In this thesis, work has been carried out in order to explore the role of materiality in works of conceptual art – and what possible influence the preservation of such objects might have for their meaning within the context of a modern art museum. The study is divided into three parts, where the initial one examines the concept of materiality, the second part maps the history and complexity of conservation, and the final part is based on three case studies of individual artworks. The research is carried out through a literature study within the fields of conservation and art history, as well as different kinds of institutionally produced reports along with exhibition descriptions and art reviews. Interviews have also been carried out with a curator and conservators from two museums of contemporary art, Moderna museet in Stockholm and Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-westfalen in Düsseldorff. One aspect of the study has been to, from a perspective of discourse theory, investigate whether any so-called antagonistic relationships could be identified within the practices of the art museum, between different professional attitudes towards the idea of preserving artworks where the materiality may or may not be of relevance for the conceptual integrity of the piece. No such antagonism has been observed, but rather a situation where the professional boundaries are blurred in relation to the individual object. In the theoretical forms of a communicative network, conservators, curators and the artist responsible for the piece engage in the custodial presentation of the artwork. In this work, traditional notions of preservation may give way to a process-oriented relationship with the object to enable a continuous relevance toward the public and as an active part of the contemporary art scene. Even if the context of the art museum establishes the physical limits of the conceptual art composition, the preservation of the artwork may be viewed as pragmatic in terms of its materiality – where a dialogue with the artist plays an important part in the management process. The role of materiality may thus be decisive for the realization of the conceptual idea within an artwork, but as long as the work may be considered as integral to a contemporary art scene the conservation of it may focus on other aspects than its specific physical elements. When, or if, the artwork evolves into a symbolic representation of for instance the artist’s production or an art historical era – when a contemporary significance is lost – the role of materiality may possibly change and require a different conservation-based perspective concurrent with traditional types of cultural artifacts. The identity of an artwork may be considered as continuously evolving and its meaning a matter of the time it exists in, where the materiality of the object communicates its relevance.

