C O N T E X T 1 3 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 19 IHBC Day School in 1931, leading to the Hague Convention of 1954 and reaction to the devastation of the second world war. Such international gatherings have concentrated the minds of the world’s leading conservationists, leading to a quest for common standards to define and describe universal values. This process had not been without its difficulties. The 1964 Venice Charter, for example, was written in French and only translated into English later, resulting in some misinterpretations that still remain unresolved. Plus ça change. Nevertheless, from Venice through to Kyoto in 2012, a series of international agreements attempted to circumscribe tangible cultural heritage, a common understanding of what makes it so and what was needed to protect it and ensure its survival. Jokilehto has clearly devoted himself to the philosophy of creativity and the survival of its tangible evidence. He views conservation as the management of continuity. Responding to a question from the floor, he declared that ‘nothing avoids change – architects Art in conservation: theory and practice The organisers of the school could not have chosen a person with more gravitas than Jukka Jokilehto to open proceedings. With a distinguished and unparalleled pedigree in built heritage conservation stretching back to the early 1970s at the highest international level, Jokilehto was perfectly placed to take us on a cerebral tour de force through the conceptual ideology of art as applied to conservation. This was a masterclass based on a lifetime’s experience of analysing and defining significance and universal value. Jokilehto provided an illuminating insight into the philosophical nuances inherent in the global understanding of what makes cultural heritage ‘special’ and ‘authentic’ and, indeed, how and why it derives significance from human creativity. He reminded us that creativity was hard-wired into our DNA. From prehistoric cave art to the latest Banksy graffiti, humans have cherished and been drawn to create art, and to preserve it, albeit with the occasional bout of mindless destruction. He considered art to be a philosophical conundrum; a work of art being the result of a unique creative process and ‘a phenomenon that is not a phenomenon’. Artists saw objects in ‘existential reality’ and in their own minds as ‘pure reality’, then gave them independent life in works that were ‘material reality’. Furthermore, humanity has striven since the beginning of time to ascribe meaning to art, and to fathom and define its mysteries. Jokilehto described the beginnings of the conservation movement at an International Congress in Athens Jukka Jokilehto challenged modern concepts of significance and value
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