|
Organisers: COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)
http://www.cost.esf.org Between 5 and 9 May 2009 a new COST-sponsored training course took place in Vienna, within the frame of the COST Action D42 "EnviArt: Chemical Interactions between Cultural Artefacts and Indoor Environment". The workshop was organized by Dr. Erwin Rosenberg from the Vienna University of Technology, Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, in collaboration with the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Technisches Museum and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. The scope of this Training School was to address significant aspects of indoor air quality in relation to art objects exhibited or stored in museums, galleries and archives. The workshop gathered participants from diverse backgrounds and training, from both the academic and the conservation field, such as conservator-restorers, scientists, curators, chemists, physicists or biologists working in museums, collections or archives. The workshop brought together a total of 42 speakers and participants who came mostly from European countries but also from the USA. The training course was planned in such a way as to include both theoretical lectures and practical laboratory work, combined with site visits to some Viennese museums in order to demonstrate actual problems, practices and possible solutions. A two-way approach to understanding these issues was adopted: on a theoretical level, analytical methods and preventive conservation strategies were discussed, and on a practical level, measurements of indoor air quality of museums or archives were undertaken. The programme was even more diverse, including visits to national and private museums and to laboratories and companies that provide services of conservation, exhibit or transport of art objects. The lectures proved to be extremely informative, speakers coming from various fields related to conservation of cultural heritage. Rene van Grieken, from Belgium, in his lecture “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust: the fate of all things? On indoor air pollution through particles” spoke about climate, humidity, temperature, light, air pollutants and gases from archives with a particular emphasis on how important preventive conservation is, namely by improving the environmental conditions (microclimate and chemical pollution) around the work of art. On the same line, discussions were continued by Dr. Dario Camuffo from Italy, who focused on the general interaction between environmental factors and works of art, especially moisture, and the interaction of water molecules with the environment. Prof. Dr. Manfred Schreiner spoke about corrosion of glass and enamel artefacts and the influence that air quality has on this process. He focused on conservation problems and preventive conservation strategies of medieval stained glass, presenting six glass weathering theories. It appears that many museums around the world have similar problems related with indoor emissions, building materials, particle filtration or ventilation. For example, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art particles of Sodium Nitrate (NaNO3) have been detected in galleries, showcases and storerooms. Among the many actual problems related with air quality in museums and galleries, particles interaction is the least studied. However, even when the answer to such problems is not always easy to find, one possible solution would be a better air filtering. Helene Tello, from the Ethnological Museum, National Museums Berlin, brought another issue into discussion, namely which are the best strategies and analytical methods to adopt for the use of biocides in ethnographic collections: the organic or the inorganic ones. She discussed their impact on collections and the arguments pro and against the non-destructive analytical methods and available technology. It was also underlined that attention must be directed to the impact biocides have on collection objects, but mostly on the human health. From Norway, Terje Grøntoft presented "Simple devices for monitoring and assessment of indoor air quality for museums, archives, and historic buildings" and did a demonstration of use of EWO dosimeters and monitoring concepts, dividing them into Continuous Monitoring (C), Online Monitoring (O), Active Measurements (A) and Passive Measurements (P). Next, the theoretical concepts were put into practice, participants being given the opportunity to test the equipment and learn how to interpret the results. A similar aspect was also addressed by Marianne Odlyha and C.Theodorakopoulos from Birkbeck College in London, UK, with a focus on the impact of indoor environments corrosivity on complex organic materials. Several practical examples were offered from the condition survey projects in museums from Norway, from the National Archives of Finland (István Kecskemeti, PhD), the State Archives of Genoa and Turin (Marianne Odlyha, PhD), the Technisches Museum Wien (Ing. Anita Preisler), or from churches (the Sistine Chapel in Rome and Santa Corona in Vicenza). On the protection of metal objects in storage, Martina Griesser-Stermscheg from the University of Applied Arts Vienna presented the conclusions of an experiment where several objects were kept in oxygen free packages and in packages with oxygen, and were compared with unpacked objects. After 5 years, the research showed that the oxygen-free packing is not recommended for metal objects, while packing with oxygen offers a good protection against oxidation and corrosion for objects of silver, gilded silver, copper, lead and steel. This application was put into practice at the research laboratories of University of Applied Arts Vienna in cooperation with the Scientific Laboratory of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. A very interesting intervention was done by Klaus Pokorny, who spoke about the lighting concept in museums and modern techniques used for lighting objects in the exhibition. He presented different approaches to lighting in three exhibition case studies from the National Portrait Gallery London, Museum Liaunig Carinthia and Technisches Museum Wien. The presentation was followed by a site visit to the Technisches Museum Wien where the integrated light, temperature and RH concept of the exhibition rooms were discussed. Another interesting visit was made to the private company Artex Art Services from Vienna, where their current practice and modern technology to ensure optimal indoor air conditions for storage and transport of art objects was demonstrated. Other visits with practical applications were organized at the Michaelergruft, the Technisches Museum Wien and the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (NHM, Natural History Museum). This last, founded in 1858 at the behest of Emperor Franz Joseph I, possesses very valuable showcases that represent by themselves a quality of the museum. The necessity of preserving these original showcases dating from the 19th century was discussed, but also the methods of conserving the objects and organic materials therein. These issues were presented by Silvia Kalabis and Hans Reschreiter in the paper "The adaptation of the historical showcases in the prehistoric collection of the NHM".
