Műemlék-helyreállítások tegnap, ma, holnap (A 27. Egri Nyári Egyetem előadásai 1997 Eger, 1997)
Előadások - NÁNDORI Klára: Restoration of the pravostal ruins at Dömös
as evidence of our attitude, of our approach to our vocation, and help the public shape their opinion about this profession. However,considering the ever more restricted debates nowadays going on at various professional forum, at international conferences, aimed at clarifying in theory some particular notions, and the emergence of comittees intending to evaluate the already executed restoration works on the basis of various sets of criteria, it is to be feared that real preservation might be replaced by a „discipline" concentrating on the history of restoration projects and on the comparative analysis of definitions appeared in the innumerable publications, and that in the „heat" of the debates going on for years and years, the subject matter for analysis perished unnoticed. Some voices heard in this debate tend to be self-conceited. I am worried. Few people, indeed, cared about the fate of the Dömös stones prior to the restoration, though there was good reason for criticism. Another risk is over-regulation in the name of ^authenticity", which, involving lawyers and office clerks, kills all spirit and initiative in creative, responsible, courageous, experimenting specialist. The proliferation of dogmas, just like in all other fields, entails risks. No one may, e. g. state all carved stones must remain intact, or that a corner built from broad-stones may not be plastered, because the application of such „rules" may lead to dissonance. Having said that, it does, of course, matter how we handle those delicate items. Let me stress again, I am not rejecting professional consistence, nor the necessary professional severity, of the principle to measure every one's performance by the same standards, and certainly not the expectancy and control of professional quality. However, a lot depends on who controls, when, in what circumstances, and how well informed is the one who controls about the facilities available. May I underline that not only the product of restoration work is to be examined with respect to authenticity. Authentic work requires well-trained, reliable, „authentic" researchers, planners, specialized officers, executing staff, under the management of „authentic 1 ' leaders, who consider it their responsibility to create the necessary conditions for work to be started. The small team of people struggling at the front line would need a supporting background, which should commit itself to, identify with and promote their case, and should not leave the strugglers alone in the fight for authenticity. May I recommend that instead of, or at least along with, theoretical debates, professional fora should be created where real and topical professional problems shall be debated among those specialists interested, and where, with reference to some particular project, architects and men of letters might get acquainted with one another's approach and intentions, and might reduce the gap between their mentalities. Where we would not just be given a mark in authenticity, but would also have a chance to learn what we have done right and what we have done wrong. Criticism is needed, but it should not be destructive, and should only reject what is replaceable with something better. Researchers must recognize that the fact that architects would want to use the results of the researches they have carried out on the premises and in the archives does not amount to „a coup attempt" but rather to an endeavour to meet the criteria for professional honesty. Joint efforts and joint reasoning would make it possible to determine and learn, in the framework of a professional forum, the right technique of authentic documentation. I believe it is a very important issue, which is causing problems in other fields as well. The documents drawn up ought to be self-explanatory, so that all sensible people understand them, now and in the future as well. - it is not enough to substitute for an important drawing with a description, like „on the inner side of the inferior one-third of the Northern foot stone of the Eastern window on the Western side" - photographic documents should be more lhan simple albums of pictures The first step towards authenticity would be,I believe, to elaborate on this subject, as it should have been done a long time ago. Let us just gather all positive and negative examples, and learn from them.
