It really is an outrage how they light some of these shows. The prints spend most of their time in complete darkness so a few more lumens every decade or so when they're mounted in a show is not going to make much archival difference. I don't understand why these curators get so locked up on light damage.
Yeah, it really is the triumph of the conservator over the artist. These standards have become highly disseminated and rigid. Since most of these larger touring shows are made up of works loaned from numerous other institutions and individuals the loan agreements stipulate the light levels so even if the host curator would like to do otherwise, they cannot. Like it or not, artwork is seen as an investment so when the experts say this is what you have to do to protect it, you do it. I work in a museum, we have Westons in the collection in fact, and when you consider how the artists themselves would like to view their own work, it does get to you. I feel the same. The best thing to do is to give your eyes time to adjust. Maybe improvements in Museum glass will allow light levels to go back up someday.
Not to make you guys jealous or anything, but it's pretty great to be able to lift the mat on a Weston, (or Siskind etc.) and see the whole object, sometimes literally in your own hands. Nothing like the real thing indeed.
