Plastics emitters of gaseous pollutants in Contemporary Art Collections. Protocol proposal for its conservation
Abstract
The conservation of plastic artworks has been considered a subject of study since the 1990s. However, it has been confirmed that the issue of emitter plastics has not been thoroughly studied with regard to preventive conservation. On top of that, it is known that there are no specific protocols for the preservation of this material. This paper presents a model protocol for the conservation of contemporary plastic artworks, as well as some fundamental results. These results were obtained during a thorough examination of specialized research, which was essentially a poll carried out in some museums and institutions. The purpose of this examination was to understand which are the current patterns followed for the conservation of this kind of artworks. Lastly, the results of a practical test are presented, aiming to give an answer to the gaps found after performing a data analysis of the bibliographical review.
Downloads
References
ALBUS, S.; BONTEN, C.; KEßLER, K.; ROSSI, G. & WESSEL, T. (2007). Plastic Art: A Precarious Success Story. Colonia: AXA Art Insurance Corporation.
COUGHLIN, M. (2011). “Monitoring Acidic Off-Gassing of Plastics”, Conserve O Gram, 8/5: 1–5.
COUGHLIN, M. (2018). “Looking at Plastics. An introduction to caring for Plastics”, Connecting to Collections Care. Washington D. C.: Foundation for advancement in conservation. https://www.connectingtocollections.org/caring-for-plastics/. [consulta: 27/11/2018]
DAHLIN, E. (2010). PROPAINT Improved Protection of Paintings during Exhibition, Storage and Transit. Norwegian Institute for Air Research
GRZYWACZ, C. M. (2006). Monitoring for Gaseous Pollutants in Museum Environments. Los Ángeles: Getty Conservation Institute.
HACKNEY, S. (2016). “Colour measurement of acid-detector strips for the quantification of volatile organic acids in storage conditions”, Studies in Conservation, 61: 55–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/00393630.2016.1140935
HATCHFIELD, P. (2002). Pollutants in the museum environment. Practical Strategies for Problem Solving in Design, Exhibition and Storage. Londres: Archetype Publications
IMAGE PERMANENCE INSTITUTE. (2016). User’s guide for A-D strips. Film base deterioration monitors. Nueva York: Rochester Institute of Technology
KENEGHAN, B., & QUYE, A. (1999). “Degradation – Part 2: Degradation Causes”. En: A. Quye & C. Williamson (Eds.), Plastics – Collecting and Conserving, National Museum of Scotland, 127.
LAVÉDRINE, B., FOURNIER, A., & MARTIN, G. (Eds.). (2012). Preservation of Plastic Artefacts in Museum Collections. Francia: CTHS.
MINISTERIO DE CULTURA Y DEPORTE. (2019). Guía para la elaboración e implantación de planes de conservación preventiva. Madrid: Ministerio de cultura y deporte.
NAZAROLL, W., & CASS, G. (1991). “Protecting museum collections from soiling sue to the deposition of airborne particles”, Atmospheric Environment, 25A: 841–852. https://doi.org/10.1016/0960-1686(91)90127-S
NICHOLSON, C., & O’LOUGHLIN, E. (1996). “The Use of A-D Strips for Screening Conservation and Exhibit Materials”, AIC. The Book and Papel Group Annual, 15.
OOSTEN, T. VAN. (2011). PUR Facts: conservation of polyurethane foam in Art and Design. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
SÁNCHEZ CABRERO, B., VILANOVA ANTA, O., CANELA, M. C., & GÓMEZ ESPINOSA, T. (2015). “Calidad del aire interior de las vitrinas en el nuevo Museo Arqueológico Nacional”, Boletín del Museo Arqueológico Nacional, 33: 367–382.
SHASHOUA, Y. (2008). Conservation of plastics. Materials, science, degradation and preservation. Oxford: BH.
TÉTREAULT, J. (2003). Airborne Pollutants in Museums, Galleries and Archives: Risk Assessment, Control Strategies and Preservation Management. Canada: Canadian Conservation Institute.
TÉTREAULT, JEAN. (2019). “Products used in preventive conservation”, CCI Technical Bulletins, 32.
THE PLASTICS HISTORIAL SOCIETY. (2015). “The Conservation of Plastics”, Plastiquarian, 25. http://plastiquarian.com/?page_id=14326. [consulta: 11/09/2019]
TOWNSEND, J. H., HACKNEY, S., & KEARNEY, M. (2019). “A critical assessment of AD strips used in degradation studies for artworks made from cellulose acetate”. En I. Soares & P. Fuentez (Eds.), The Plastic Heritage Congress 2019: history, limits and possibilities, 29th - 31st May 2019, Lisbon Portugal.
WAENTIG, F. (2008). Plastics in Art: A Study from the Conservation Point of View. Colonia: Imhof Verlag.
- Copyright and intellectual property belongs to author. Author guarantees editing and publishing rights to Ge-Conservación Journal, under a Creative Commons Attribution License. This license allows others to share the work with authorship and the original source of publication acknowledgement.
- Articles can be used for scientific and educational purposes but never for commercial use, being sanctioned by law.
- The whole content of the article is author’s responsibility.
- Ge-Conservación Journal and authors may establish additional agreements for non-exclusive distribution of the work version published at the Journal (for example, on institutional repositories or on a book) with acknowledgment of the original publication on this Journal.
- Author is allowed and encouraged to disseminate his works electronically (for example, on institutional repositories or on its own website) after being published on Ge-Conservación Journal. This will contribute for fruitful interchanges as also for wider and earlier citations of the author’s works.
- Author’s personal data will only be used for the Journal purposes and will not be given to others.