Effects of conservation interventions on the archaeological Roman site of Merida (Spain). Advance of research.

Research on the assessment of the effects of conservation/restoration treatments on stone material has been significant in recent years, with focus on the early observation of decay caused by the application of these treatments. However, in the case of archaeological sites, research is still scarce and few studies on the subject have been published. Restoration, as everything else, has changed according to trends, mainly guided by the release of new products and technologies, an experimental field where scientific assessment of suitability, efficacy and durability pre-evaluations of treatments are not always conducted. Some efforts have been made to solve this problem in the architectural field, where functional needs and technical requirements force to set clear standards. Unfortunately, archaeological sites, unlike historic buildings, have specific features that preclude the extrapolation of these results. A critical review of the methodologies, products and restoration materials is necessary, coupled with deeper research on degradation mechanisms caused by these treatments in the mid- and long-term. The aim of this paper is to introduce the research on the above issues using Merida as a case study.

Grafías en la piel de la ciudad : graffiti y pintadas comerciales como expresiones sociales reflejadas en las calles de Medellín - Colombia

EL FENÓMENO DE LAS GRAFÍAS EN LA CIUDAD ACTUAL. Este ensayo es resultado de una investigación de tesis doctoral acerca de las intervenciones gráficas en el espacio público en la ciudad de Medellín, Colombia. Nos hemos centrado en dos tipos de accionar: por una parte las intervenciones gráficas que se corresponden al ámbito comercial y, por la otra, las que se alejan de éste para introducirse en los campos del graffiti y sus variantes, pero donde todas tiene algo en común, el cerramiento arquitectónico y de infraestructuras como soporte. La metodología parte de un trabajo de campo donde se recopila en imágenes la variedad de tipologías gráficas encontradas en la ciudad, para a continuación problematizar sus resultados como conflictos por el uso del espacio público; las valoraciones han sido extraídas de los discursos de sus autores, construidas con el formato de entrevista. Los resultados son un viaje a través de las particularidades de los gestos estéticos, que difieren en cuanto técnicas, motivaciones, imágenes resultantes en un espacio público cargado de re-construcciones simbólicas, que nos llevan al establecimiento de nuevos espacios de comunicación social. Sus conclusiones van encaminadas a la concepción de un espacio público vital para los ciudadanos que, dentro o al margen de los dispositivos de control social, lo apropian para dotarlos de nuevos significados, a la vez que lo proveen de diversas, divergentes y a veces conflictivas configuraciones estéticas. Palabras claves: graffiti, publicidad, espacio público, ciudad, Medellín. ABSTRACT THE PHENOMENON OF THE WRITINGS IN THE CONTEMPORARY CITY. This essay is the result of a research done for my doctoral thesis on the graphic interventions in public spaces in the city of Medellin, Colombia. We focused on two types of actions: the first graphic interventions correspond to the commercial sector and, the second, to those that differ from it to get into the fields of graffiti and its variants, but they all have something in common, the architectural cladding and infrastructure as their support. The methodology begins as a field work where images are collected in a variety of graphic typologies found in the city, and then to problematize their results such as the conflicts over the use of public space; the assessment has been drawn from the speeches of their authors and built through interviews. The results are a journey all the way through the particularities of aesthetic gestures, which differ in techniques, motivations, resulting images in a public space full of symbolic re-building, that lead to the establishment of new spaces for social communication. The conclusions are aimed at conceiving a vital space for citizens that, whether they are within or outside the mechanisms of social control, take over to give it new meanings, as well as providing the public space with different, divergent and sometimes conflicting aesthetic configurations. Keywords: graffiti, advertising, public space, city, Medellin.