Daly Conservation

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Exterior, View of the entrance facade with the sculpture “Shuttlecocks” by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen,
originally uploaded by Frankphotos.

Today was my first day in the objects conservation lab at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. It is a lively lab with a lot of projects, three full-time objects conservators and a Kress Fellow. I had a tour that led to the registration department, down to the loading dock where the Detroit Institute of Arts show Through African Eyes was being unloaded, back to conservation, then back to registration, photo services, and the library - I began researching two treatments I will undertake during the next few months - it was good that I wore comfortable shoes.

The day ended with a lecture from the H.R. department about fun things to do in Kansas City, and a speech from the new director Julián Zugazagoitia. This was perfect timing as I have just moved to Kansas City and I really appreciated the information about places to see and things to do, and lots of restaurant recommendations which was really great. The lecture was followed with a reception with cookies shaped like the Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen Shuttlecocks that are featured on the lawn, a sweet and amusing touch.

Moving means: changing place, arousing deep emotion, a transfer. 

I am moving, from a summer work project at the Nasher Sculpture Center, to a one-year internship at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri.   I am excited to move, I like the feeling of starting over and the excitement of re-decorating a new place and really looking at my posessions, I seriously thought about whittling down all my posessions to 100-things, but I just love books, I have a lot of fantastic books about: photography, sculpture, ancient cultures, feminism, contemporary art and artists, and whenever I visit someone for an extended period of time in another part of the world I like to buy a children’s book they remember, hopefully one that is popular enough to be translated into English. I am also fortunate to have a fund from my university to buy books, which means over the past two years I have bought numerous conservation books, I have made the fund last as long as I could, reaching the end of it just last month.

I am leaving behind all my furniture in Wilmington, Delaware and taking my beloved books, some clothes, and maybe a few kitchen items and driving from Wilmington to Kansas City.  I am excited to begin this new chapter in my education and my life, I am looking forward to the possibilites that await.

I am glad to welcome the guest blogger Carrie Roberts, for this posting.  Carrie and I have been neighbors for the past two years at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation.  She is spending her summer as an intern at English Heritage in London.  Carrie will summarize the morning session of the technical imaging conference at the British Museum.  Thanks Carrie for all your work!

L. Pezzati et al. (CNR-INOA, Italy): Multi-band scanner for in situ imaging of paintings.

This talk presented a relatively new method of infrared imaging using a multi-band scanner. While infrared reflectography was developed in the 1960’s and has been used as scanning technique since the 1990’s, multispectral infrared emerged only last year, in 2009. The technique uses band pass filters to irradiate the surface of objects with multiple, narrow bands up to 2265nm across the infrared spectrum, and allows for color imaging with three separate RGB channels.

L. Pezzati explained multispectral technology in a very clear, concise way, and offered a glimpse how he and his team are working to expand the current 16 channel instrument to one capable of imaging at 36 infrared bands! The advantages of scanning at multiple, narrow bands include clearer images and a wider range of materials absorbing across the infrared spectrum; what one might miss in the near infrared may be picked up in the mid-infrared, and vice-versa. Certainly one of the most innovative presentations of the day.

K. Martinez et al. (University of Southampton, UK): The use of multi-light imaging in recording archaeological artefacts

K. Martinez offered a useful introduction to an increasingly popular imaging technique called polynomial (or multi-light) imaging. Mel Wachoviak referred to it as reflectance transformation imaging in the talk he gave at Winterthur last year, and they are in essence the same technique.

The multi-lighting imaging involves capturing a series of images of an artifact under a ‘dome’ of lights. 60 to 80 lights, or points of light are generally needed. A flash unit at the end of the string will also work as long as the distance from the object is the same at all points. A shiny sphere – usually a black marble – is used in the image space to allow the software to locate where the light is at each point, and to integrate all the images into one that contains surface information from every angle of light captured.

Multi-light imaging has been cited as a more affordable alternative to laser scanning, but only as a surface technique. RTI is good at capturing surface texture, but does not record spatial information the way lasers can. The two techniques have been used together to produce 3D images with highly detailed surface information. You can download another article by Martinez about polynomial surface mapping. He also has posted online about the mapping of Roman paintings.

F.P. Rutland and A.M. La Pensée: Non-contact 3D laser scanning as a tool to aid identification and interpretation of archaeological artefacts; the case of Middle Bronze Age (MBA II) Hittite Mold

This excellent talk featured contributions from F.P. Rutland, an archaeologist working at National Museums Liverpool, and A.M. La Pensée, scientist at the National Conservation Centre at Liverpool, a world center for laser scanning technology. Their collaborative project involved the scanning of a Hittite stone mold of unknown use.

