from Tate Modern - Talks & Discussions -
The Sound of Materials
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MP3 recording (89.9 MB)

from Tate Modern -
What can matter be? A podcast about materials, science and art
go to web-page

The talk discusses the art and science of sounds and the influence of different materials on the production of sound, while the podcast (self-service) tour offers the listener a quirky take on the the physical and material aspects of various collections and premises within Tate Modern.

The podcast tour was done in conjunction with Mark Miodownik, who first set up the Materials Library at King's College, London (see earlier post for additional information). An article was also written up in Materials Today (PDF article , 1.4 MB) on one of the exhibit being examined - "Artist's Shit" by Piero Manzoni.

Both the talk and podcast tour highlight an often neglected aspect of our aesthetic experience, which is the realisation that the choice of materials and their physical construction often exert a significant influence on the final aesthetic experience, be it visually, acoustically or tactually. Hence, the physical deterioration of materials in artworks - which art conservation efforts seek to slow and reduce - will also inevitably affect the aesthetic impact of artworks in time to come, whether intended or otherwise.
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from GCI - Conservation Newsletter -
Volume 22, Spring 2007: Environmental Management
go to contents
download PDF (4.6 MB)

from Tate Research Papers -
"Historically Accurate Reconstructions of Artists’ Oil Painting Materials"
by Leslie Carlyle and Maartjee Witlox
go to article

A few interesting articles updated recently. From the Getty Conservation Newsletter, a whole issue dedicated to the idea of passive environmental control, all the more relevant in the context of today's increasing concerns with sustainability and depletion of natural resources. In the Tate Research Papers, an article which discusses the relevance of material and scientific analysis in the context of art historical research.
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from Royal Microscopical Society -
InFocus
go to web-page

There are a few articles, available on-line, related to the examination and technical analysis of paint / pigment samples from the newsletter of the RMS.

Issue 1, March 2006

"Forensics and Microscopy in Authenticating Works of Art"
Peter Paul Biro
go to PDF article, 930kB

"Microscopical techniques applied to traditional paintings"
Joyce H Townsend and Katrien Keune
go to PDF article, 1.6MB

"Scientific dating of paintings"
Nicholas Eastaugh
go to PDF article, 1.1MB


Issue 2, June 2006

"'Not a day without a line drawn': Pigments and painting techniques of Roman Artists"
Ruth Siddall
go to PDF article, 1.2MB

"Historical pigment research: the work of the Pigmentum Project"
Valentine Walsh & Nicholas Eastaugh
go to PDF article, 1.4MB


Issue 3, September 2006

"Microscopy and archival research: interpreting results within the context of historical records and traditional practice"
Jane Davies
go to PDF article, 340kB
go to supplement, 35kB

"Advanced microscopic techniques for the characterisation of pigments"
Robin Clark & Tracey Chaplin
go to PDF article, 423kB


Issue 4, December 2006

"18th Century church altarpieces in the Algarve, Portugal: A comparison of the historical documents to the results of the microscopical analysis"
Isabel Pombo Cardoso
go to PDF article, 1.9MB

from National Geographic News -
New Layer of Ancient Greek Writings Detected in Medieval Book
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Another update on yet another manuscript found previously erased from the well-known Archimedes Palimpsest (see earlier posts here and here). This time, Aristotle's text was found, in addition to earlier texts by Archimedes and Hyperides that were found using multi-spectral imaging and image analysis.
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from Materials Today -
Managing Change: Preserving History
go to article (PDF format, 7.8MB)

Another article to add to the overview of conservation science as a discipline (also see earlier post). What is interesting is that this is published in an on-line newsletter dedicated to materials science - perhaps indicative of the gradual understanding and acceptance of the work of the conservation scientist.
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from New York Times -
Arsenic and Old Photos
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An interesting article on the work of Dusan Stulik at the Getty Conservation Institute on the identification and compilation of materials used in the making of photographs. Dusan's work is in part driven by the ubiquitous popularity of digital photography resulting in "an impending disaster in photographic conservation and scholarship: the abandonment and loss of many decades’ worth of information about traditional photos as the switch was made to digital." The endpoint is a reference publication:

"[...] sometime in the next few years, a door-stopping Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes, a chemical characterization of every known (and, until now, some previously unknown) means of making pictures."

