Articles by Giancarlo Buzzanca

This research project on the graphic documentation used in restoration grew out of a collaboration between ICCROM and the ICR. Among the objectives of the group were the formation of a documentation technique and the development of a useful, light and user friendly information instrument for the registration of graphic and documentary data. The principle goal was to reach a situation in which the restorer/conservator or the draughtsman could record, in a definitive way and directly on site, all the data related to the mapping techniques, distinct for each category and class, which characterise the graphic documentation of a restoration operation, without having to give up their personal happiness. This should be accomplished without altering in a drastic way the intrinsic complexity of the software used, while avoiding any prior hyper-specialist technical preparation. It is on site that it is necessary, to maximise tbc enormous potential offered by data elaboration systems that can store and process such enormous amounts of data in a simple way. There are two major classes of problems to solve. On the one hand all the psychological barrieres created by the personal resistance of the technicians strongly, and sometimes emotionally, tied on their role as documenters armed with pencils and crayons. On the other hand all the problems of a technical nature that are linked to the digital acquisition of the graphic base, to the planning of the form of the documentation, to the standardization of the topology of the hatch patterns and the personalization of the accessory procedures to the CAD programme.

By using a mathematical model it is possible to express a formal representation of any object: such a representation is expressed in numerical language and is not automatically influenced by the physical object under study; rather it expresses "knowledge and ideas" relative to the phenomenon that, by means of models, is "interpreted" in this way. In general a model is an object that is constructed artificially in order to simplify the observation of another object. The intention is not to modify the actual physical properties of the things, but rather to represent ideal objects so as to be able to analyse their ideal properties. This allows the collection of information concerning real objects. Our research intends to verify the possibility of the use of mathematical analysis conducted using the method of reconstruction of finished elements on models that are reproduced with increased accuracy; the objects of this modelling have been archaeological shipwrecks. We have attempted to reconstruct, by means of data elaboration systems, realistic models of real objects without relapsing into specific logistics of pure modelling and/or pure mathematical research. The procedures that we followed derived from precise projectual needs, from the particular technical solutions available notwithstanding the restrictions imposed by the usable resources. It is necessary to use these calculation methods since they allow us to describe correctly, three dimensionally, the elementary geometry of the object while respecting rigorously the presence of the real one in the same space. In this way the use of information techniques is not reduced to a mere touch of modernity on the traditional techniques but becomes a meaningful support to the design procedure. This presentation shows some concrete examples and some lines of research that are presently being followed.

This article describes work and experience in the computer documentation of restoration work. The final aim of this project is to develop a new standardized methodology for manipulating data relating to the process of conservation and restoration. The authors are members of an ICCROM/ICR special research group on graphic documentation and a NORMAL Commission sub-group for graphic documentation of mural paintings. The concept of standards is paramount. Standardization, information transfer and communication are stressed, especially in the area of training. Indeed, this approach unifies the description of documentation of restoration treatments performed by professional restorers and trainees from the two partner institutions. In view of the escalating use of computers in the field of conservation, it seems that little has been done to evaluate their impact and appropriate fields of application: the new converts have photographed themselves sitting at the computer keyboard much as our forebears were depicted with a prize buck. The attempt here is to plan for practical use by suggesting a method and specific operating techniques. Our aim is to supply user-friendly procedures (which help run more complex applications) to those who, with good reason, are neither expert in graphics software nor interested in becoming so. The quality of a computer system is not measured by spectacular rainbow effects but by the quantity of information available, its quality and retrievability. The diverse operating environments are defined - the open system and the closed system - analogous to the restoration worksite and the laboratory for chemico-physical analyses. On the one hand is the restoration worksite, the open system, where data are obtained; on the other is the laboratory, or closed system, where one collects and studies the data. What, then, is represented, and how? What is the structure of the information in relation to the model of the information and the model of the object? How should the graphic material be imported into the computer? How can one navigate through the various types of information while protecting the specific nature of each type? Information on hardware is scarce; there is not enough on software; there is a great deal on abstruse theoretical implications. In essence, hardware should allow software to run - no more than that. The principal idea is that the organization of information is the value-added factor produced in the process of registering data in a computer. These notes also describe some attempts at personalizing menus (icons, hatching, etc.) in AutoCAD (and other related software) and multimedia experiments using ToolsBook on a cycle of mural paintings in the Roman Forum.