Airline Art Shipping Fiasco

Blue fur-lined coat during shipment process.

According to a recent NYTimes article, airline standards pertaining security handling of art and museum objects will soon become as mainstream as those procedures used to evaluate your (overpriced) checked-luggage.

As if the airline isn't in enough trouble budget-wise, officials say that due to rising security threats, museum, gallery and private dealer shipping procedures must be changed. Art handlers and registrars had it relatively simple in terms of sending objects across the country and around the world. Intricate housing of objects occurred prior to being dropped off at the airport, without airline security personnel needing to reopen crates and evaluate package contents.

Now however, airline security has the authority to go into a courier package and check for breached items. Although the nation's security is the number one priority, the whole point of packaging a museum or gallery object in the way it is packaged is so that it will not be disturbed or stressed in-transit. Also, arts personnel are trained to unpack valuable objects once their destination is reached - airline personnel, aren't. Placing an object back in its crate even slightly out of place can prove detrimental in the long run. What's more, airline security are not required to fill out condition reports, so if an object is damaged upon arrival, there is no documentation to prove its mishandling.

Larger institutions who are fortunate enough to develop travel plans years in advance will not be as affected by these newly implemented measures as smaller museums, galleries and private dealers will be. Many times, priceless artifacts are shipped overnight or the day of an exhibition - these new security plans will certainly present a challenge concerning time management.

Object mishandling is a greater threat concerning historic costumes and textiles . Even the least trained of security officials can recognize the fragility of an ancient vase. Society is brought up to disregard the value of clothing however; we fold our clothes, stuff them haphazardly into suitcases, crumple them, place heavy objects over them and even get them dirty when the shampoo bottle accidentally explodes due to cabin pressure - all because clothing is replaceable, clothing is cheap, and clothing is probably the most pliable object carried on board...(Click here to expand post)

Thus, I fear for costume and textile museum exportation. To untrained personnel, who's to say they won't treat a rare dress or suit the same as they treat their dirty laundry? A 13th century Nordic weapon is made of materials that hold up well, even under the clumsiest of hands - a 16th century silk gown, already in fragile condition, will crumble under the slightest touch. Registrars pack their possessions with a purpose, recognizing the risks that come with travel. Will these new regulations cause their shipping methods to be all for naught?

This is exactly why specialized advanced degree programs began - to train people in the correct handling of garments and rare, fragile pieces of textile art.

Perhaps this is one solution to the uneven ratio of trained museum personnel-to-available jobs. It would make sense for airlines to staff one or two skilled art handlers, in order to deal with situations such as this. Conservators and others familiar with artifact housing methods would be able to recognize an object's needs, efficiently check for security breaches and rehouse the object in a timely manner, keeping up to pace with customer security checks occurring simultaneously.

Airlines have little money as it is these days, how are they going to hire more people to work for them? Well, maybe it's the federal government's job to instill a certification and contract system. They could either recruit existing specialists or train new ones to visit facilities before the item is shipped, watch the packing and crating process, and provide official documentation to bypass any further handling until the object has reached its destination.

This would be a huge initiative, but would save time, money and damages in the long run. The goal would be to certify personnel already employed by the museum, gallery or private dealer, to avoid contracting costs and ultimately, speed up the process even more.

But of course, why would the airline industry do something sensible? They will probably end up charging public and private art industries for this extra (unnecessary) examination...

Although national security is top priority, there has to be a better way of handling these procedures. Putting valuable pieces of art into the hands of novices is not the answer. With enough backing from the art industry, I hope these security measures will be regulated enough to ensure the safety and security of not only those flying within the cabin, but below it as well.

Photo Credit:
Blue Velvet Wrapper, in a sling ready for shipping. From Mary C. Baughman's, Slings and Arrows: Safe Costume Transport