Restaurering handlar om att spara något av det existerande och använda sig av det, om det så är en struktur, ett minne, en detalj eller den inre luftmassan. Frågan är varför man i vissa fall sparar en träbit från 1700-talet som är sned och sliten, när man skulle kunna byta ut den till en rak istället, men måla den i samma kulör. Det är alltså någonting i just den slitna träbiten som förmedlar något till oss. Kanske en känsla av att vi är del av en historia och ett sammanhang. I projekt som handlar om restaurering jobbar arkitekten med just hanteringen av historia men också skapandet av framtiden. Det är precis det som är kittlande, som Hidemark så bra formulerar det; ”...det förflutna finns ständigt i det närvarande, och tillsammans med nuet finns det på samma sätt i framtiden.”Synen på varje byggnad och varje restaurering som unik har på riktigt vuxit fram under 1900-talet. Sigurd Curman började formulera tankar kring att bevara ”tecken på historia” i en byggnad, som man kan kalla för patina, just för att den hade något, inte för att det inte fanns resurser till att putsa till den. Dessa idéer har fortsatt utvecklats och nådde sin höjdpunkt med Ove Hidemarks tankar om hur han ser på byggnader som att de alla har sin personlighet. Att sedan gestalta något som arkitekt i byggnaden, men samtidigt ha kvar respekten för objektets patina och tidigare liv, leder till att det enda rättvisa gentemot byggnaden blir att inte härma eller försöka kopiera utan skapa något som kan tala med det gamla och samexistera arkitektoniskt. Exempel på detta ser vi också i Neues museum genom Chipperfields arbete med ytorna och sin lågmälda komplettering av dem, på Skokloster slott genom Hidemarks respekt för alla tiders tillägg och de existerande och tillagda materialens relation, Lacaton & Vassals beslut om att låta en park vara som den är och Rachel Whitereads bevarande av en byggnads minne genom ett avgjutet inre av den.      Arkitektens roll i ett restaureringsarbete blir att gå till objektet eller platsen och först och främst titta. Se vad som finns och formulera det genom ord, text, bild, skiss ritning etc. Genom att göra urvalet och gestalta det existerande tar arkitekten ställning och säger något om värdet på dessa ting. Det är ett maktutövande, rent ut sagt, att bestämma vad som är av värde att gestalta eller inte, men också vad som är av värde att låta leva vidare in i framtiden. Tyresö gymnasium är byggd i två etapper, 1978 respektive 1981. Vår uppgift från Arkitekturskolan innehåller ett program på 1500 kvm bostäder vilket man kan välja att lägga i gymnasiet då skolan ändå ska flytta från sina alltför stora lokaler. Denna linje har jag valt och min utgångspunkt är att utgå ifrån det som finns och bevara det så långt det går och att med enkla medel transformera en skola till bostäder. Jag vill testa min tes om att ett hem med tecken från vad det en gång varit är ett mer trivsamt hem än ett helt spår- och historielöst hem. Min metod är helt och hållet inspirerat av Ove Hidemark där jag försökt känna in byggnaden och undersöka den så mycket som det går. Jag har åkt dit och dokumenterat genom skiss, ritning och foto sådant som jag bedömt är av hög rumslig kvalité. Dessa stora och små delar av byggnaden har blivit min utgångspunkt för skapandet av de nya bostäderna. Jag har försökt rita bostäderna kring dessa delar så att varje lägenhet får sin speciella detalj som påminner om en tid som varit.     Spår som symboler av historia. / Restoration is about saving something of the existing and use it, whether it is a structure, a memory, a part or the internal air mass. The question is why, in some cases, save a piece of wood from the 1700s that are crooked and worn out, when you could replace it with a straight instead, but paint it the same color. There is something in that worn piece of wood that conveys something to us. Perhaps the feeling that we are part of a history and a context. In projects that are about restoration architects work with the handling of the history but also the creation of the future. That is what is so fascinating about restoration, as Ove Hidemark so great puts it; "... The past is constantly present in the moment, and with the present moment, it is in the same time in the future." The view of each building and each restoration as unique has really emerged during the 1900s. Sigurd Curman began to formulate ideas about preserving the "signs of history" in a building, which you can call patina, precisely because it had something, not because there were no resources to renovate it. These ideas have continued to develop and reached its peak with Ove Hidemarks thoughts on how he sees the buildings as they all have their own personality. To then shape something as an architect in the building while maintaining respect for the object's patina and past lives, means that the only justice towards it is not to mimic it or try to copy but to create something that can speak with the old and architecturally coexist. Examples of this are seen in the Neues Museum by Chipperfield´s and their work with surfaces and its low-key supplementing them, in Skokloster castle through Hidemark´s respect for the all-time additions and the existing and added materials relationshisp, Lacaton & Vassals´ decision to leave a park as it was, and Rachel Whiteread´s conservation of a building through casted interior of it. The architect's role in the restoration work will be to go to the object or location, and first and foremost to look. See what is there and picture it in words, text, image, sketch drawing etc. By making the selection the architect says something about the value of these things. It is an exercise of power, to determine what is of value to shape or not, but also what is of value to let live on into the future. Tyresö upper secondary school was built in two phases, 1978 and 1981. Our mission from the School of Architecture includes a program of 1,500 sq.m. residential which you can choose to place inside the existing school. I have chosen this line and my starting point is to build on what exists and preserve it as much as possible. I have tried to, in simple ways, transform the school into housing. I have tested my theory that a home with signs from what it once was is a more enjoyable home than a home without any tracks at all. My method is inspired by Ove Hidemark from where I tried to get to know the building and investigate it as much as possible. I have gone there and documented through sketches, drawings and photos things that I considered are of high spatial quality. These large and small parts of the building have been my starting point for the creation of the new homes. I have tried to draw the dwellings around these parts so that each apartment has its special detail reminiscent of the past. Tracks that are signs of history.

Färdiglagade måltider för specifika målgrupper ställer höga krav på både utseende av maten och förpackningsalternativ så råvaror tillagas så bästa och mest näringsrika vis.  Detta arbete studerar skillnaden i smak och textur mellan två olika konserveringsmetoder av en färdiglagad musselsoppa genom att förpacka i en mikrovågsförpackning och en ångförpackning.  Enkäter för att undersöka skillnad i utseende på soppan gällande musslor med och utan skal genomförs även och där också en jämförelse av kulturell påverkan i våra matval, hur noga man är med hygien när det kommer till mat och deltagarnas generella matintresse för att göra en jämförelse av svenska och franska deltagare.  Syftet är att genomföra en sensorisk optimering av en musselsoppa som utvecklats för äldre konsumenter. / There are high demands on readymade meals when it comes to both the look of the food and the way the meal is packaged to ensure the produce is cooked in the best and most nutritious way. This rapport is about seeing if there is a difference in taste and texture between two different conservation methods for a premade mussel soup. A survey to see if the soup is more appealing if served with the mussels in their shell or deshelled was made and also an comparison of a cultural input on the food choices, how important the hygiene is when it comes to food and the participants overall food interest to get an overall comparison of Swedish and French participants the aim is to complete a sensory optimization of a mussel soup which was developed for old aldults.