See also information from GCI's website on the Research Project on the Conservation of Photographs.
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Challenging Building: the search for solutions
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A recently concluded conference looking at issues of environmental control and risks.particularly in the context of adaptive re-use of historic buildings for museum collections.

You can read the articles on-line. Alternatively a PDF version of all the post-prints can be downloaded here (PDF file, 1MB).

The list of papers as follow:

Tim Padfield
"How to design a museum building that protects the collection without destroying itself"
on-line article here

Jane Brunning
"Denbighshire Record Office: an essay in pragmatism"
on-line article here

Jonathan Ashley Smith
"Current thinking on environmental standards"
on-line article here

R.E. Child
"The new Waterfront Museums Swansea: Teething problems and solutions"
on-line article here

Gerallt D. Nash
"Introducing heating into re-erected traditional buildings"
on-line article here

Heather Perry
"Hot Hot Hot in the summer"
on-line article here

Jane Henderson
"Newtown Textile Museum: You will need to wear a woolly?"
on-line article here

[ Thanks to Conservation Dist List for the prior alert. ]
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from The New York Times -
Harvard Analysis Casts Doubt on Works Said to Be Pollocks
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from The New York Times -
A Pollock, in the Eyes of Art and Science
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Two related articles about a recent scientific analysis done on a set of recently discovered paintings attributed to Jackson Pollock. However, the analysis raised question about the attribution, which in turn is not accepted by the art historian who had put forward the attribution.

This points to a fundamental difference in terms of approach:

"In the wider art world, traditional scholarship is beginning to accommodate science a little more willingly. But some experts say the friction between the two is not only about turf wars but also about fundamental differences in culture [...] [P]art of the problem was that “art historians basically do not collaborate” while science demands it."

from The New York Times -
Paints’ Mysteries Challenge Protectors of Modern Art
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The latest on the research of modern paints started at the Getty Conservation Institute by Dr Tom Learner when he was a visiting fellow, and has now recently (re-)joined the Getty from the Tate. Go to the research project web-pages here.
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from ICON, The Institute of Conservation, UK
UK's cultural heritage under threat - Peers warn
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Our present understanding of a whole range of conservation and heritage problems has been helped tremendously by a more rigorous scientific approach that was pioneered by a few far-sighted individuals and institutions - both in Europe, UK and USA - around the mid of the 20th-century.

And now with the recent publication of an in-depth report (published by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee) on the state of conservation and heritage science research in the UK, it won't be long before we see a surge of concerted effort in this area of fundamental and essential work, despite the ominous tone of the published report. Or perhaps, because of it.

For the full report, there is an online version, as well as a PDF version (warning: PDF, 3.6MB).

[ Thanks to the Conservation DistList for the prior alert. ]

from PhysicsWeb
Water pores reveal age of paper
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go to abstract

Yet another scientific analytical tool in estimating the age of paper-based materials (also see earlier post on the "print-clock"). This new technique looks at the molecular structure of cellulose fibres present in paper and measuring the size of pores which holds water in the cellulose molecule, which increases over time. In the abstract, there is a mention of the protective effect of gelatine sizing on paper.

from New Scientist
The nitrogen the Vikings left behind
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A belated news item on a novel way of detecting buried archaeological sites without digging! By looking at the proportion of nitrogen isotopes in uncultivated plants growing above ground, scientists have recently discovered that the normal nitrogen isotope ratio would be different for those plants growing immediately above the archaeological sites being studied. This could be due to human and/or animal waste products accumulated before the sites were buried. Yet another useful tool in the search for past heritage sites, perhaps.

from The New York Times
Rays and Neutrons, for Art’s Sake
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How nuclear science helped answer questions of provenance, age and authenticity about art. Methods used include some of the most fundamental in nuclear science, such as neutron activation analysis, proton-induced X-ray emission, accelerator mass spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry.

Check out the The Limestone Sculpture Provenance Project: A Case Study at the MET and the accompanying video on how neutron activation analysis has helped uncover the mystery of an angel fragment.

From Guardian Unlimited
Software that reveals which paintings are authentic
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A software that helps to authenticate paintings through matching the characteristics of the painting under question to its library of characteristics for that particular artist, such as brushstrokes, colours and type of canvas used etc. The developer of the software said the technique was not designed to replace the opinions of art historians but is meant as a tool to help them reach a decision.