A 3D digital model of the object was made using a triangulation-based non-invasive laser. Once this was done, the model was digitally flipped to form a mirror-image of the original, revealing the object as one half of a two-part stone mold for a bronze, fenestrated axe head. This type of weapon tip can be found in a number of UK collections including the British Museum. Both the mold and the axe-head positive were reproduced to scale using 3D printing. This type of work has been done before, but the presentation demonstrates the value of collaboration between conservation science and research fields.

The next installment will be written by another guest blogger, Sagita Mirjam Sunara from Croatia.

This summary was provided by Sagita Mirjam Sunara.  Sagita is based in Croatia, she traveled to London for this conference and has provided me with a summary of three of the afternoon lectures.

Visible-Induced Luminescence Imaging Applied to Ancient Stone Sculpture

Giovanni Verri (The British Museum, Department of Conservation and Scientific Research)

Just like wall paintings and ceramics, ancient sculptures and architecture were frequently painted. In most cases, original coloration has been lost due to weathering, unfavorable microclimatic conditions, and un-sympathetic cleaning procedures. Scientific investigation and imaging technologies can reveal the presence of color on ancient objects, thus opening new insights in the understanding of ancient art.

Giovanni Verri presented one of the techniques that can be applied for characterization of materials in archaeological museum objects: visible-induced luminescence imaging in the near infrared range (800-1700 nm). This is a non-invasive, low-tech imaging technique, very similar to UV induced luminescence imaging, which is often used by conservators and conservation scientists. Verri and his team used this technique for identification of Egyptian blue in several objects in the collection of the British Museum. When irradiated with visible light, Egyptian blue emits infrared radiation. Furthermore, Egyptian blue is highest IR emitter at a molecular level and an extremely long half-life. Visible-induced luminescence imaging allowed detection of single particles of this pigment on examined objects, even when they were covered by layers of discolored binding media, varnishes and inorganic patina.

This technique can provide information on distribution of blue material with respect of the construction of the object. It is useful to inform sampling strategies, and may help in authentication of objects and in the identification of appropriate conservation treatments.

Multispectral Image-Based Paint Formulation Software for Restorative Inpainting

Marissa I. Haddock, Roy S. Berns (Munsell Color Science Laboratory, Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology)

Marissa Haddock developed a computer program that provides a color match and paint recipe for restorative inpainting. She took a technique traditionally used in industrial paint and plastics formulation and applied it to art conservation. Her research focuses on characterizing and developing a spectral database of the optical properties of the Gamblin Conservation Colors, designing and creating an application color matching software tailored to the needs and practices of  art conservators and investigating the use of multispectral imaging as an additional measurement tool for color matching formulation.

Perceived color is a function of the object, the light and of the observer. Mixing paint for retouching requires good knowledge of pigments and color matching. However, if one of the above-mentioned factors changes, the color changes too. Computational techniques can be used to create a color mixture that will match the original paint under a range of viewing and illumination conditions. Multispectral Image-Based Paint Formulation Software performs both image-based color matching, and color matching based on direct spectrophotometric measurements. After taking the image data or contact measurement, paint formula is devised. Pigments that most closely match the mixture are selected, and their concentration in the mixture calculated.

Non-Invasive Color Restoration of Faded Paintings Using Light From a Digital Projector - the topic of an article in the Wall Street Journal

S. Cuellar (Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard Art Museum; MIT Media Lab), J. Stenger (Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard Art Museum; Center for the Technical Study of Modern Art, Harvard Art Museum), R. Gschwind (Imaging and Media Lab, University of Basel), A. Mohan (MIT Media Lab), Y. Mukaigawa (MIT Media Lab; Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University), R. Ruskar (MIT Media Lab), K. Eremin (Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies), N. Khandekar (Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies)

Jens Stenger of Harvard Art Museum gave a presentation of a conservation treatment that does not change the paint surface physically.

In 1963 Mark Rothko donated five paintings on canvas to Harvard University. These paintings are today known as Harvard Murals. Due to the fugitive nature of the pigment he used (Lithol Red) and overexposure to light, paintings had faded greatly and were taken down in 1979. They have been in storage ever since.

In order to establish the original appearance of the paintings, Ektachrome photographs of the paintings were consulted. The photographs had faded as well, and had to be restored. Once the original appearance of the paintings was known, it was necessary to decide how the original color can be brought back. Since inpainting  would be unacceptable, alternative methods were examined.

