Modern Art

The conservation of contemporary art should not be a static process carried out behind closed doors but dynamic and open to discourse. New media and new materials constantly present issues which traditional conservation methods cannot address and a continual search for new techniques is therefore required. This dynamic research may include interviews with artists; documentation of artists’ materials; the recording of image, word or sound of performances; installations, temporary and ‘permanent’ visual art; scientific research into the identification, composition, ageing and preservation of modern materials. This volume (an Archetype reprint of the volume first published by The Foundation for the Conservation of Modern Art and the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage) makes a most important contribution to the on-going debate by presenting the conservation challenges relating to ten objects of different media and materials (plastics, kinetic objects, monochromes and works of mixed media) of considerable art-historical value. The ten studies include the works of Jean Tinguley, Piero Manzoni, Tony Cragg and Mario Merz. In addition to case studies, this volume includes symposium papers by art historians, physicists, philosophers, artists, conservators and critics – on topics as varied as: accidental damage; working with artists; packing and transport; installation; identifying plastics; ethics,training, databases etc. Key articles in this volume offer solutions to basic problems that can then be applied in daily practice…..this extensive and handsome work is a godsend for modern art restorers. Restauro
a publication of this nature should be of interest to anyone who cares for modern art, including owners and curators as well as the conservation profession. Studies in Conservation
..if your area is modern art, you will want a copy. WAAC Newsletter