Czech Artists.


PROVISION ON ARCHIVE MATERIALS
(1) Original authors'contributions, donated by restorers from the Czech and Slovak Republics and from abroad, also by chemists, mineralogists, art historians and other experts participating in the investiga tion, research and elaboration of the history of art techniques. The deposition of authors' contributions in the Archives is considered as publication and is protected by copyright and by laws on the protection and utilisation of archive materials, quoted in Article 11 of this Provision. The Archive Number allocated to the author's contribution is also the number of the publication.

(2) The Book Fund is created
– by deposition of specialised literature from the libraries of the Academy of Fine Arts, the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and other institutions
– from the gifts of persons and institutions
– from methodical purchases

(3) Xerox copies, donated and made on the equipment of the Academy of Fine Arts, and publicity material are also considered part of the Book Fund.

(4) The AHVT also concentrates samples of materials useful for the confrontation of research works and also for the instruction of students in the restorers' school.

(5) The systematic card index of historical technological recipes is built up within the framework of the research programme of the AHVT in cooperation with the Institute for An History of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. Students of the restorers' school of the Academy of Fine Arts will also participate in building it up.

(6) The AHVT also concentrates bequests of restorers and other research workers in this field.

(7) Protocols from laboratory analyses (chemistry, mineralogy, biology, etc.) are considered as authors' contributions according to Article 1. Also considered as authors' contributions are restorers' reports containing a description of the technique of the work restored or copies of laboratory protocols.

(8) Also considered as authors' contributions are students' seminar and diploma works. They are archived under a special number as a  separate fund.

(11) The authors' contributions mentioned in Articles 1, 7 and 8 of this provision and materials of an archive nature (Article 6) can be used only under the conditions set down by the Law of the Czech National Council No. 97/174 Sb. on archives, the directives of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic No. 7, 1975 on the use of archive materials and by these Study Regulations.

(12) Materials subject to copyright (see Article 11) can be published by a researcher only if he quotes the source and he is also obliged to send the Archives one copy of the work.

(14) The researcher may not use reproduction equipment, typewriter or tape-recorder in the study room. The making of photocopies on the equipment of the Academy of Fine Arts is possible only in exceptional cases and only with the permission of the author.

(15) Every author has the right to demand of the Keeper of the Archives on handing over work a certificate on which will be given the Archive Number, the tide of the contribution, the number of pages and the number and type of appendices. Contributions sent by post are registered and the keeper of the Archives must send confirmation of receipt by return of mail.

(16) Confirmation of receipt is issued also in the case of xerox and other copies (separate prints) or in the case of donation of books and other materials in order to record the names of the donors. Bequests are handed over on the basis of a protocol.

(19) The Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts guarantees on behalf of himself and his deputies and representatives the constant observance of all the archive and academic regulations contained in this Provision.