Figures 1 and 2. Historic showcases at Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (Natural History Museum).
Figure 3. Group photo of TS participants at Artex company, Vienna. Photo by Valentina Ljubic from the Technisches Museum Wien.
Figures 4 and 5. Outer view of Otto Wagner's villa, now housing the Ernst Fuchs Museum (left) and one of the rooms in the museum, with paintings by the artist and the original Art Noveau stained glass windows. Photos by Erwin Rosenberg from the Vienna University of Technology.
Figure 6. Group photo by Miriam Bazán Castaneda.
The visit to the Michaelergruft focused on the tombs located in the basement, and aimed to discuss the conservation methods of the coffins in their environment by reducing the humidity and temperature to order to prevent the development of molds and the degradation of the wood, the constituent material of the coffin. Dr. Alexandra Rainer, scientific advisor of the Michaelgruft, spoke about the historic, restorative and technological aspects of this case.
Peter Brimblecombe from the Univerity of East Anglia showed in his presentation "Air chemistry and exchange with rooms and cases in a changing climate" that in general, visitors are one of the reasons for the presence of dust in galleries and of the increased level of temperature and humidity. In order to minimize the impact on the collections, the visitors should keep away from objects that are not protected by showcases, limiting the exposure to pollutants. At the same time, he spoke about a new challenge in terms of climate change, and about what damages can occur if global temperatures increase and if summers become significantly drier. He showed that degradation is strictly connected to physical, chemical and biological processes. The Training Course was ended by a visit to the first villa of Austrian Art Noveau architect Otto Wagner that was restored in early 1970s by the renowned painter Ernst Fuchs. The artist saved it from being demolished and inaugurated in 1988 the “Ernst Fuchs private museum” that gathers a large collection of his works. After this 5-day workshop, we can conclude that it is for us all to assume responsibility for the protection of both the environment and the cultural heritage. Although there are many conservation-scientists, few turn their attention to pollutants, a process that acts both from the outside and the inside. Situations may differ from one geographic region to another, but collaboration among specialists in various fields can help to better understand the degradation causes, mechanisms and effects that objects in collections are subjected to. Last but not least, as Dr. Erwin Rosenberg noted, our “methods, devices and materials need to be developed or further improved”. Therefore, we need to employ the best preservation strategies and conservation management methods that will help us find adequate solutions for each individual case.
http://www.costd42.org http://www.technischesmuseum.at http://www.akbild.ac.at/.../restaurierung http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at http://www.khm.at http://www.iaq.dk
About the author
Oana Chachula
Biologist
Calea Victoriei, nr.12, S 3, 030026, Bucharest, Romania
Oana Chachula graduated from the Faculty of Biology Al. I. Cuza, in Iasi (Romania) in 2002. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Animal Taxonomy field at Biology Faculty,University of Bucharest. She has been working at INCCR as a biologist for 3 years, her current work responsibilities including the biological investigation of movable objects and historical buildings.
▲TOP
Download this article
Permanent link to this resource: http://www.e-conservationline.com/content/view/859 |
||||