The concept of bringing back the color by using colored light and illumination was first formulated in a paper by Raymond H. Lafontaine  “Seeing Through a Yellow Varnish: A Compensating Illumination System” (1986). Lafontaine used a combination of neutral light and blue light to ‘look through’ the yellowed varnish, and two slide projectors to ‘restore’ the original color of the painting. The same concept was used for Rothko’s paintings. An image of the current state of the painting was taken and compared with the target image in the computer. A compensation image was created and projected on the painting, recreating its original color. Ambient light had to be adjusted. As Rothko’s paintings are still sensitive to light, light levels have to be adjusted to a safe level.

Thanks to Sagita and Carrie for your summaries of this exciting and interesting conference.  I hope you both had a lovely time and a nice cup of tea.

The Nasher Sculpture Center has a fantastic buildingdesigned by Renzo Piano with large windows so you can be indoors but feel outdoors at the same time. Since the collection mainly consists of materials that are not very light sensitive like metals and stone, having natural light in the space creates a beautiful space that is also a good environment for the display of modern sculpture. The ceiling is made of glass with a white cast aluminum sunscreen over the roof. Light levels in the galleries can be reduced by placing scrims across the ceiling to limit the amount of light entering the space. In the picture below you can see how the scrims on the left side of the gallery ceiling has prevented any natural light from entering the space, and on the right the ceiling is open to allow natural light into the space.

We are now looking for a material that would allow 25-foot-candles of light into the space, a compromise between the two halves you see above. To audition for new scrim fabric the materials are being tested to measure exactly how much light is coming through the scrims into the galleries. For this we have a mock-up where the scrim fabric can be stretched over a frame, and then a light meter can be inserted into the box to measure the amount of light penetrating the scrim.

I have decided to take one day and record the light measured in this apparatus every two hours, to have a complete picture of the amount of light that will be entering the room. Ideally, it will be a bright and sunny day next Monday when the museum is closed to the public and I will be able to measure the light levels in the galleries.

If anyone has experience with this type of testing I would be really eager to speak to more people about it, I searched for more data online about scrims and light levels but I have not found anything quantitative.

Conservation calls for a specific set of problem-solving skills.  It is helpful if you have visual-spatial skills “That is not going to fit through the door, in the elevator, etc.” and the identification of materials is key “Since the metal is magnetic, it is ferrous”.  But the skill that I have found to be the most important and interesting is the ability of conservators to look at whatever they have around and make something out of it that could be useful for their purpose.  It is a wonder we didn’t all grow up watching Macgyver, maybe we did.

This week I was reminded of this ability while I watched, then assisted, then completed, making a long trough to hold a steel sculpture so it could be submerdged in a bath of rust converter.  The trough was made of crates that were around the lab and spare lumber.  The tarps were purchased at a hardware store, once the piece was in the bath the tarp on each side was further padded with foam to make the space around the sculpture as small as possible so the liquid covered as much of the sculpture as possible.

This project required spatial skills to see how the pieces would fit in and a lot of wood and screws to hold everything together.

My second week at the Nasher Sculpture Center focused more on outreach than direct treatment. We organized the lab in preparation for a tour of high art school students who have been chosen to be part of a program that will give them an overview of the different departments in a museum. We gave a tour of the lab to the students and spoke about what conservation was, the training needed, and the difference between working in private practice and in an institution. I wished I had this type of exposure when I was in high school, but my wandering introduction to the field now makes a lot of sense to me. A rust conversion treatment was going on while the students were touring, which was a great opportunity to talk about rust and chelators.

We also went on a field trip to tour a paper conservation lab, the center for art conservation. The lab is beautiful, with great lighting and paper conservation is so peaceful after spending a week working with an 11-foot piece of metal. The conservators also teach classes for DiY or crafts with paper and they have a fantastic blog that shows their work and the work of the students in these classes.

John also introduces us to the galleries in Dallas, visiting Conduit Gallery to see a show of paintings and delicate smaller pieces, then to the dallascontemporary where we watched some video art. There will be an upcoming video art festival beginning July 31st and check out the program on C-blog.

There was a lunch with the Dallas and Fort Worth conservators scheduled as well. This group meets once a month and has lunch and then tours a conservation lab. Dan Cull mentioned about our tour of the NCPTT labs that touring labs is a great for conservators who are new to the field, so they can see how other conservators have set up their spaces.

This past week struck a good balance to me, after a week of intensive treatment, to then be able to reflect on your work is really great and helpful to grow and develop as a professional.

I just finished my first week of my summer work project at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas. The first day was a meeting of the staff, the registrar, curator, and John Campbell - the conservator and my supervisor this summer.  It was a fairly standard meeting, discussing the logistics of upcoming loans and exhibits and general updates from each department.

