Hornbeck AfAr 2009 42 3

Transcription

A Conservation Conundrum
Ephemeral Art at the National Museum of African Art
Stephanie E. Hornbeck
Agents of Deterioration
Light
Temperature
visible and ultraviolet (UV) light
catalyze reactions, often resulting
in fading and/or discoloration
influences the rate of chemical
reactions, can cause hardening or
desiccation, leading to physical
damage
Humidity
causes moisture absorption and
acid hydrolysis; facilitates biological attack
Oxygen
catalyzes reactions, which may
form unstable free radicals that
can alter the molecular structure
Table 1
The primary variables that can catalyze or accelerate chemical reactions leading to the deterioration of artifacts (primarily organic materials). These
agents affect both chemical and physical properties of materials. When two or
more agents combine, a synergistic effect results in even greater degradation.
(opposite counterclockwise from top)
1 This graphic image hypothesizes the way a fragile collage may deteriorate
over time. The image at left shows how the work (The Muse 3 [1994] by Garth
Erasmus) looks at the present while the one on the right postulates the effects
of agents of deterioration.
Photo: Franko Khoury National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
Graphic design: Lisa Vann, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.
2 Bowl with figures
Olowe of Ise (ca. 1875–ca. 1938). Yoruba peoples, Nigeria, c. 1925
Wood, pigment; 63.7cm x 33.8cm x 39 cm (25” x 13½” x 15½”)
Bequest of William A. McCarty-Cooper. 95-10-1
Note darkened coating.
3 Bowl with figures
Olowe of Ise (ca. 1875–ca. 1938) Yoruba peoples, Nigeria, early 20th century
Wood, paint; 53.8cm x 25cm x 35cm (21¼” x 9¾” x 13¾”)
Gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. 2005-6-34
Photo: Franko Khoury, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
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african arts autumn 2009
T
he permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of African Art includes both
tradition-based and contemporary objects, which
sometimes employ fugitive materials or media
that render them ephemeral. Among these exists
a smaller grouping of objects which are ephemeral
by design. To comprehensively fulfill its mandate to collect and
preserve the visual arts of Africa, the National Museum of African
Art (hereafter the Museum) began acquiring contemporary works
in the 1990s, while continuing to collect tradition-based art. Since
1997, a large gallery has been devoted to contemporary African art,
in which rotating exhibitions are always on view.
Ephemeral materials pose challenges on conceptual and practical levels to the conservators faced with their display, treatment,
and preservation. Indeed, the concept of ephemeral-by-design
stands in direct opposition to the major tenet of conservation: the
preservation of cultural patrimony for future generations. Consequently, conservators sometimes effect a compromise between
the objectives of preservation and artistic intent, thereby aiming to prolong the life span of a transient work. The conservation
challenges inherent to ephemeral art have been addressed by a
number of conservation conferences and attendant publications.
These include “Saving the 20th Century” in Ottawa in 1991; “Modern Art Who Cares?” in Amsterdam in 1999 (a sequel conference
is planned for 2010); “Mortality/Immortality” in Los Angeles in
1999; and most recently “Modern Art: New Museums” in Bilbao
in 2004. A number of collaborations among conservators specializing in contemporary art have arisen, perhaps most notably in
Britain, the Netherlands, and North America (see Hummelen and
Scholte 2004 and http://www.MattersinMediaArt.com). Perhaps
the largest collaborative network is the International Network for
the Conservation of Contemporary Art (INCCA), founded in
1999 by the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage and the
Tate Museum in London. INCCA is a network of interdisciplinary professionals dedicated to the conservation of modern and
contemporary art, and it has grown to include “250 members …
from over 150 organizations in 30 countries” (http://www.incca.
org). One of the most useful contributions of INCCA to the field is
its literature database of over 2000 records related to the conservation of contemporary and modern art.
Thus, issues of unpredictability, permanence, and deterioration processes particular to ephemeral materials, as well as par-
ticular legal and ethical conservation considerations, have been
widely discussed by conservators. Many issues come into play;
in her discussion of the topic, Christiane Berndes presents a
diagram of a circle with spokes labeled “artist’s opinion,” “restoration ethics,” “historicity,” “authenticity,” “functionality,” “relative importance,” “technical limitations and possibilities,” “legal
aspects,” “aesthetic and artistic factors,” and “financial limitations and possibilities” (Berndes 1999:170). Indeed, the subject
can seem daunting for the professionals involved. Drawing on a
number of case studies, this paper aims to present an overview
of the key conservation issues and challenges that ephemeral
media have presented at the Museum.
