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Joseph Beuys Felt Suit 1970 (photographed after moth damage, 1989) Felt Edition 27, no. 45 Tate Archive. Purchased by Tate 1981, de-accessioned 1995 © DACS 2005
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... The problem with Beuys's position on decay, change and damage is that it varies from statement to statement and from piece to piece. Since we are deprived of a reliable stance from the artist himself, collaborative discussions with conservators, curators and the artist's estate can engender sensitive forms of decision-making (Barker 2005). ...
This article examines the use of Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), a widely applied preservation method in the food packing industry, for preserving contemporary artworks with foodstuffs. A lot of artworks that use food also appeal to immaterial parameters for which the conservator has to adapt and develop new strategies to conserve those works. The choice of materials and the way in which they are used mostly have important implications for how these pieces must be interpreted, exhibited and how they will change over time and therefore how they are best preserved, or not. This paper presents interdisciplinary research involving art studies and food science that aims to resolve a number of questions relating to the preservation of artworks that contain foodstuffs. The main goal is to analyze these questions systematically on a scientific and multidisciplinary academic basis, taking into account the temporal, ephemeral character of these artworks on the one hand and their material preservation on the other hand and to explore whether and how they can be presented and preserved for future generations. Three case studies are presented for which guidelines are proposed for storing and packing the works in a modified atmosphere environment that can prolong the lifespan of artworks with foodstuffs.
Works of art made of plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) present unique and pressing conservation challenges. Due to inherently unstable formulations, PVC can deteriorate rapidly, producing dramatic alterations that were unanticipated by artists and collectors. This is the case for three works by Joseph Beuys with PVC components in the Harvard Art Museums’ collection: Phosphorus-Cross Sled, Postcards 1968–1974, and Stamp Sculpture. Over the course of the last two decades, exudation of liquid plasticizer and progressive discoloration of the PVC was observed and appeared to be worsening with time. This paper presents the results of research undertaken since 2012 to develop storage and display guidelines that will slow the deterioration and improve the accessibility of these works. The three objects under study are all multiples, meaning that they were released in editions, which are now dispersed across numerous museums and private collections. Analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS, with and without pyrolysis) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) spectroscopy has identified variability in the PVC formulation and exudate across different multiples, suggesting that they may derive from different manufacturing batches. Experimental testing of PVC material from Beuys’s studio has shown that sealed Mylar enclosures and storage at temperatures between 4.4 and 12.8 °C are effective in slowing the migration of plasticizer to the surface. After implementing these changes to the housing and storage of the PVC postcard from Postcards 1968–1974, reabsorption of plasticizer exudate was observed, demonstrating that reversal of the plasticizer migration is possible under these conditions.
El texto versa sobre el reencuentro de la creación con la contigüidad universal de pensamiento, materia y forma, y cómo ciertas arquitecturas son concebidas de una substancia única que se transfiere a los elementos que integran la obra. El artículo pone en crisis la condición estrictamente técnica de gran parte de la arquitectura del siglo XX -especialmente del Movimiento Moderno-, con un “ensimismamiento” de la disciplina vista desde la técnica y el repertorio de materiales. Aunque no es posible generalizar y los caminos del proyecto contemporáneo son amplios, se podría hablar de una cierta línea de pensamiento heredera de una contigüidad universal (Ovidio, Fourier, Calvino) presente en ciertas arquitecturas de la historia que establecen una clara diferenciación entre los materiales de construcción y la substancia con la que se concibe la arquitectura. El texto es una reflexión sobre estas cuestiones tomando el agua como argumento para la creación en la arquitectónica.
Hoy en día, la presencia de los textiles en el ámbito artístico contemporáneo, museos y colecciones es innegable. A pesar de ello, la crítica no siempre ha aceptado su estatus como material artístico, así como los procesos y técnicas asociados a su práctica, que siguen siendo cuestionados. A partir del siglo XX se dará una nueva valoración de los materiales textiles y su utilización en el contexto artístico se ampliará infinitamente. La producción artística a considerar en este estudio, contempla la ampliación de tipologías dentro de ese renovado ámbito artístico contemporáneo y sus características, ya que se evidencia que las especificidades formales, materiales y conceptuales de cada obra, así como la intención y opinión del artista, tienen enormes implicaciones en su conservación. Consideramos que debe realizarse una revisión de los planteamientos asentados en torno a la producción artística realizada con estos materiales, así como de las necesidades que puedan presentar de cara a su conservación y adecuada trasmisión.
This article offers a detailed empirical contribution to the study of mediations in the field of installation art. Based on an analysis of the ‘career trajectory’ of Fischli and Weiss’s Untitled (Tate), a large-scale artwork currently on display at London’s Tate Modern, we uncover a series of concrete trials through which different actors – artists, curators, conservators and visitors amongst others – have assembled around the piece in order to negotiate its complex materiality. After situating the artists’ proposition within a broader aesthetic lineage and evaluating critics and audiences’ reactions to it, the article then focuses on the practical work of contemporary art conservators within the collective process of ‘managing variability’ in and around the installation, considering the various procedures, devices and documents that both inform their decisions and form a crucial part of the ecology on which such artworks depend.
