Normal and Extraordinary Conservation Knowledge: Towards a Post-normal Theory of Cultural Materials Conservation

Abstract

The two fundamental words and concepts that have come to delineate the field of cultural materials conservation—conservation and restoration—represent an essential tension in both theory and practice. Commencing with an historical overview of the use of these two terms, their current meanings as prescribed in the ICOM-CC Definition of the Profession, are then examined drawing on Thomas Kuhn's concepts of ‘paradigm shifts’, ‘normal science’ and ‘extraordinary science’. The implications, opportunities and potential for conservation are then considered through the concept of post-normal science, to propose a democratised, community-centred theory of conservation.