Ephemeral Materials: Definition and Examples of
Deterioration
Ephemeral objects are often fabricated of fugitive media, a
category comprising materials that in a
relatively short period of time—within
decades—undergo chemical or physical
changes which permanently alter them.
Conservators refer to such changes as
“inherent vice,” a phrase which describes
the permanent, deleterious alteration
inherent to some materials. Both inorganic
and organic materials undergo chemical and consequent physical changes from
exposure to agents of deterioration—light,
temperature, humidity, and oxygen (Table
1). However, the crystalline chemical structures of inorganic materials renders them
much more stable whereas the polymeric
structure of organic materials, consisting
of long chains of bonded chemical compounds, renders them more susceptible
to changes due to alterations which their
chemical structures can undergo. When
agents of deterioration are multiplied, such as when an object is
exposed to both elevated temperature and light, the agents of deterioration can combine synergistically to accelerate chemical reactions resulting in faster deterioration (Fig. 1). Composite objects
can have materials that act as agents of deterioration, which have
an antagonistic effect that accelerates damage on other materials. Interventive methods to slow down the deterioration process
involve environmental measures—such as refrigeration, dark storage, and anoxic micro-environments—that are not readily applicable to whole categories of artifacts, especially those comprised of
composite materials.
A primary reason that contemporary materials are so problematic for conservators is the lack of understanding about how new
materials will behave over time, as often no precedents guide us.
Advances in organic chemistry over the past two centuries have
dramatically increased the materials available to artists. In the
autumn 2009 african arts
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4a Magdalene Anyango N. Odundo (b. 1950, Kenya)
Vessel Untitled I (1994)
Ceramic; 47.5cm x 42.8cm x 42.8cm (18¾" x 16" x 16")
Museum purchase. 95-8-1
4b–cDetails of damage from lime-popping, 12X magnification (l) and 64X magnification (r).
Photo: Stephanie Hornbeck, Conservation Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
nineteenth century these advances exponentially increased the
colors available to artists via new synthetic pigments and dyes,
many of which are impermanent. Similarly, in the twentieth century, advances in polymer chemistry have produced the broad
category known as plastics. Both tradition-based and contemporary African objects incorporate plastic materials. Categories
of plastics run the gamut from stable to unstable, and their longterm behavior is unpredictable. Research and technical studies
undertaken by conservation scientists into the characteristics of
different plastics have yielded much useful information for the
conservator regarding storage and treatment of these materials.
However, we still rely on observations from real-time aging to
understand the actual behavior of materials; this is the one critical variable that cannot be recreated in the laboratory.
Shared Conservation Aspects of Ethnographic and
Contemporary Materials
While contemporary African art in many ways has much in
common with global contemporary art trends, materials, and
media, it has become apparent to conservators who work with
ethnographic materials that contemporary objects also share
many characteristics with tradition-based objects. These include
the use of composite media on a single object (Figs. 9, 13); the
use of re-purposed materials (Figs. 6, 15); and the use of fugitive materials (Fig. 5). My colleagues and I at the Museum have
found that the ethnographic conservator’s repertoire and familiarity with the wide range of materials found in anthropological collections is readily applicable to aspects of the conservation
of contemporary art. The two case studies below present two
objects in the collection, one tradition-based and one contemporary, which have undergone post-manufacture changes that
have altered their appearance. These examples illustrate how
conservators draw on their experience with ethnographic and
contemporary materials, rely on analytical testing, and consult
with artists and scholars to formulate treatment protocol.
A polychrome bowl fabricated by Olowe of Ise in 1925 has an
applied dark coating which obscures the painted surface below (Fig.
2). In 1997 Olowe scholar and then-senior curator at the Museum
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Roslyn Walker noted that the dark coating of this object is unusual
for Olowe’s sculptures, notably as compared to a similar bowl,
thought to be earlier in date (Fig. 3). Conservators sampled it and
submitted it to analysis. If the coating were characterized as a synthetic material, it would have provided clear rationale for removal,
as most synthetic coatings were not used as early as 1925. However,
analysis by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy1 revealed that
the coating is a natural substance—a gum-carbohydrate mixture.
While it could have been applied post-collection, it could also have
been applied by Olowe. In the latter case, it is also possible that the
coating was clear when it was applied and darkened over time, thus
changing the appearance in an undesirable way. However, as Olowe
died in 1938, these questions remain unanswered and the coating
has been left intact. If conservators had the benefit of communication with Olowe regarding his artistic intent, the treatment outcome
could have been completely different.
