Informatics for Preventive Conservation at Restored Monuments Exhibiting Artworks

Authors

  • Konstantinos Stoupathis Greek Ministry of Culture, Makrigianni str., 10556 Athens, Greece

Keywords:

Bio climatic Design, Preventive Conservation, Contemporary Art, Museum Environment, Heritage Informatics

Abstract

The key issue raised in this paper concerns the absence of an institutional framework for the operation of the buildings with the condition of preventive conservation of the modern collections. The main interest of curators focuses on the restoration of the monument in order to be "functional" and accessible rather than to the provision of facilities that will prevent the deterioration of contemporary works (two-dimensional paintings, in-situ installations, sculptures, video projections, etc.). Secondly, the monuments cannot always provide possibilities for a controlled microclimate. The fact that the exhibits are modern, made of technologically advanced or recycled materials - sometimes not original ones but replicas - should not preclude the practical application of preventive conservation measures. The paper also discusses available software solutions and technologies that can be used to monitor and manage environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, light exposure, and air quality. Some software solutions commonly used for such purposes are presented. Author also opines that an exhibition regulation is necessary regardless of the bio climatic design of the buildings or solutions for climatic control used.   

Author Biography

  • Konstantinos Stoupathis, Greek Ministry of Culture, Makrigianni str., 10556 Athens, Greece
    Konstantinos Stoupathis has MA in Museology from the University of Athens and MSc in Post Modern Theory of Conservation of Contemporary Art from Nicosia University, Cyprus.  He is presently working in the Folk Art Museum of Athens (Conservation Department) under the Greek Ministry of Culture. He has taught Art Conservation at the Technological Educational Institute of Athens, the Technological Institute of Zakynthos, and at other organizations. Has expertise in conservation of murals woodcarvings and leather/paper shadow theatre collections and numismatics

References

Brooks, M (2011). Sharing conservation ethics, practice and decision-making with museum visitors In J. Marstine (ed.) The Routledge Companion to Museum Ethics : Redefining Ethics for the Twenty-First Century Museum, 332-347. Taylor & Francis Group: London (2011).

Duilio, M; Moyano-Mercander, P and Gomez, A (2022). Reusing maintenance-monitoring data on preventive conservation. Ge-conservación Journal, nº 22, pp. 130-138 (2022). Ge-Grupo Espanol de Conservacion-IIC. https://ge-iic.com/ojs/index.php/revista/issue/view/23 (last accessed 2023/1/17).

Eastop, D (2011). Conservation practice as enacted ethics. In J. Marstine (ed.) The Routledge Companion to Museum Ethics: Redefining Ethics for the Twenty-First Century Muse-um, pp.426-444. Taylor & Francis Group, London. Pages 437-438.

Golfomitsou, S (2020). Conservation in the 21st Century. Materials, concepts and audiences. In: D. Kimmel & S. Bruggerhoff (eds.), Museums-Places of Authenticity?, pp.89-96. Propylae-um, Heidelberg.

Gwynne, R (2011).Variable materials, variable roles: the shifting skills required in contemporary art conservation. In: Objects Specialty Group Postprints, 18, 2011, pp. 105-112. The American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works, Washing-ton. http://resources.culturalheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2015/02/osg018-10.pdf, last accessed 2022/12/10.

Huber, C (2020). Expanded Interiors, bringing contemporary site-specific fine-art practice to Roman houses at Herculaneum and Pompeii. In N. Cass, G. Park and A. Powell (eds.) Contemporary Art in heritage spaces, pp.133-148, Routledge: London & NY.

Kuhne, A., Kirch, L (2010). Some thoughts on the changing presentation and preservation of modern and postmodern art. in U. Schadler , A. Weber (eds.) Theory and practice in the conservation of Modern and contemporary art, pp.120-134. ?rchetype, London.

Kyung, A and Cerasi, J (2020). Who's afraid of Contemporary art. Thames & Hudson Ltd, UK (2020).

Lorenc, J; Skolnick, L and Berger,C (2007). What is exhibition design? Rotovision SA, UK.

Macdonald, S and Goncalves, A.P.A (2020). Conservation principles for concrete of cultural significance. Getty Conservation Institute: LA. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Susan-Macdonald-5/publication/344694783_Conservation_Principles_for_Concrete_of_Cultural_Significance/links/5f89e8d6a6fdccfd7b658a43/Conservation-Principles-for-Concrete-of-Cultural-Significance.pdf (last accessed 2022/12/4).

O'Doherty,B (1999). Inside the white cube. University of California Press: Berkley/LA/London.

Oliveira, N; Oxley, N and Petry,M (2003). Installation art in the new Millennium. Thames & Hudson, London..

Riegl, A (1996). The Modern cult of Monuments: its essence and its development, in N. Stanley-Price, M. Kirby-Talley, A. Melucco-Vaccaro (eds.) Historical and Philosophical Issues in the conservation of Cultural heritage, pp.69-83. The Getty Conservation Institute, LA.

Sakellariou, A. (2010). Proliptikí syntírisi: kalýteri tis therapeías! Archaiología&Téchnes, 175, 47-52 .

Smithson, R (2009). Cultural confinement, 1972. In A. Alberro & B.Stimson (eds.) Institution-al critique, an anthology of artist's writings, pp. 140-142. Institute of Technology, Massachusetts .

Stamatopoulou, E (2010). Vioklimatikós schediasmós Politistikón-Ekthesiakón chóron, Mou-seíon kai Istorikón ktiríon, Archaiología kai Téchnes, 114, 96-102. .

Stamatopoulou, E (2010). Vioklimatikós schediasmós Politistikón-Ekthesiakón chóron, Mou-seíon kai Istorikón ktiríon, Archaiología kai Téchnes, 114, 96-102.

Stolow, N 91987). Conservation and Exhibitions. Packing, transport, storage and environmental considerations. Butterworths, London.

Veiga, M.R and Carvahlio, F (2000). Experimental characterisation of lime based rendering and re-pointing mortars, definition of relevant laboratorial and in situ tests. ?n: Raphael Comarech, Compatible Materials recommendations for the preservation of European Cultural Heritage, pp. 151-162. Association of Civil Engineers of Greece, Athens.

Xavier Brunetaud, Livio De Luca, Sarah Janvier-Badosa, Kévin Beck, and Muzahim Al-Mukhtar (2012). Application of digital techniques in monument preservation. European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering (2012).

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

2023-12-20

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 4 (2023): Heritage Informatics

Section

Articles

License

Submission of a manuscript to IS indicates that the work is original, has not been previously published (except as an abstract, lecture, or thesis), and is not under consideration by another journal. By submitting, authors affirm that their manuscript meets the journal’s ethical and editorial standards and that they agree to the terms of copyright and licensing upon acceptance.

Once accepted for publication, authors grant IS the first publication rights to the work. However, authors retain full copyright of their content and remain the legal owners of their intellectual property.

IS provides open access to all published articles six months after the release of the respective volume. Once the embargo period concludes, articles are made freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This license allows users to share, adapt, and reuse the work in any medium or format provided that appropriate credit is given to the original authors and the initial publication in this journal.

The journal's delayed open access model supports global knowledge dissemination, ensuring that research is accessible without financial or legal barriers. Authors are also encouraged to archive their published articles in institutional repositories, personal websites, or other platforms, with full citation of the journal version. Pre-print versions posted online should include a citation and link to the final published version in IS as soon as the issue is available; post-print versions (including the final publisher's PDF) should include a citation and link to the journal's website.

All materials published in the IS website are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution license, unless otherwise noted.