Art and Design Commons^™

Material Analysis And Conservation Treatment Of Louise Nevelson’S Sculpture Dawn’S Image, Night, Kaela Nurmi

Art Conservation Master's Projects

Louise Nevelson’s large-scale, matte black assemblage sculpture Dawn’s Image, Night, 1969, is owned by and currently on display at SUNY Buffalo State College. The paint layers exhibited significant amounts of dust, some damages, vandalism, and unsightly fingerprints. Extensive scientific analysis and archival research were utilized to design an appropriate treatment and long-term preservation plan. Methods of analysis include: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, microchemical testing, and xray fluorescence spectroscopy. The project also addresses the ethical considerations surrounding the prior removal of original components for safety considerations, repainting as a possible treatment, and the overall obstacles of treating a …

Current Issues In The Conservation Of Contemporary Art And Its Non-Traditional Materials, Sandra Hong

MA Theses

The history of art has shown that artists of the present will always find a way to push boundaries and create unprecedented work, whether through the use of foreign materials, new technical processes, or in concept. However exciting this may be, this innovation in the twenty-first century has brought with it an entire world of new challenges for today’s conservators—the specialists tasked with the seemingly impossible duty of preserving art that, by its very nature, refuses to endure. This thesis is an examination of the unique conservation challenges in contemporary art that have been introduced as a result of an …

Conserving Our Cultural Heritage: The Role Of Fungi In Biodeterioration, Hanna Szczepanowska, A. R. Cavaliere

Biology Faculty Publications

The objects of cultural heritage are composed of varied materials which can be affected by diverse microbial communities. The study of these complex and heterogeneous assemblies of materials and microorganisms require an inter- and multi-disciplinary approach. Development of a strategy towards prevention, mitigation of biodeterioration and removal of microorganisms, especially fungi begins with the understanding of the materials' fabric, assessment of causes behind the biodeterioration, and the context in which it occurs.

Three aspects of biodeterioration of cultural heritage are discussed: 1) the multitude of bio-agents' on cultural heritage materials, 2) fungal interaction with substrates, and 3) prevention and conservation …

Ounce Of Prevention: Care And Conservation Of Works Of Art, Bowdoin College. Museum Of Art

Museum of Art Miscellaneous Publications

Exhibition, Apr. 21-June 24, 1979