Through extensive experimentation over the past three
decades, the ceramicist Magdalene Odundo has perfected the use
of a marl-rich terra sigillata to create her ceramics. Subsequent to
manufacture, tiny white spots have formed on some of her oxidation-fired ceramics (Figs. 4a–c). The spots are visible on these
monochromatic orange wares and have been noted as “flaws”
by curators and collectors. X-ray diffraction analysis2 identified
the white accretions as Portlandite (calcium dihydroxide). The
Portlandite formed when compounds in the clay absorbed ambient moisture to yield a new larger compound, whose formation
caused spalling of the ceramic surface. This process is known as
“lime popping.” Lime popping has been found on archaeological
ceramics fabricated of certain types of clays, and we looked to
the archaeological literature to understand what was happening
to this ceramic fabricated in 1994. The occurrence of lime popping is related to firing temperature. While the phenomenon can
be avoided by firing in a specific temperature range, the color
of the fired ceramic is also altered. Thus, Odundo explained her
acceptance of the lime popping found on her orange wares as
a minor consequence of her chosen materials and a fabrication
technique perfected to yield her desired plasticity and coloration
(Moffett and Hornbeck 2002).
Documenting Artists’ Materials and Techniques
As these case studies illustrate, conservators must understand
the materials and techniques of manufacture that artists use to
help us understand deterioration, as well as to establish treatment protocol and exhibition conditions. There is a dearth of
technical and craft information in the art historical literature
and while the curator is often the point of contact with an artist, the information that the conservator needs may differ greatly
from what the curator seeks. To this end, it is useful for curators
and conservators to collaborate in dialogues with living artists.
In the case of contemporary materials, American conservators
and curators and our European counterparts, most notably at
institutions in the Netherlands and Great Britain, have initiated the development of elaborate surveys for living artists and
the resulting documentation is archived for reference (see, for
example, the Guggenheim Museum’s Variable Media Approach,
http://www.variablemedia.net, and the International Network
for the Conservation of Contemporary Art, http://www.incca.
org; Hummelen and Scholte 2004). In a related aspect of information sharing between conservators and artists, the Intermuseum Conservation Association (based in Cleveland, Ohio)
recognized the needs of artists to know more about their materials by establishing an on-line forum where artists can consult
conservators and find valuable technical information. AMIEN,
the Art Materials Information and Education Network, aims to
provide artists with unbiased, comprehensive information based
on current scientific research regarding the quality, durability,
and health hazards of artist’s materials (http://www.amien.org).
The particular documentation needs of time-based media are
addressed below.
The Conservation Challenges of Artistic Intent:
Ephemeral-by-Design
In addition to recording technical information from artists,
documentation should also record artistic concepts and decisions, which can have direct bearing on treatment and display.
For example, while the use of fugitive media is not necessarily
a deliberate choice, sometimes artists knowingly elect to work
5Chant Avedissian (b. 1951, Egypt)
The Nasser Era
Mixed media on cardboard, cloth; 248cm X 150cm (97½" X 59")
Om Kalsoum (1994)
Mixed media on cardboard, cloth; 247cm X 150cm (97¼" X 59").
The Dogs (1994)
Mixed media on cardboard, cloth; 246.6cm X 149.7cm (97½" X 59").
6aRudzani Nemasetoni (b. 1962, South Africa)
Urban Testaments IV (1995)
Tin, wood, found objects, plaster, copper, pigment; 98.5cm x 52cm x 7cm (38¾”
x 20½” x 2¾”)
6bDetail of damage to plaster on proper left side of top chain.
Photo: Dana Moffett, Conservation Archives, National Museum of African Art,
Smithsonian Institution
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7Installation photo of Julie Mehretu’s Untitled (2003) from “Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora,” May 2–December 7, 2003.
8 Willem Boshoff standing before Writing in Sand. Installation photograph
from “TEXTures: Word and Symbol in Contemporary African Art,” February 11–
September 4, 2005.
9 2002 gallery installation of Sue Williamson’s The Last Supper Revisited
(1993)
with materials that they know will deteriorate, incorporating this
aspect into their overall concept. For The Nasser Era, Om Khalsoum, and The Dogs (all 1994), Chant Avedissian chose to paint
these images evoking ancient and contemporary Egypt using local
dyes and gum arabic medium applied to cotton cloth backed with
thin, curved, acidic cardboard substrates, formerly used as packing materials for refrigerators (Fig. 5).
For his 1995 assemblage Urban Testament IV, the artist Rudzani Nemasetoni incorporated found objects, including large
chains from a marine environment (Fig. 6a). The iron chains
have developed chloride corrosion resulting from the failure
of an applied corrosion inhibitor and immersion in salt water
(Moffett and Hornbeck 2002). The resulting corrosion products
crystallize on the surface of the chain, causing the applied plaster to spall off the surface in numerous areas, yielding a spotted
appearance overall (Fig. 6b). This deterioration process cannot
be halted and periodic treatment will be necessary to repair the
damaged plaster. Both artists have expressed their deliberate use
of ephemeral materials, which impart temporality to their work.
