GCI Animated Video Wins Award

In November 1994 a Getty Conservation Institute video was given the pedagogy award at the Third Audiovisual Museographic Festival in France. The two-minute animated video, entitled "Have You Ever Considered What It's Like To Be A Work Of Art?" was produced by Candice Pinchart while she was an intern in the GCI Director's Office during 1993-94.

The prize was given at the closing ceremony of the week-long festival, in which over 200 films, videos, and slide presentations from museums around the world were in competition. The international event, organized by the Direction des Musées de France, was held at the Musée National des Arts et Traditions Populaires in Paris.

On accepting the award, Ms. Pinchart, who studied arts communications in France and the United States, said that "videos can be used to great effect to present problems of conservation in a way that speaks directly to younger people."

Julian Zugazagoitia, the GCI 's representative at the event, thanked the festival organizers and on behalf of the GCI reiterated the Institute's firm commitment to using audiovisual materials such as video, CD-ROM, and virtual reality as a means of educating the general public regarding the importance of protecting the cultural heritage.

In Ms. Pinchart's witty animated video, a figure from a bas-relief in the Royal Palace in Abomey in Benin, West Africa, is exposed to harmful environmental elements, neglect, and vandalism and is saved from total destruction only by the arrival of a conservator.

Ms. Pinchart is currently studying wall paintings conservation at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

Neville Agnew

Associate Director for Programs

Neville Agnew has been appointed Associate Director for Programs of the Getty Conservation Institute. He took up his new position on September 1, 1994.

Dr. Agnew joined the staff of the Institute in January 1988 as Scientific Program Deputy Director and became Program Director in June 1990. He served in this capacity until mid-1991, when he took over the Special Projects of the Institute.

In the role of Associate Director for Programs, Dr. Agnew will join with Rona Sebastian, Associate Director for Administration, in assisting the Director in the operations, planning, and development of the Institute. He also will be responsible for the supervision of projects of the Director's Office and the Publications unit of the Institute, including the newsletter.

Martha Demas will serve as Special Projects Acting Director while a search is undertaken for a permanent Director. Dr. Demas, whose background includes archaeology and historic preservation, has worked at the Institute since 1990. She began as a Fellow in the Training Program before moving to Special Projects, first as a Fellow and then as a Conservation Specialist.