The Photograph Information Record (PIR) represents the effort by many colleagues to create an “international standard” for an artist’s questionnaire form. The hope is that this form will be adopted by institutions internationally and will eventually be used by artists and galleries as a matter of course. Originally conceived by the Photographic Materials Research Group, an informal gathering of conservation and science colleagues discussing research initiatives in the field, the form was designed and vetted by an international committee of conservators with input from curators and collections managers over a number of years.
The form is a writable PDF so it can be filled in and communicated electronically or can be printed out, filled in and returned by the artist, gallery, or dealer to the institution. This is the June 2009 edition. As the form is used, we will be able to update it as needed with adjustments and improvements. If you have suggestions for changes or if your institution decides to officially adopt its use and would like to be added to the list of users, please contact Nora Kennedy or Erin Murphy. We ask that this decision be a joint one between conservators and curators (as well as registrars or collections managers where appropriate) as we would like full and collaborative support in gathering information about works of art.
The form is translated into several languages for use internationally. We will be adding additional forms as the translations are made.
Thank you,
Nora Kennedy (Nora.Kennedy@metmuseum.org) & Erin Murphy (murphyconservation@gmail.com).
For best results, complete and save the form using the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Forms by Language
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions to this international effort:
Theresa Andrews, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Àngels Arribas, Lumen Photographic Conservation
Barbara Brown, Harry Ransom Center
Anne Cartier-Bresson, Atelier de Restauration et Conservation de Photographies
Lee Ann Daffner, Sarah Meister, Whitney Gaylord, Museum of Modern Art
Malcolm Daniel, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Rachel Danzing, Brooklyn Museum
Mirasol Estrada, Advanced Residency Program, George Eastman House, Image Permanence Institute
Eva Grieten, Art Institute of Chicago
Dana Hemmenway, Library of Congress
Kelley Loftus, Whitney Museum of American Art
Annette Manick, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Sylvie Penichon, Amon Carter Museum
Janice Schoepfer, Los Angeles County Museum
Andrea Wise, National Gallery of Australia
Catalan Translation: Pau Maynés,* LLuís Roqué, Xavier Rossell, Anna Vila-Espuna
Chinese Translation: Hoyu Chang, Hsuan-Yu Chen, Jiuan Jiuan Chen,* Wan-Ping Chen, Yi-Liu Chen, Hsiu-Mei Huang, Hsu-Chiao Huang, Jen Jung Ku, Hung-Wen Luo, Fei Wen Tsai
Dutch Translation: Martin Jürgens, Hadassa Koning,* Michiel Kort, Herman Maes, Bill Wei and the fotowerkgroep
French Translation: Anne Cartier-Bresson, Cécile Bosquier, Marie-Aimée Dubois-Krzynowek, Bertrand Lavédrine, Sylvie Pénichon
Finnish Translation: Elina Heikka, Riitta Koskivirta,* Anna-Kaisa Rastenberger, Laura Sallas
German Translation: Martin Jürgens, Klaus Pollmeier,* Marjen Schmidt
Greek Translation: Adia Adamopoulou,* Vassiliki Hatzigeorgiou, Hercules Papaioannou, Aliki Tsirgialou
Italian Translation: Daniele Aliffi, Silvia Berselli, Simona Casarano, Tatiana Cole,* Laura Gasparini, Roberta Piantavigna, Stefania Ruello
Japanese Translation: Toshiaki Koseki, Hanako Murata,* Yoko Shiraiwa
Polish Translation: Joanna Didik,* Joanna Waśko, Izabela Zając
Portuguese Translation: Sandra Baruki, Luisa Casella,* Sabrina Esmeraldo, Miguel Laiginha Loureno, Catarina Mateus, Luis Pavão, Élia Roldão, Ana Saramago
Spanish Translation: Mirasol Estrada,* Claudio Hernández, Rosina Herrera, Vianka Hortuvia Atenas, Alejandra Mendoza, Fernando Osorio Alarcón, Samuel Salgado Tello
PIR Liaison: Amy Brost
* Translation committee chair