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The Artist-Conservator Interaction: Installations
Temporal installations, in which the artist has chosen to limit
the life span of an installation, represent large-scale examples of
the ephemeral-by-design concept. At the Museum this scenario
has occurred in two exhibitions. In each case, the artist worked in
situ on large-scale works, which were destroyed upon the close of
the exhibition. Photographic documentation was undertaken of
each work in progress and to record its existence; in-progress videos can be viewed on the Museum’s web site (www.africa.si.edu).
In 2003 for the exhibition “Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the
Diaspora,” artist Julie Mehretu painted in ink and latex the mural
Untitled directly on the gallery wall (Fig. 7); Mehretu stipulated
that her painting was to be over-painted at the close of exhibition.
For the 2005 exhibition “TEXTures: Word and Symbol in Contemporary African Art,” Willem Boshoff created his sand installation,
Writing in Sand, of stenciled words in black and white sand on the
gallery floor (Fig. 8). Boshoff expressed his belief that anything
that might occur to the work while on display was an acceptable
consequence of openly exposing his fragile work of art to the public. However, as the meaning of Writing in Sand depended in part
upon the legibility of its words, Museum curators Christine Mullen Kreamer and Allyson Purpura consulted with Boshoff about
having conservators restore any damage the work might encounter during exhibition.
In this scenario, the conservator acts as the artist’s surrogate,
executing the artist’s wishes in his or her absence. For Writing in
Sand, this process entailed Boshoff leaving his materials (black
and white sand and stencils) with conservators to use for repair as
needed. Visitors frequently touched or stepped on the sand, displacing the black sand of the words and the natural sand of the
10a–bCommemorative trophy head
Benin kingdom court style, Edo peoples, Nigeria, late 15th–early 16th century
Copper alloy, iron inlay; 23.2cm x 15.9cm x
20cm (9" x 6¼" x 8")
Purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program. 82-5-2.
Photo: Dana Moffett, Conservation Archives,
National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian
Institution
a: Before treatment in 1992. Note the matte,
olive green appearance of the surface
b: After treatment in 1992.
Photo: Dana Moffett, Conservation Archives,
National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian
Institution
spaces around them. The work required repair nearly once a week.
While the conservation interventions restored legibility to the text,
the displaced black and natural sand became increasingly mixed
together. Consequently, as the exhibition continued, the initial
crisp lines of the work evolved into a slightly blurry evocation.
One form of damage, which did not obscure text or disfigure the
work, was allowed to remain: a single line of mouse tracks along
the back wall of one half of the painting. Upon the close of exhibition, Boshoff wished the work to be destroyed—swept away, as it
were. We conservators invited all interested Museum staff to participate in this process. Some people swept some of the sand into
small glass jars to save before we collectively swept and then vacuumed up the sand. This instinct to save/preserve the work—even
in a small way—attests to the difficulty viewers may have accepting the concept of art designed to be purposefully temporary.
In 2002, the first time her work The Last Supper Revisited was
displayed at the Museum, artist Sue Williamson traveled to the
Museum to direct and participate in the installation (Fig. 9). For
two subsequent installations, conservators installed the work.
The multimedia installation includes a round glass table, lit from
below, to illuminate over 100 solid blocks of clear resin, in which
small fragments of the bulldozed District Six community—ironic
souvenirs, as the artist called them—were suspended. The original table incorporated a patchwork of electrical wiring to illuminate numerous incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs under
the table, generating considerable heat build-up—and a potentially hazardous situation—under the glass table top. In several
exchanges the curator, conservators, and the designer spoke
with Williamson about replacing the wiring and lighting system
with fiber optic lights; these would be powered on 110 voltage
and would generate a minimal amount of heat. Although Williamson agreed, she expressed her concern that the fiber-optics
be arranged in a manner to recreate the intended appearance of
ethereal lighting rather than the spot-lit effect characteristic of
fiber-optic lighting. The lighting effects Williamson desires have
not yet not been satisfactorily achieved and this issue remains
unresolved, for now.