<p>This paper deals with flat iron fragments from the Viking Age hall situated in Birkas Garrison, Adelsö parish in Uppland. The aim of the study was to identify which objects these flat fragments were originally derived from. The aim was also to discuss the function of these objects and their presence in the hall. This would hopefully increase the knowledge about the hall and the warriors who lived and worked there. In some cases the fragments form and placement in the hall has not provided enough information to classify the object from which they derived. Where it has been possible, a majority of the fragments has been interpreted as parts of chest mounts or shield buckles. The result of the analysis shows the possibility of a large chest having once stood in the southwest corner of the hall.</p>

This paper deals with flat iron fragments from the Viking Age hall situated in Birkas Garrison, Adelsö parish in Uppland. The aim of the study was to identify which objects these flat fragments were originally derived from. The aim was also to discuss the function of these objects and their presence in the hall. This would hopefully increase the knowledge about the hall and the warriors who lived and worked there. In some cases the fragments form and placement in the hall has not provided enough information to classify the object from which they derived. Where it has been possible, a majority of the fragments has been interpreted as parts of chest mounts or shield buckles. The result of the analysis shows the possibility of a large chest having once stood in the southwest corner of the hall.

This thesis deals with the restoration of masonry in ruins with the aim of mapping which restorations have been carried out at Kronobergs and Bergkvara ruins in Växjö, and to explore which restoration measures that are sustainable. During the early 20th century many of the country's cultural monuments were restored including ruins. The ruins were originally buildings built with natural stone and lime mortar and were never intended to stand without a roof. When the buildings were left to decay for various reasons, they quickly became ruins. To save the ruins and make them accessible to visitors, the ruins needed to be preserved.The results have been obtained from archive studies and observations from visits in-situ. The various restoration works carried out on Kronoberg and Bergkvara ruins has been compiled. The conclusions show that in order to carry out a successful restoration, consideration must be given to the entire overall damage picture of the ruin and past and future restoration work.

The main purpose for this paper is to study iron artefacts excavated in the Black Earth harbour district of Birka. This locale, positioned on the island Björkö in Adelsö par. Sweden, is one of the mayor sites in regard to the Scandinavian Viking age. The how and why of the corrosive process will be touched upon. Specifically how archaeological iron interacts with the soil in which it is found, and what can be done to prevent unnecessary decay after excavation. This, in turn, leads to an observation of how methods have changed in regard to the conservation of archaeological iron, from the processes used in the early days of the field, to the more present day with the method utilized in this study. The conservation of said artefacts is for this study accomplished through the use of a conventional chemical method called EDTA. The usability of this method with waterlogged metallic artefacts is tested. The product of the conservation work revealed the objects to be mostly, iron rivets, bolts or nails. Not too surprising when the articles came from an area widely believed to be a harbour. This specific chemical solution proved not to be a sufficient conservation method for the waterlogged metal objects examined in this paper. This was due to the notably hard crust that covered the objects and the structural fragility of the artefacts. Specific analyses of some of the artefacts were undertaken due to the emergence of substantial amounts of depositions in the final steps of the process. Using XRD, XRF and IR-spectroscopy, the depositions were analysed and the result showed that the depositions most likely consists of a blend of non-water-soluble iron phosphates.

<p>This paper deals with archery in the Viking Age settlement of Birka and in particular the presence of Euro Asiatic, steppe nomadic archery equipment at the Birka Garrison and one Birka grave. The equipment contains for example closed quivers and a bow case. This paper also contains a discussion of archery battle techniques and tactics in Viking Age Birka and the implications of the above mentioned equipment to this discussion. The analysis insinuates the importance and status of archery in 10th century Birka.</p>

<p>The purpose of this paper is to analyse and discuss clinch-nails found at an excavation at terrace II in the Garrison of Birka, on the island of Björkö in Sweden. This type of clinch-nails is common in Viking age Sweden and is usually interpreted as coming from boats. The study will try to show that these types of nails could have been used in several kinds of wooden constructions. It will also show how the nails were made and what kinds of tools were used by the Viking smiths. The study has shown that this type of nails were used in several different types of wooden constructions such as boats, sleds, cart bodies, coffins, Birka's ramparts and buildings. Nothing confirms the use of rivets in Viking age buildings but the material from terrace II probably contains clinch-nails from the other categories. The largest portion of the clinch-nails comes from disused boats and from the ramparts surrounding Birka's hill fort Borg. The tools for making nails have not been found in the Birka Garrison.</p>

This paper deals with archery in the Viking Age settlement of Birka and in particular the presence of Euro Asiatic, steppe nomadic archery equipment at the Birka Garrison and one Birka grave. The equipment contains for example closed quivers and a bow case. This paper also contains a discussion of archery battle techniques and tactics in Viking Age Birka and the implications of the above mentioned equipment to this discussion. The analysis insinuates the importance and status of archery in 10th century Birka.