Guess the success of the software as a tool would hinge on building up a representative repertoire of works of individual artists. This task is tremendous when you think of how certain masters have different styles in different phases of their art practice!

from ePreservation Science
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A new issue of the online journal for Conservation Science with 4 articles:

A Baranski et.al.
"Mixed control mechanisms in paper degradation studies"
(PDF article)

Y Keheyan & L Giulianiell
"Identification of historical ink ingredients"
(PDF article)

U Knuutinen & P Kyllonen
"Studies of polyester composite art objects"
(PDF article)

L Rampazzi & R Bugini
"Characterization of mortars of St. Lorenzo, Milan"
(PDF article)

Print Clock: A method for dating early books and prints
go to web-site

A web-site which explains in greater detail the new-found theory of dating prints (taken from woodblocks and copper plates) using image- and statistical-analysis comparing breaks in printed lines and also the difference in their thickness. This expands on an earlier news article (see previous post) announcing the research done by a biologist! There is also a more technical scientific paper available (PDF file).

from PhysicsWeb
A sensitive approach to frescoes
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from Seed Magazine
Physicists develop tool to diagnose Italian frescoes
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A new technique which measures the moisture and salt content of frescoes up to a surface depth of 2cm into the surface, without the need for sampling or removal of materials. This is achieved by a combination of using a microwave source and a detector which differentiates the resonance frequency of the reflected radiation from the materials.

This would be a definite improvement over current techniques which use infra-red radiation as a detection source - the limitation being only the very top fresco surface is monitored as well as the inability to detect salt levels, which often is the primary cause of deterioration in wall frescoes.

from BBC News
X-rays reveal Archimedes secrets
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Interesting to read about the life journey of a goatskin parchment who started off from bearing Archimedes' work in the 10th Century, to being recycled by monks to record Greek Orthodox prayers around the 13th Century and finally being ornamented by forgers in the 20th Century, where gold paintings of religious imagery were added so as to try to boost the value of the tome. What a life!

Amazing how the imaging technique of X-ray fluorescence made it possible for scientists to "travel" back in time by layers and reveal this "biography" of the palimpsest...

from Wired News
'Print Clock' Dates Antique Books
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Working with the principle of physical deterioration of materials, a new technique of "dating" printed materials has been developed and tested on 16th- and 17th-century printed maps and books. What is interesting is the working assumption that the printing plates - either made of wood or copper - deteriorated at a relatively constant rate even if not used, resulting in subsequent print runs with increasing "line breaks" and discrepancies. And it took a biology professor to figure that out!

from The Washington Times
Art as a chemistry project
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A brief and cursory look at scientific research at the Conservation Department of the National Art Gallery in Washington, DC. An interesting estimate mentioned in the article, quoting Ross Merrill, the chief of conservation:

"Someone once asked how long it took to analyze a painting, and the answer was about three times as long as it took the artist to do it."

No wonder we suffer from a lack of such interesting research in today's fast-paced world! Also, towards the end of the article, there is a mention of the use of glass in Venetian paintings reported earlier.

from The Art Newspaper
Cimabue'’s Assisi fresco reconstructed
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Almost 9 years of work will near its completion in the pain-staking restoration of a fresco destroyed by an earlier earthquake. If not for the help of digital technology, the reconstruction of the original from the thousands of plaster fragments would have been impossible (see older articles here and here). In this instance, the role of digital technology in the preservation of cultural heritage interestingly resulted in a tangible end, instead of a virtual one.

from MSNBC
Accidental invention could light up the future
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An improvement of the technology driving LED lights (see previous post) will go towards making them unbiquitous (including in the museum) in the near future.

from GCI Newsletter
Conservation Science
go to online newsletter
go to PDF version

The latest newsletter from the Getty Conservation Institute features the development and role of conservation science in the larger professional framework of cultural heritage conservation and preservation.

from The New York Times
Museums Use New Tools to Fix Old Works
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The article talks about the various techniques conservation scientists and conservators use to analyse and treat works in museum collections. One particular highlight interest me. Through Raman spectroscopy, the investigation of the "eruption" of tiny, almost microscopic bumps on "Madam X" painted by John Singer Sargent yields an interesting question about materials and technique... is it caused by the ratio of lead to linseed oil in the paint or the thickness of the paint?

from ABC news
Microbes Show Exquisite Taste in Art
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The observed growth of microbes and fungi on Degas' wax models has been attributed in part to the stable environment found in the museum display and storage areas. Perhaps, having a fluctuating environment could be beneficial in terms of management of pest levels as they are disallowed to have an uninterrupted period of growth.