Legal and Ethical Aspects of Conserving Contemporary Art
For both the Boshoff and Williamson installations, conservators relied on direct communication with the artists as well as
documented installation instructions and photographs. Another
consideration in thoroughly documenting communication with
living artists pertaining to the conservation of their work is the
legislation related to copyright law.3 Copyright law distinguishes
between economic rights and moral rights; the most important
moral right is termed “the right of integrity” and describes the
right of the artist to resist another’s intervention in his or her
work (Beunen 1999). Although the moral rights of artists were
introduced internationally in Berne in 1886, the United States
did not ratify the Berne Convention until 1989 (ibid., p. 223). The
American Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) of 1990 resulted in
the addition of Section 106A, the “Rights of certain authors to
attribution and integrity,” to the Copyright Law of the United
States of America, thereby incorporating the moral rights of
visual artists into American copyright law (Copyright Law n.d.).
VARA protects conservators from broad categories of legal
recourse from living artists. Section 106A(c)(2) states:
The modification of a work of visual art which is the result of conservation … of the work is not a destruction, distortion, mutilation,
or other modification … unless the modification is caused by gross
negligence (ibid.).
Whereas European copyright law is guided much more stringently by the rights of the artist, American copyright law is guided
by the right of owners, and the larger public interest, to preserve
cultural property (Beunen 1999:227, Robinson 2000:1935–36).
Importantly, even in cases where the artist consciously chooses to
incorporate deterioration into works of art, VARA states explicitly
that the preservation of the cultural property supercedes the individual wishes of the artist (Beunen 1999:232).
Although there is no legal obligation to do so, conservation
codes of ethics nevertheless address the responsibility of the
conservator to the maker of the object, in so far as the preser-
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11a–bAmir I.M. Nour (b. 1939, Sudan)
Horned Gate (1973)
Bronze; 60.8cm x 52.5cm x 41.2cm (24" x 20¾"
x 16¼")
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Richman. 95-17-1.
Photo: Franko Khoury, National Museum of
African Art, Smithsonian Institution
a: Before treatment in 2002. Note the bluegreen streaky appearance of the surface, characteristic of outdoor exposure over time.
b: After treatment (re-patination) in 2002.
Photo: Franko Khoury, National Museum of
African Art, Smithsonian Institution
vation of the object allows. Article II of the Code of Ethics of
the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic
Works (AIC) states:
All actions of the conservation professional must be governed by an
informed respect for the cultural property, its unique character and
significance, and the people or person who created it (AIC Code of
Ethics 2008).
In instances when the artist is still living, it is important to
communicate with him or her regarding the desired appearance
and display of the work of art. However, artists and conservators
have very different roles. It is imperative that the artist remain
focused on the original intent rather than approaching treatment as an opportunity to revise the original art work. The curator and conservator together must consider the intrinsic value
of the original, no matter how deteriorated, when considering
conservation intervention. Every conservation treatment carries
the risk of damage or change to the original, thus the conservator bears the responsibility of approaching treatment judiciously.
As the upcoming case studies illustrate, sometimes the issues
presented by modern materials require a greater emphasis on
restoration than would be considered ethical today for traditionbased objects. The Guidelines for Practice of the AIC was revised
in 1997 to address this issue in Guideline 23:
In the treatment of contemporary cultural property, the aesthetic
requirements of the maker/artist may necessitate compensation practices that sacrifice original material and surface to obtain a specified
result (AIC Guidelines 2008).
Artistic Intent and Conservation Treatment
In deference to artistic intent, and in close collaboration
with the curator, conservators will sometimes reverse disfiguring post-collection alterations to return a work to its original
intended appearance. When the Museum acquired a sixteenth
century Benin Kingdom cast copper alloy head, it had a matte,
olive-green appearance from the post-collection application of
a coating which obscured the original surface qualities of the
metal (Fig. 10a). In contrast, sixteenth century Benin cast copper alloy objects which exhibit no subsequent alteration typically
have dark brown patinas. Subsequent applications of microcrys-
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talline wax left accumulations of white residues, further detracting from the object’s appearance. In consultation with Museum
curator and Benin expert Bryna Freyer, the decision was made
to remove these post-collection applied coatings. The successful
treatment revealed the metal surface as it was intended to appear
and the surface nuances were again visible (Fig. 10b).
Contemporary objects sometimes involve more significant
interventions than conservators would typically consider for historic objects. In 1995 when the Museum acquired the cast bronze
sculpture Horned Gate by Amir Nour, the work had the green
patina and acidic water tidelines characteristic of outdoor metal
sculptures (Fig. 11a). Indeed the previous private owners had
displayed the work outside, which was never the artist’s intention.4 Other works by Nour in our collection, such as Spoon, as
well as sculptures in other American collections (for example,
Crescent Gate owned by the Fine Arts Museum in St. Petersburg,
Florida) have golden brown patinas. In discussions with Nour,
he confirmed that the appearance of Horned Gate at the time
of acquisition departed from his intention.5 Thus, then-curator
of contemporary art Elizabeth Harney and conservator Dana
Moffett elected to have the sculpture repatinated in preparation for exhibition in 2002.6 The repatination required removal
of the microns-thick oxidized metal to reveal base metal and a
subsequent application of a golden brown chemical patina (Fig.
