Art Conservation

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) systems are fast scanning infrared Michelson interferometers designed for the non-invasive examination of the interiors of the eye and subsurface structures of biological tissues. OCT has recently been applied to the non-invasive examinations of the stratigraphy of paintings and museum artefacts. So far this is the only technique capable of imaging non-invasively the subsurface structure of paintings and painted objects. Unlike the traditional method of paint cross-section examination where sampling is required, the non-invasive and non-contact nature of the technique enables the examination of the paint cross-section anywhere on a painting as there is no long an issue with conservation ethics regarding the taking of samples from historical artefacts. A range of applications of the technique including the imaging of stratigraphy of paintings and painted artefacts, the imaging of underdrawings to the analysis of the optical properties of paint and v...

The measurement of indoor climate in heritage buildings can provide valuable sources of data needed for an optimal use and management of the works of art exhibited inside. It is a fundamental technique to evaluate environmental damage and degradation processes, to support the protection, conservation and preservation of works of art, improving the quality of museum environments. This is particularly important when the old buildings have special architectural and historical value. In most cases, the buildings themselves are works of art ...

7 webinar virtualmente tenuti all'Università di Verona, sulle tecniche e la conservazione dell'arte contemporanea.
Dal 15 aprile al 27 maggio tutti i giovedì dalle 17:30 alle 19:00 su zoom:
https://univr.zoom.us/s/86123556439

7 webinar virtually held at the University of Verona upon the techniques and conservation of contemporary art.
From April 15 to May 27, every Thursday from 5:30 to 7pm on zoom: https://univr.zoom.us/s/86123556439

Ever since their discovery in 1991 carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have inspired scientists and developers of future technologies. They feature an electrical conductivity similar to copper, a thermal conductivity similar to diamond, and a modulus more than hundred times greater than steel. Many companies are working intensively on the development of CNT technology and applications. New catalysts have been developed which are capable of forming the tiny and thin-walled carbon nanotubes without any impurities. Based on these new industrial processes, cost efficient mass production has become viable. Perhaps one of the greatest technological potentials of CNTs at the present time lies in their electrical and thermal properties. CNTs are not only extremely light and robust, but can also efficiently heat up surfaces of any size utmost evenly with very rapid thermal response which can guarantee ultra-steady temperatures over large surface areas as well as short heating and cooling times. In order...

Η συντήρηση αρχαιοτήτων και έργων τέχνης είναι μια διεθνώς αναγνωρισμένη επιστήμη, με Διεθνείς και Ευρωπαϊκές οδηγίες να απαιτούν πανεπιστημιακή εκπαίδευση. Τα τελευταία χρόνια, στη Ζάκυνθο, μία από τις κοιτίδες πολιτισμού των Επτανήσων, λειτουργεί η Κατεύθυνση Συντήρησης Πολιτισμικής Κληρονομιάς του ΑΤΕΙ Ιονίων Νήσων, που στοχεύει στην εξασφάλιση της ποιοτικής εκπαίδευσης σε θέματα τεκμηρίωσης, συντήρησης, μουσειολογίας και πολιτισμικής διαχείρισης. Η Κατεύθυνση συνεργάζεται με τοπικά μουσεία για την προστασία και ανάδειξη του επτανησιακού πολιτισμού, ενώ στόχος είναι η επέκταση των δραστηριοτήτων του και στα υπόλοιπα νησιά του Ιονίου.

During "Vivat Fluxus," an event organized at Performer Stammtisch in Berlin in 2009, performance artist Norbert Klaasen (1941-2011) performed a series of Fluxus scores. One of them read: A hammer in your right hand, a hammer in your left hand. Hit the flat ends of the two hammers against each other. This produces a high-pitched sound. Repeat. Florian Feigl, performance artist and educator based in Berlin who was a guest speaker in our SNSF project "Performance: Conservation, Materiality, Knowledge" (Monday, March 8, 2021), recalls that Klaasen, who witnessed Fluxus during his artistic career, must have repeated the action several hundred times. At the first glimpse, the enactment of the score seems simple. The work appears to be about producing sonic effects by hitting two hammers against each other. But this simple action might generate a range of results that create utterly different sonic and haptic experiences-a fact that reveals itself only in the moment of putting the information into action. If we choose two heavy hammers to perform the score, we might soon find out not only that the sound becomes unbearable but also that our endurance is limited due to the lifted weight. If the hammers are light and handy-like French hammers employed in shoemaking-chances are that we might arrive at a few hundred repetitions, accompanied by a distinct sonic effect. These two experiences of hammering will vary significantly as if the action effectuated from two different scores. When performing the score and experiencing it first-hand, no more can we simply say, this work is about hammering. The stuff in our hands makes the experience of the sensation contained in the action produced. The ordinary patterns of thought are challenged if we remove the "about." As we learn from the Fluxus scholar Hannah B. Higgins, "if a piece is not about things but actually is them, then the signifying chain often applied to visual art in semiotic analyses needs to be modified to make physical or actual experiences central to the process of signification" (Fluxus Experience, 2002). Higgins points to the way in which [Fluxus] works problematize the Western metaphysics since Plato and Aristotle, which separated primary experience, e.g. the feel of hammering with a hammer, from secondary experience, that is the mental concepts related to it. Is performance experience, then? What actually is, performance?