Then we went out to Arlington, Texas, a short drive, to Displays Unlimited, where the weeks project was waiting, a huge piece by Alexander Calder called Three Bollards (Trois Bollards).  The project was ongoing, John had been working on it for the past two-and-a-half months and it was in the final phases before it would need crating and shipping for an upcoming exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Chicago.    Here are a few things I learned during this project last week:

1. How to use a high volume low-pressure paint spray gun, clean it, take it apart, and put it back together.

2. How to apply rust-preventive coating and primer with a roller, then sand with electric hand-held sanders - here the proper sand paper is key, John has a small filing box of sandpapers, which is a really great way to store everything in one place that is easily accessible.  He would also say “get the 120″ which meant something to him, but I couldn’t tell you the difference now, hopefully I will know by the end of the summer….

3.  Hardware - I was given part of the task of painting new hardware.  Interesting fact about Calder is that he used square bolts and nuts, so if the hardware is hexagonal, it is not original.  Calder also stamped his bolts with a “C” so you know if they are original.  New hardware was purchased and painted for this object because the original hardware was no longer functioning, and the replacement hardware was distracting.  This was really exciting because I had a little project, and I made a mount, taped, and painted the hardware, and took images of the process which show my army of nuts and bolts.

There is a pre-program intern working at the Nasher this summer as well, Nicole Berastequi, who has undergraduate degrees in theater and art history. It is really great working with Nicole and John, last week we were in a warehouse with no air-conditioning, during the day it reached 100 degrees fahrenheit outside, and was probably hotter inside, and they kept focused and had a great sense of humor, I am looking forward to the rest of my summer at the Nasher.

I love natchez, my parents took me and my younger sister there when we were in high school.  We learned all about crown moulding symbolism, that a gentleman was never allowed to see a lady’s ankles, and other general helpful facts about antebellum life.  So, when I proposed a road trip I was thinking of places to visit and my sister suggested Natchez and even recommended a plantation by name Longwood.  I remembered it immediately, the octagonal plantation that was left unfinished, the impression that structure made on my mind, probably 12 years ago, is still there.  Longwood is unique because it is unfinished, the basement floor was completed, but the upper stories are not, and the experience of walking around a 1860 construction site is really memorable.  The top of the house would have had an onion-dome and this image is looking up at the interior of that dome, with all the original scaffolding in place as if the builders had left recently. After Longwood we saw two other plantations, Rosalie, where guests are encouraged to play the piano, and Stanton, with some fantastic crown moulding. Rosalie is where I was told the difference between a porch and a verandah “If you’re having a mint julep, it’s called a verandah, if you’re having breakfast, it’s called a porch. And if you’re having nothing? It’s just a shame”.
I really enjoyed the trip, and I think Dan did as well, we stayed in a bed and breakfast built in 1888 called the Wensel House, ate at: Mammy’s cupboard, the haunted tavern “King’s Tavern“, and Cock of the Walk restaurant. It was hot and humid, I felt like I was back in my element, I grew up in Houston, Texas so heat and humidity are not a problem. Daniel is from England so I think it was a bit of a shock. Maybe next time we’ll visit during the pilgrimage in the spring or fall.

Roadtrip day one began with a long drive from Delaware to Asheville, NC.  I had taken my qualifying exam on Friday from 9AM until 2:30PM, Dan flew from Phoenix to Philly Friday evening, arriving for a party around 8PM.  I was somewhat packed, luckily my bed is on risers so everything that wasn’t packed went under the bed.  We set off around 10AM and arrived in Asheville around 8PM, with only a few stops, and with Dan driving most of the way, I guess the test took more out of me than I thought.

Biltmore is fascinating to me for many reasons, the collection is really fantastic, it is off the beaten path so anyone who comes to visit is more like a pilgrim than trying to fill an afternoon, and it’s for profit. This means the house is not run by volunteers at Biltmore, like almost all other historic homes.  How this is accomplished, and with movies like ‘The Art of the Steal’ talking about the commodification of culture it seemed quite appropriate to visit Biltmore now.

It is amazing, the house is huge and the gardens are amazing (designed by Frederick Law Olmsted).  The tour begins in the public spaces like the dining room and billiard room, then continues to include 4 bedrooms, having recently undergone conservation and opened in the past few years.  The tour then enters the basement, where servants quarters, kitchens, and laundry facilities are explored.  The room that takes your breath away is the indoor pool, at the end of the tour, and since Dan is from England where the tradition of building country homes was hundreds of years before the American tradition, the sight of an indoor pool, with underwater electric lighting, is really fantastic.