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First Aid for Art:
108 pages
When catastrophe strikes art objects, action needs to be immediate and focused. It also needs to be the right action, designed to minimize damage, halt further deterioration, and preserve a record of the nature and extent of the damage and the recovery efforts applied. First Aid for Art: Essential Salvage Techniques was inspired by the quick-reference format of the emergency instructions found in airplanes, as applied to the problem of providing instruction for individuals or a recovery team to instantly begin applying practical salvage techniques in the aftermath of a catastrophe. The resulting handbook is a concise response to a gap in knowledge which, surprisingly, has not previously been addressed. The chapters cover the recovery treatment of twelve types of objects, from art objects such as books, photographs, paintings, works on paper, and electronic media, to items of more specialized interests such as botany specimens, paleontology specimens, and study skins. Among First Aid for Art's array of practical advice are tips on what to expect and what to do, as well as notes on unsuspected physical and chemical hazards, the ever-important prevention of mold and mildew, and tips for triage in situations where some of the collection must be abandoned so that other items may be preserved. Written simply in a practical handbook format, and containing the advice of nine conservation professionals, First Aid for Art provides the non-specialist with the sensible advice needed to start and strategize the recovery process. The most common type of disaster to which an object is vulnerable while still retaining potential for recovery is water damage, and the actions in First Aid for Art focus primarily on response to materials that have become drenched, soaked, waterlogged or simply damp. (Select tips in individual chapters cover other types such as smoke damage or vandalism.) The five subheadings in each chapter, under which material is organized in easy-reference, bullet-point list format, provide details on the physical properties of the item, common damage to be expected, supplies to have on hand, criteria for deciding what to treat first, and specific steps on what to do. Opening with details on 'Properties' provides a necessary foundation for any recovery effort: the care a water-soaked item receives within the first 48 hours is a critical factor in maintaining it in a condition suitable for restoration, but that care must be in accordance with the effect water has on the particular attributes of the individual object. Both 'Properties' and 'Common Types of Damage' show what to expect under these conditions, describing numerous characteristic problems and damage: water can swell and weaken books, wedging them tightly onto the shelves while at the same time increasing their fragility; photographs may stick together as damp reactivates their emulsion; parchment or works on paper may be ruined by staining as inks or pigments bleed into surrounding areas. Also in these sections are warnings of less well-known hazards, both physical and chemical, of which any recovery effort would be well advised. Books, for instance, if wet in quantity, may exceed not only the supporting capability of the shelf they are on, but the floor of the building as well, meaning one should tread carefully if entering a scene of large-scale flooding; early study skins may have been prepared with arsenic, a poison, and should always be handled with protective gloves. Aside from minimizing direct physical damage due to swelling, rippling, or distortion, the most immediate concern in any recovery effort is heading off the growth of mold and mildew. This is the most common blight to be expected when dealing with waterlogged items, developing as quickly as within 48 hours of the initial damage, and especially pernicious in things such as books or furniture, where water may penetrate deeply, making dampness difficult to expose or dislodge. In nearly all cases one must dry the object as quickly as possible and within the 48-hour window, often under controlled conditions to prevent severe warping (as when treating the wooden stretchers which serve as the foundations of a painting). If this is not possible the next line of defense is to place the item in 'suspended animation' by freezing until proper care can be rendered -- but only if appropriate: wet books and papers may safely be frozen; paleontology specimens, videotapes, and CDs or DVDs should never be. First Aid for Art assists in navigating these particulars with this and other advice on handling, storage, and the like in the subheading 'What To Do'. As it also points out, mold is a hazard to humans if present in quantity, and 'Supplies: What You Need and Why' includes not just items needed to directly preserve the damaged articles, but notes as well that respirators and other safety gear should always be worn if mold is present. Other advice, reiterated in each chapter so that each may stand alone as a complete reference for any recovery effort, involves the necessity of maintaining both written and visual records of the proceedings. Such records include notes on the original placement of objects on the shelf, accurate labeling on the boxes items go into so it is always clear what has been placed where, and both written and visual logging of the emergency care steps taken as a reference to what was done, including documenting with video or camera. Recordkeeping and documentation can be helpful in the event of insurance claims, but primarily serves as a reference to the damage itself and what has been done to treat it, should the restoration effort require ongoing conservation. A further aspect of the advice offered is criteria for doing triage, in other words, how to decide what to salvage when you or your team cannot possibly salvage it all. Triage tips include notations on determining what needs to be saved now and what can be set aside for later, as well as criteria to apply in deciding what should be saved if there is more than can be saved all at once. Whether the item is fragile or durable, stable or unstable; considerations of uniqueness or value; and the extent and nature of damage are among the recommendations in making these important choices. The editors and contributing authors are all professional conservators, many of them specialists, with credentials including tenure at or work done for institutions such as the J. Paul Getty Museum, The Frick Collection, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Several chapters have, as well, been adapted from material previously published for museum conservation reference. First Aid for Art is therefore no mere 'popular' book, but rather a distillation of wide-ranging professional experience in these very specialized fields. Special sections on 'If Your Building Is Damaged', discussing pre-emergency preparation and post-emergency safety, and 'Useful Web Sites' with thirty-three links to information on disaster recovery, health and safety, preservation, and suppliers, complete the book with additional resources. As the editors note, catastrophe is inevitable. Art treasures and family treasures alike are vulnerable to flood, hurricane, or the mundane calamity of a water-swept family room. Paintings may tear or puncture as their stretchers distort, books (as anyone knows who has dropped one in the tub) will ripple, distort and warp, photographs stick, and much of this damage can be minimized, dealt with, and restored with proper initial care. First Aid for Art fills the need for a detailed, accessible reference for the rapid kind of salvage response needed to preserve artifacts within those critical 48 initial hours of damage. Most available texts of this kind deal with ongoing conservation rather than emergency response; others are available only to museums or professionals. None encapsulate so many kinds of recovery information on both common and uncommon media in a single handbook. For artists, collectors, the family keepers of generations of photographs and memorabilia, indeed anyone who has photographs, books, specimens, or other materials of personal or professional value, First Aid for Art: Essential Salvage Techniques will be a welcome essential reference. --Katherine R. Lieber Katherine R. Lieber has edited ArtScope.net's Visual Arts reviews since 1998. Ms. Lieber is Editor and Associate Producer for ArtScope.net.
Editorial Note:
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