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Artec de México Art and Technology to Preserve Works of Art |
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Preventive Conservation
PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES FOR CONSERVATION detect possible agents that endanger the works of art. The curator tries to prevent possible agents that endanger the object and will minimize, as much as possible, the natural damage on the object. In order to do this, the curator/preservator must consider all places around the pieces; a carefully design exposition area, framing, shipping and handling.
THE MAIN CAUSES THAT ENDANGER PIECES ARE: 1.- PLAGUES 2.-TO BE IN CONTACT WITH DANGEROUS AGENTS OF POLLUTION 3.- FRECUENT ACCIDENTS a) INCORRECT SHIPPING b) DEFICIENT HANDLING c) VANDALISM 4.- EXTRA TEMPERATURE 5.- EXTRA HUMIDITY 6.- INCORRECT CORRECTING MEASURES
1.- PLAGUES Insects and mice that eat, tear, and make through wood, fabric, leather or in any eating material. Normally they nest in the piece or defecate on them which causes an chemical dangerous reaction which damage glaze and color.
2.-TO BE IN CONTACT WITH DANGEROUS AGENTS OF POLLUTION Some other dangerous problems are the cleaning products and soaps which will cause permanent discoloration due to the particles left at the time of the cleaning of spaces and/or when a bottle of this product is left nearby and the product will naturally evaporate leaving dangerous particles on the piece. And this is why the pieces must not be storaged in a room where cleaning products are kept.
3. - FRECUENT ACCIDENTS The most frequent accidents a piece may have in a house are: a) INCORRECT SHIPPING b) DEFICIENT HANDLING c) VANDALISM They cause: *Fractures, cuts, hits, or even broken pieces. *Lost or stolen parts of the piece.
4.- EXCESIVE TEMPERATURE HIGH TEMPERATURES generated by radiators, fireplaces, or even direct exposition to the sun, might modify colors. And dry all materials, therefore small pieces or layers of paint might get lost or might fell apart. Fire: It may cause total lost, but even though the piece had not been totally lost, the excessive heat will affect the piece materials. They will be deshydratated and dried therefore the wood color and the glaze will be modified.. Some other possible damages could be dirt accumulation and smoked areas, UV Radiation (Sun) might cause discoloring, darkening, yellowing in the glaze, paper and fabrics. It might cause dryness and color modification in the wood. Directed natural or artificial light, causes irreparable damage in chemical unstable materials such as acid paper and photographs.
5.- EXCESIVE HUMIDITY One very common damaging agent is humidity, which in extreme may cause very visible stains due to leaks. Furthermore, severe, not so visible, damage might be occurring in the piece, like mold or fungus and the deterioration of fragile materials such as paper, fabric, leather, etc. Fungus and mold will permanently stain the piece and restoration in such cases will consist in neutralizing these damaging factors. Sometimes, the change of color produced by these agents will not be able to be fixed, especially when it is darker and it will be covered with new color. If the piece is constantly exposed to humidity, it may get swollen or it may shrink, because organic materials such as wood and fabric will normally react this way. Therefore, paint and glaze may fall down. Lack of humidity, on the other hand, might cause shrinking in wood and fabrics and therefore paint layers may fall down from the piece, during handling operations when talking about sculptures and furniture.
6. - INCORRECT CORRECTING MEASURES One example of an incorrect intervention measure is painting the piece, which is basically resumed in repainting the piece. This intervention is generally made with low quality materials, which will cover the original piece deforming the image and therefore degrading the value of the piece. When a patch or a stand is inadequately made using inappropriate glue or paste such as masking tape, Scotch tape, 5000 glue to mention some, and they are used in the face of the piece, they might cause an irreversible damage and therefore the painting will be lost for good. Patches on the back of the piece may cause deformation of the fabrics such as wrinkles which would endanger the layers of the paint.
Glaze on the painting, on the other hand, it would not matter how dark it gets, it is a very thin layer of varnish, or polish, or natural resin which are the final touch of the piece. This protective layer will normally darken, it will get dusted, or it will get oiled due to environmental factors.
When cleaning is made with organic products like potato, onion, oils, etc. an uncontrolled application of enzymes will occur. The result on the piece due to these actions is: The lost of glaze and varnish, and colors alteration. Besides these actions will add eatable elements which attract insects.
When cleaning with chemical elements. Like home-cleaning products, is one of the most common agents, when deterioration in pieces is mentioned. These products normally include very aggressive cleaning and anti-grease elements such as ammoniac and detergent. They were made to remove grease and solid residues from appliances.
When cleaning the glaze professionally, removing part if the damaged layer will be done with controlled products not to hurt the color layer and professionals will be moving slowly, layer by layer to keep at least one thin layer of the original glaze which will enable the painting to keep its antique look.
BASIC GUIDE TO ART PRESERVATION
OBJECT RELATIONSHIP WITH ITS HISTORY
CLEANING PROBLEMS IN WORKS OF ART RESTORATION
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