11b). The resulting appearance enables the sculpture to again be
appropriately considered among Nour’s corpus of cast bronzes,
rather than as an anomalous example of his work.
It is important to note that, although repatination is sometimes done for outdoor metal sculptures, it is no longer regularly
considered as a treatment option for historic metals in museum
collections because of the necessary removal of original material. Repatination would certainly not be a treatment option for a
Benin bronze, for example.
Artist Berni Searle provided precise instructions for the 2000
(and subsequent 2006) installation of her work To Hold in the
Palm of the Hand, including the sprinkling of powdered green
henna onto the lower portion of the six panels comprising the
work (Fig. 12). Because the henna gathers dust from display, it
cannot be reused for future installations. With the assistance of
Harney, I asked Searle how she felt about my purchasing addi-
tional henna to use as her stock diminished.7 She agreed, and I
found a supply of pure henna at an Ethiopian market in Washington, DC.
In contrast, conservators would not typically replenish lost
pigment on tradition-based objects. Many African objects have
friable pigments which are poorly bound to the substrates. Conservators consolidate pigments and paints, preserving the existing
materials. However, significant amounts of non-original colorant
would not be added to areas of loss. Thus, unlike the approach
taken with the henna on To Hold in the Palm of the Hand, conservators would not consider replenishing losses to the powdery red
lead pigment on a Zulu hat, for example (Fig. 13).
Kinetic sculptures are another category of contemporary
object requiring greater conservation intervention than would
typically be undertaken on tradition-based objects. Due to the
repeated movements and consequent stresses placed on components, parts wear down. On Sokari Douglas Camp’s sculpture
Masquerader with Boat Headdress (1987) rotating bands lift cloth
legs attached to bells that clang against the metal feet, evoking
the impression of the figure dancing (Fig. 14). Over time, the
bells break and become stuck in the metal feet, inhibiting movement and causing the cloth legs to tear. The conservator repaired
the cloth legs by backing them with bands of sturdy canvas dyed
to match the fabric. In this manner, the canvas bands are subjected to the stresses of movement and the original cloth legs are
no longer weight-bearing. In time, the canvas bands will require
replacement in their turn.
A mid-twentieth century egungun costume acquired by the
Museum in 2005 exhibited tears and holes from its former use
in masquerades (Fig. 15). As with the repairs to Douglas Camp’s
Masquerader, a textile conservator backed damaged areas of
cloth with more sturdy cloth. Although the egungun costume was
once worn and danced, it is no longer considered a kinetic object
per se, and it is displayed in stationary fashion on a mount. As
testimony to how the object was once used, mountmakers and
conservators at the Indianapolis Museum of Art collaborated to
fabricate ingenious mounts that create the impression of movement (Alig 2003). We rely on archival images and film footage
to view these now-stationary objects in motion. It is conceivable
that at some future date, as the objects deteriorate, we will rely
on similar footage to view contemporary kinetic objects, like
Sokari Douglas Camp’s Masquerader, in motion.
12 To Hold in the Palm of the Hand (2000)
Berni Searle (b. 1964, South Africa)
Inkjet prints on vellum, henna; 156.3cm x 389cm x 135cm (61½" x 153" x 53")
Photo: Stephanie Hornbeck, Conservation Archives, National Museum of African
Art, Smithsonian Institution
Detail of applied henna powder on lower portion of vellum panels (in 2000).
13Hat
Zulu peoples, mid 20th century
Plant fiber, cloth, red lead pigment; 15cm x 45.3cm x 45.3cm (6" x 17¾" x 17¾")
14Sokari Douglas Camp (b. 1958, Nigeria)
Masquerader with Boat Headdress (1987)
Mixed media; 225cm x 103.5cm x 122cm (88½" x 40¾" x 48")
Installation photograph of “Insights,” February 27–November 28, 2004
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(counter clockwise from left)
15 Egungun mask costume
Yoruba peoples, mid 20th century
Cloth, wood, metal, plastic; 170.2cm x 129.5cm (67"
x 51")
Museum purchase 2005-2-1
Photo: by Franko Khoury, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
16 Gallery installation of the video Africa Rifting:
Lines of Fire, Namibia/Brazil (2003) by Georgia Papageorge (b. 1941, South Africa). Museum Purchase.
2004-12-1. Installation photograph of “Body of
Evidence (Selections from the Contemporary African
Art Collection),” June 14, 2006–December 2, 2007.
