Client
The Cruthers Collection of Women’s Art (CCWA) at The University of Western Australia.
Work
Various print media
Project
The Cruthers Collection of Women’s Art (CCWA) at The University of Western Australia is Australia’s largest specialist collection of women’s art. This project required capturing approximately 200 original artworks on paper for digital archive, research purposes and potential print reproduction into the future.
You'll notice the entire print sheets are visible to the edges which I then cut out on to pure white. This is a requirement particular to this type of art reproduction as researchers, students or historians may want to inspect physical edge details to determine all manner of things from how and when the work was created to the typer of paper used.
Photographic documentation of art for collections and museums is often referred to as 'cultural heritage imaging'. I believe it is a vital part of preserving our cultural heritage for years to come. Only the largest art museums tend to have in-house art reproduction and documentation facilities, and that leaves the rest of them often without adequate digital preservation of their valuable artwork.
I'm always thrilled to be able to digitally preserve collections such as this, knowing that museum-quality image files will then exist beyond the original artworks and be available for many uses far into the future. These uses can include research, online learning, online galleries, publications, print reproductions, merchandise and long-term digital archive.
Cultural heritage imaging has its own strict set of technical requirements set out by the National Archives of Australia. This includes resolution, metadata, colour profiles and file formats. It's all about ensuring that image files are relevant, detailed and cohesive for generations into the future. Luckily Lucida is happy and able to meet, and exceed these standards when needed.
