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Abstract
This project aims to understand how surface polishing affects different materials in the context of art conservation. These materials include both those used in the creation and preservation of art objects, and those used to house and display them in a museum. Conservators at SBE Conservation and Cooper Hewitt have been working on two series of art objects, Still Life #46 and Still Life #54 by Tom Wesselman, for the past 6 years. The two sculptures are identical with the difference being that those from the Still Life #46 series were backlit while the others were not. Working with conservators from the Cleveland Museum of Art and Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, we are investigating characterization methods to rapidly and quantitatively evaluate polishing protocols to preserve these art objects. These sculptures are made out of plastic, specifically cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB), which is commercially known as UVEX. These sculptures, made in the mid 1960s, have scratches and abrasions from time and wear that need to be polished and conserved. There are three polishing materials (Novus 1, Novus 2, and Novus 3) used in three different combinations that have been tested in this study.
Symposium Date
Fall 12-1-2012
Keywords
art conservation, data analysis, optical profilometry
Disciplines
Chemistry
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Lavin, Sarah, "Height and Light: Optical Profilometry Characterization for Conservation of Abraded Plastics" (2012). Intersections Fall 2020. 1.
https://commons.case.edu/intersections-fa20/1