Photo: Franko Khoury, National Museum of African
17 Gallery installation of the video Can’t Forget,
Can’t Remember (1999) by Sue Williamson (b. 1941,
England). Museum purchase. 2004-13-1. Installation
photograph of “Body of Evidence (Selections from
the Contemporary African Art Collection),” June 14,
2006–December 2, 2007.
Photo: Franko Khoury, National Museum of African
Time-based Media: A New Conservation Frontier
Moving images are now routinely created by artists as primary works of art (Figs. 16–17); these works are inherently
ephemeral. Works that incorporate audio, film, video, 35mm
slides, or computer-based elements are categorized as “timebased media,” “new media,” or “electronic media” in museum
collections. Their preservation represents a new area of focus
in conservation. Although such works have been produced for
decades, in the past ten years production of this category of art
work has increased dramatically, creating a need for conservation specialists in electronic media. To care for such media, conservators draw on the experience of archivists, who have been
addressing preservation issues related to moving images for a
much longer time. The main issues involved are: data migration
with advances/obsolescence in audio-visual technology, optimal
storage format and conditions, and physical wear from continuous display. Obsolete technology presents the potential need for
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periodic updates of format (such as laser disc to CD-ROM) and
presentation mechanism (i.e. projector, television, DVD player,
etc.). However, each data migration usually results in some loss
of information, so it is important to judiciously consider the
consequences beforehand.
The acquisition and consequent care of such materials are new
areas for curators and conservators at the Museum. We are in the
early stages of developing protocols for obtaining artists’ directives, documenting formats, and creating guidelines for storage
and exhibition. Our colleagues caring for collections of contemporary and modern art are pioneers in this area and we are drawing
upon their experience. One consortium of museums, including
MoMA, the Tate Modern, SFMoMA, and the New Art Trust,
has collaborated in a multiphased project dedicated to providing information related to the care of time-based media. Since its
inception in 2003, Matters in Media Art, the web site created by
the collaborators, has served as a valuable resource for informa-
tion, protocols, guidelines, and down-loadable templates to document information from the artist, as well as to record condition
assessment (Wharton 2009; http://www.MattersinMediaArt.org).
As with installation art, time-based media requires an inter-disciplinary team; in this case, consisting of the artist, curators, conservators, archivists, and technical media/audio-visual specialists.
Ideally, this team should communicate with the artist during the
period of purchase consideration to determine the current and
future needs of the art work, which can be considerable.
Conclusion
Ephemeral materials, because they are often unpredictable,
present challenges to conservators entrusted with their preservation. This apt quotation from conservation scientists David
Grattan and R. Scott Williams of the Canadian Conservation
Institute describes the conservator’s dilemma:
Works of art, therefore, have two kinds of life: that of the concept—
the meaning—and that of the materials. As an object ages it changes;
ultimately, the disintegration of the materials brings obliteration. But
in modern art, ideas are often transient and materials ephemeral. So,
what then is the question being asked of the conservator? Is it to preserve the material at all costs? To convey the artist’s intent? Or is it
simply to define the nature of the materials and understand the degradation? (Grattan and Williams 1999:73).
Working with art created by living artists, as we navigate
between the sometimes-competing demands of preservation
of the physical art work and respect of artistic intent, requires
collaboration among the artist, their studio assistants, curators, conservators, and conservation scientists. At the National
Museum of African Art, we have come to apply our experience with preserving ethnographic materials to contemporary
works in the collection, and vice versa. The technical study of
new materials and advances in the conservation profession will
continue to inform our approach to the treatment and exhibition of ephemeral art. Conservation professional codes of ethics will continue to be modified as needed to accommodate the
special considerations particular to art created by living artists.
To understand the arc of a work of art’s lifespan, the conservator
must first understand the original materials and techniques of
fabrication. Consequently, we rely upon descriptions of materials and media and documentation of artistic intent, including installation details. These critical resources will guide us
as unknown, future scenarios unfold. Indeed, our experiences
demonstrate that the dialogues surrounding the conservation of
ephemeral art are dynamic and continually evolving.
Stephanie E. Hornbeck is Conservator, specializing in ethnographic and
contemporary objects, at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum
of African Art, where she has worked since 1998. [email protected]
Notes
References cited
My conservation colleagues at the Museum, Steve Mellor and Dana Moffett, and I have benefited enormously
from discussions with curators Christine Mullen Kreamer,
Allyson Purpura, Elizabeth Harney, and Karen Milbourne. We have also greatly enjoyed working with artists
Willem Boshoff, Sokari Douglas Camp, Fathi Hassan,
Julie Mehretu, Aimé Mpane, Rudzani Nemasetoni, Amir
Nour, Magdalene Odundo, António Ole, Berni Searle,
and Sue Williamson. We look forward to future engagements and discussions.
