by Alizah Grace

Created on: June 21, 2008

Art conservation is healing an artistic malady. The work of art is secluded from further loss or damage, chemicals stabilized, structure rebalanced, colors revived and time clocks rewound. Each patient is diagnosed, and a method designed for its conservation and restoration. What differentiates one from the other is the conservator's hesitance to supplement an object with an identifiable additive in its restoration.

Each problem requires a different plan of action. For instance, the art of conserving an oil painting. Enter the conservator's studio. A hot lining table sits in waiting for the prepping of a new canvas, the band-aid for fixing cracks and rippling in the painting. Originally, relining was a process of heating and ironing on a concoction of wax and resin. During World War II, German scientist Gustav Berger created BEVA, a state-of-the-art adhesive used in conservation science. It is found in many formsliquid, film, water-baseddepending on its usage, and advantageous to conservators for its reversibility. BEVA became the mainstream tool for conservators in relining paintings. To make a new canvas, two canvases are sandwiched with glue around mylar, a polyester film boasting strength, heat resistance and superior insulation. The canvases are then vacuum packed to consolidate the shape into one plane. A new canvas is necessary for fixing holes in paintings, but also for preserving the structure. Cleaning and restoration will exacerbate any harm done to the painting if a new backing is not adhered first.

Paper born art suffers from two common ailments. The first of these is acid burn, a staining around the edges of the painting as a result of light and air touching the print. The lignen in the paper pulp mat will oxidize, releasing a gas on the edges into the frame environment, much like a gas chamber. Even if the artwork is created on rag paper, these wrong materials in the chamber will acidify and change the pH of the paper, causing it to darken. The second malady is foxing, named after the little brown spots that emerge on the paper. The acidity from the gas inside the frame's chamber reacts with trace minerals deposited in the paper, creating brown spots that leave holes. Literally, acidity rusts the minerals. There are a number of approaches to mending the problems, depending on the combination of atrocities: spot treatment, bleaching, de-acidifying, lacquer thinning, and bath washing are just a few. For bath washing, the broadest coverage, the art

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