Conservation Physics
go to web-site

Tim Padfield, previously retired from the National Museum of Denmark, had put together a revamped web-site / online book looking at physics as applied in the field of conservation of cultural heritage. Topics covered include:

- basic concepts in climate;
- light and photochemistry;
- properties of material;
- air-conditioning and building physics;
- microclimate; and
- sensors and measurement.

from SCMRE
Efficient New Methods for Embedding Paint and Varnish Samples for Microscopy
go to article (PDF format)

A recent article written by Melvin Wachowiak, Senior Furniture Conservator at SCMRE, for the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation (issue number 43), which looks at some possible new methods and materials for use in embedding samples for microscopy analysis.

from BBC Radio 4 - Material World
One Man's Materials
go to programme notes
go to audio programme (RealPlayer format; segment starts at 13m:26s mark)

With the proliferation of new materials, it won't be long before artists become interested and incorporate them into artworks. It is also interesting to note that a materials science lecturer will be showcasing his collection of unusual materials at the Tate Modern!

Hence, the development of new materials is of import on 2 fronts. First, is that understanding how these new materials are made and behave over time, will better prepared us for their eventual preservation. Second, such materials, with never-before-possible-properties, could be of tremendous usefulness in devising better tools or techniques in heritage conservation.

And to kick start the process, one could also refer to an online compilation of a whole array of such unusual materials. Next stop: Mark Miodownik's "Library of Unusual Materials" at King's College, London.

from Technology Research News
Chemical fuse makes cheap sensors
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Using a modified ink-jet printer and some fancy chemistry hacking, a potentially low-cost and ubiquitous method of producing chemical sensors could become a reality. This would definitely make monitoring of indoor air quality and air-tight enclosures (such as showcases and frames) much more effective and as easy as having a light goes on whenever specific chemicals are detected above a pre-determined level.

from The New York Times
Techniques That Might Smile Upon Mona Lisa
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A short feature on the research interests of Dr. Marion Mecklenburg from the Smithsonian Institution's SCMRE. In particular, the contentious issue of fluctuating relative humidity and the (perceived and real) damage to artefacts.

from Wired Magazine
Atomic Detective
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An interesting hand-held device which uses X-Ray Fluoroscopy (XRF) to detect and differentiate the presence of metal elements. This will come in handy for the identification of metal sculptures and may even be possible to gauge the type and ratio of alloy metals present. There is more on how the technique of XRF works on the manufacturer's web-site.

from BBC Radio 4 Material World
Art Fraud
go to programme outline
listen to programme (needs RealPlayer)

The first 15 minutes of the latest BBC Radio 4 science programme Material World highlights the investigative work done to detect art forgeries. The use of Raman Spectrometry was mentioned as a precise method to detect specific chemical composition (or "fingerprint") of different pigments. Combining that information with historical information on the use and manufacture of pigments, fakes could be determined with greater confidence then in the days of just relying on art connoisseurship.

from Wired News
Preserving Art by Zapping Bugs
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Using advances in DNA analysis and biotechnology, biochemists in Venezuela have managed to customise target toxins to get rid of specific pest species without harming the original heritage material. And pests are a constant problem in the tropical climate of Venezuela, much like Singapore.