1 Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
(FTIR) is a spectrographic method which characterizes
organic materials by measuring the vibrational energies
of their chemical bonds.
2 X-ray diffraction (XRD) is an analytical method
which identifies crystalline materials (usually inorganic
compounds) by capturing their unique energy diffraction patterns.
3 For further information, the topic of visual art
and copyright law was addressed by the Committee on
Intellectual Property of the College Art Association in
a panel discussion titled “Beyond Copyright: Do Artists
Have Rights?” at the 90th annual College Art Association in Philadelphia on February 21, 2002.
4 Dana Moffett, email to Elizabeth Harney, September 9, 2002. At the time Moffett was Conservator
at the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington DC.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 Elizabeth Harney, personal communication,
email November 2, 2000. At the time Harney was curator of contemporary art at the National Museum of
African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
AIC. 2007. “Article II, Code of Ethics.” In Code of Ethics,
Directory of the American Institute for Conservation of
Artistic and Historic Works of Art. Washington DC: AIC.
_______. 2007. “Guideline 23: Compensation for Loss, D.
Special Practices, approved 1997.” In Guidelines for Practice,
Directory of the American Institute for Conservation of
Artistic and Historic Works of Art. Washington DC: AIC.
Alig, Dorothy. 2003. “Vibrant Dancers: Egungun
Costumes from Southwestern Nigeria.” In Pre-prints
to the North American Textile Conservation Conference
(NATCC), pp. 1–4. Philadelphia: NATCC.
Berndes, Christiane. 1999. “The Decision-making Model
for the Conservation and Restoration of Modern and
Contemporary Art.” In Modern Art: Who Cares? ed. Ijsbrand Hummelen and Dionne Sillé, pp. 164–72. Amsterdam: The Foundation for the Conservation of Modern
Art and the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage.
Beunen, Annemarie. 1999. “Moral Rights in Modern
Art: An International Survey.” In Modern Art: Who
Cares? ed. Ijsbrand Hummelen and Dionne Sillé, pp.
222–32. Amsterdam: The Foundation for the Conservation of Modern Art and the Netherlands Institute for
Cultural Heritage.
Copyright Law of the United States of America. n.d.
Pub. L.No.101-650,104 stat.5089, 5128. http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#106a, accessed February
9, 2009.
Grattan, David, and R.Scott Williams. 1999. “From ‘91’
to ‘42’: Questions of Conservation for Modern Materials.” In Mortality/Immortality: The Legacy of Twentieth
Century Art, ed. Miguel Angel Corzo, pp. 67–74. Los
Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Trust.
Hummelen, Ijsbrand and Tatja Scholte. 2004. “Sharing
Knowledge for the Conservation of Contemporary Art:
Changing Roles in a Museum without Walls?” In Mod-
ern Art, New Museums: Contributions to the IIC Bilbao
Congress 13–17 September 2004, ed. Ashok Roy and Perry
Smith, pp. 208–212. London: The International Institute
for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.
Artist Materials Information and Education Network
(AMIEN). n.d. http://www.amien.org, accessed February 4, 2009.
International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art (INCCA). n.d. http://www.incca.org,
accessed February 6, 2009.
de Leeuw, Riet. 1999. “The Precarious Reconstruction of
Installations.” In Modern Art: Who Cares? ed. Ijsbrand
Hummelen and Dionne Sillé, pp. 212–21. Amsterdam:
The Foundation for the Conservation of Modern Art
and the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage.
Matters in Media Art. n.d. http://MattersinMediaArt.
com, accessed February 4, 2009.
Moffett, Dana, Stephanie Hornbeck, and Stephen
Mellor. 2002. “Common Problems in Archaeological and Ethnographic Conservation Intersect with the
Contemporary: Case Studies of two African Objects.”
In Pre-prints to the 13th Triennial Meeting of the ICOM
Committee for Conservation, pp. 679–84. Rio: International Council of Museums (ICOM).
Robinson, Christopher J. 2000. “The ‘Recognized Stature’ Standard in the Visual Artists Rights Act.” Fordham
Law Review 68 (5):1935–36.
Wharton, Glenn. 2009. “The Future of New Art Technologies: Time-based Media Conservation.” Lecture,
January 21, 2009, Smithsonian American Art Museum
and National Portrait Gallery.
Wiles, David M.1993. “Changes in Polymeric Materials
with Time.” In Saving the Twentieth Century: The Conservation of Modern Materials, ed. David W. Grattan,
pp. 105–112. Ottawa: Canadian Conservation Institute.
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