A badly damaged wooden gilded Tomb of God was stored in the bell tower of the Church of the Nativity of Mary in Muć Donji, Croatia. The poster presents the project that started with the inscription of the church inventory in the Register of Cultural Property of the Republic of Croatia, and finished with the presentation of the rescued objects in a small church museum.

This study investigates the alterations made to early Lichtballette by Otto Piene and the concomitant impact upon the role, position, and interaction of the viewer. Using archival research, first-hand observation, primary sources written by the artist, and the theories of contemporary scholars, it traces the history of the work Please Turn (1961) to its current iteration. Beginning with the lineage of the Environment and the derivation and definition of the “activated viewer,” this excerpt of a larger dissertation project seeks to explain the intentional positioning of the viewer not as passive observer within a space, but rather as active collaborator in the creation of an environment. Using a comparison to the Volksempfänger (1972-1976) of Ed and Nancy Kienholz, a similarly viewer activated environment that has not undergone significant restructuring, Piene’s Please Turn (1961) is concluded to be altered in such a manner as to no longer reflect the original intentions of the artist.

The effectiveness of sol-gel Ormosil coatings as barriers coatings has already been demonstrated, and it is natural to assume that such coatings can play a unique role in art conservation, where object corrosion and decay are often a major issue. The main feature of ormosil coatings that would make them preferable to polymers is their potentially higher stability to ultra-violet

Værdi-teorien er den del af filosofien, der søger at besvare spørgsmål vedrørende værdi. Denne artikel belyser natur ud fra en værdi-teoretisk vinkel. Artiklen har to udgangsunkter: Natur har værdi, og værdi er grundet i præferencer. Når naturgenopretning i visse områder opprioriteres på bekostning af landbrug, skyldes det således, at genoprettet natur indenfor det pågældende område er at foretrække fremfor landbrugslandskab. Men betegnelsen ”naturgenopretning” er tvetydig. Den bruges når natur – f.eks. en å eller skov –føres tilbage til en tidligere udgave af sig selv, men også når der skabes en kopi af et stykke natur, der er gået tabt eller blevet tilintetgjort. Forskellen mellem tilbageføring og kopiskabelse illustreres via to danske eksempler: Genslyngningen af Skjern Å og genskabelsen af Søborg Sø. Men hvorfor er distinktionen mellem tilbageføring og kopiskabelse relevant? Fordi der er en fundamental værdi-teoretisk forskel mellem dem. Kun tilbageføringsprojekter kan realisere originalværdi—en fundamental, vigtig slags værdi, som af principielle grunde ikke kan realiseres via kopiskabelse. Moralen er derfor simpel: Der skal værnes om naturen — for når originalværdi går tabt, er den tabt for evigt. Den kan den ikke genskabes.

ABSTRACT Nowadays the increase demand for loaning art objects as well as safety, ethical, economical and security issues, are forcing curators and conservation experts to undertake challenging and disputable decisions in regards of issuing an artwork accreditation. On the other hand scientific analysis and modern tools in artwork conservation offer a powerful source for objective multidisciplinary choices serving and safeguarding an expert's decision. Hence, strong initiatives and innovative actions are important to be taken to ensure that modern technology serves for cases of dispute, damage, fraud, or mistreatment during transportation of Cultural Heritage. Therefore the paper presents some current results in originality assessment and results from the development of an anti-fraud concept based on an innovative approach of works of art, and application of methodologies and instrumentation. The authors' aim and prior consideration is to respond to such critical aspects of increased importance in cultural heritage preservation, among which to secure proper treatment, to assess possible damage and to fight fraud actions. The paper introduces for the first time to our knowledge the idea of fraud-fighting with development of dedicated "ultimate documentation UD" TM.