This to That
go to web-site

An interesting web-site which helps in the selection of the appropriate glue to use in sticking one type of material to another. Although the choice of adhesives are not entirely "preservation-friendly" in some instances, it still contains a wealth of information about commercially available glues out there. There is also a "Glue-of-the-Month" page (although not updated since August 2003) and news page on stories related to the adhesive in general, amongst other online resources available on the site.

from The Guardian
Hidden Picasso goes on show
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An example of investigative work on paintings using X-radiography, which in this case helped to reveal and visualise a painting under an existing one that would impact on the study of art history.

from Chrisitan Science Monitor
Preservationists raid the pantry
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A timely reminder that the selection of appropriate conservation materials begin from the basic principle of understanding material science and behaviour, instead of relying on an unquestioning acceptance that specially formulated materials must somehow always be the "best"!

from BBC Radio 4 - Connect
Dust to dust
go to programme synopsis
listen to programme (Real Player needed)

It boggles the mind to think of something as unassuming and ubiquitous as dust could contain information (when properly analysed) which can yield traces of history spanning many decades or even centuries. But, the question remains: "To clean or not to clean?"

from The New York Times
A Computer That Has an Eye for Van Gogh
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Using a computer to compare sections of an artist's known works from a database of images, it is claimed that certain tell-tale signs in the use of materials or techniques can be determined, almost like "invisible signatures". All this for the purpose of authentication. It would be interesting to see how much of restoration or overpaints on a painting would return a "fake" result during analysis?

from Nature News
Bugs go spelunking
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As biomineralisation becomes better understood in the natural world, its usefulness in the field of stone conservation would also inevitably increase. So instead of just reaching for a solution of synthetic resins for use as a consolidant, conservators can also pull out the vials of specially cultured bacteria in treating deteriorated stone surfaces!

from PhysicsWeb
Spiders get a grip
go to press releases here and here
go to summary

An intriguing adaptation of the natural ability of the spider to "stick" to walls and ceilings without dropping off for use in the design of adhesives. If such an adhesive is eventually developed, it might see uses in conservation treatments, such as the application of temporary facings, adhesives or supports, which would be totally reversible.

from EurekaAlert!
From top quarks to the blues
go to press release
go to summary

This must surely qualify as a worthy and ingenious use of imaging research which normally is employed in the study of sub-atomic physics. By using a non-contact method of mapping the surface typography of a mechanically recorded surface - such as a vinyl record or even those very early sound cylinders - no damage will be done to these fragile objects in the process of extracting sound from these old recording media. Subsequently, software algorithms are then applied to these surface mappings to digitally decode and translate them into actual sounds, which can then be recorded digitally in order to be preserved.

from Wired News
Old Stones Reveal Their Age
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A new technology for use in dating of archaeological objects. It uses the method of measuring the amount of moisture that has diffused into the surface layer of quartz - normally found in inorganic stones. It is also a very expensive test to run - costing up to US$ 1,000 per object - due to the use of particle accelerator, which is more commonly used in the study of sub-atomic physics.

from Metropolis
How Buildings Breathe
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Some interesting development in how buildings can be ventilated by harnessing the natural phenomena of air circulation and behaviour. An understanding of such a technology would be of tremendous benefit to museums, especially when a major expense of most museums is the utilities bill associated with the 24-hour control of the display and storage environments. Two particular ideas stand out - the "floor-up" method of cooling the air (as opposed to the conventional "ceiling-down" cooling); and the "enthalpy wheel" to pre-condition humid air, hence reducing actual cooling load (translating to a smaller air-conditioning system) and energy consumption.

from The Observer
Evolution of radar points to HMS Beagle's resting place
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and
from The Herald
Military hardware saves Old Masters
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Two reports on the use of technology to aid preservation efforts. The first highlighted the attempt to locate the sunken HMS Beagle in Essex, England, using ground-penetrating radar to find plausible sites where the historic ship might be buried. The second report looked at the use of an advanced infra-red digital imaging camera to "look" under surface paint layers of artworks.

from Nature
Superglue from the sea
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Another example of the best materials coming from nature. And imagine a glue which bonds under water!

from Molecular Expressions (TM)
Polarized Light Digital Image Gallery : Fibers

This interesting web-page has a few good photomicrographs of various (natural and synthetic) fibres as they would appear under polarised light. Also go to the main page for a whole range of information on microscopy and other images at the microscopic level - including what beers would look like when enlarged many times over!

from Discovery News
Da Vinci Invented Natural Plastics
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If plastics is defined as a substance making up of a network of long-chain polymers with repeating units of monomers, then drying oils and other natural resins / glue could also rightly be considered a plastics. The use of these natural materials must surely predate the Renaissance. This makes the "discovery" of Da Vinci's recipes less stunning - but it does not detract from the beauty of the resultant substances.