As artists have increasingly utilised modern materials and techniques, it has presented the conservator with a host of new and complex problems that need to be addressed. As such, this is a subject of great interest to conservators, many of whom had expressed an interest in an event that could supplement their existing knowledge in this field. In response to this, the Institute of Conservation’s Paintings Group decided that this would be an appropriate theme for a conference that could provide a platform for contributors to disseminate their research on a number of topics relating to the conservation of contemporary art works. In addition, a call was put out for contributors who might be developing new and innovative techniques and materials to address conservation problems, or who might be utilising well-known materials that are already in the conservator’s toolkit in a new capacity.
The papers in this volume were presented at the Paintings Group’s conference Modern Conservation: What’s New? held at The Wallace Collection in London in October 2014. It covered a variety of topics including: consolidants and flake laying; the possible use of sports injury tape as a temporary means of support during structural conservation treatments; rigid inserts to stretchers to reduce vibrations; auxiliary supports for modern paintings; the problem of softening and weeping paints in modern works of art and methods of treatment; wet surface cleaning treatments for contemporary paintings; and ethical considerations when dealing with conceptual artists’ wishes.
For a look inside click here.
Foreword
Acknowledgements
A summary of recent developments in wet surface cleaning systems: unvarnished modern and contemporary painted surfaces
Bronwyn Ormsby, Melinda Keefe, Alan Phenix and Thomas Learner
Cleaning off liquefying paint
Line Blomsterberg Andersen, Katarina Havermark and Kathrine Segel
In search of a solution for softening and weeping paints in contemporary paintings by Tal R and Frank van Hemert
Ida Bronken, Jaap Boon and Anna Vila
Lascaux acrylic dispersion 498HV and Medium for Consolidation 4176 used as consolidants in two very different practical case studies
Jim Dimond
Laropal A81 as an alternative to MS2A and other resins
Sophie Reddington
Kinesio tape: conservation science meets sports medicine
Anna Krez
Vibration management for canvas paintings: a review of rigid stretcher insert systems,
their materials and applications
Laura Hinde
Conservation – artistic transgressions. Ethical issues related to conservators’
participation within artistic actions questioning or redefining objects’ integrity
Miroslaw Wachowiak and Slawomir A. Kamiński
Conservation issues related to the use of auxiliary supports in the treatment of modern paintings with untypical technical structures – as in works from the
series Hors cadre by Aleksander Kobzdej
Slawomir A. Kamiński and Miroslaw Wachowiak
Using a categorisation framework to simplify a complex approach to the conservation of modern art
Eunjin Kim and Taeeun Kim
Reviews
"Not only does this publication highlight the innovative practice of conservators working today, it also provides practical information making it a very useful reference book"
The Picture Restorer - Spring 2016
"On the whole this is a useful publication with anecdotal and practical information that can aid conservators in their work, as well as serving as an excellent reminder for us all to consider papers both constructively and critically before applying them to our practice. There is always something that we can learn from each other through our practical triumphs as well as our technical challenges in the conservation of paintings." Amber Kerr
News in Conservation - June-July 2020 (Issue 78, p. 47-49)
"Es de destacar la voluntad de celeridad en su publicación que, según los editores, ha estado motivada por la necesidad de la inmediatez y renovación constante en el contexto de la conservación-restauración, lo que sería deseable en otras muchas publicaciones de nuestro ámbito. También es conveniente señalar que se trata de una referencia bibliográfica con un amplio enfoque, hecho que se evidencia en la heterogénea procedencia de los autores, entre los que se incluyen restauradores de la Tate Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Getty Conservation Institute, así como conservadores-restauradores de museos daneses, noruegos, holandeses, polacos y coreanos, técnicos de la industria y restauradores de la empresa privada."
Ge-conservación - December 2015, click here for the full review