Argelac

I have had an enquiry from a curator of a local university gallery
which is currently holding an exhibition "Fluxus in Germany
1962-1994: A long story of many knots", curated by Rene Bloch and
Gabriete Knapstein.  The exhibition is touring from Germany and
sponsored in Australia by the Goethe Institute.  The artists include
Joseph Beuys, John Cage, Dieter Roth, among many others.

The curator found samples of "Argelac", in fabric bags inside the
travelling crates.  The origin of the material appears to be
Germany, as all the information on the bags is in German. The
curator believes that "Argelac" is a moisture/ humidity absorbing
material.

I am not familiar with this material and wonder if anyone on the
DistList can inform me about its composition, and how and when it is
used, or if there are any restrictions on its usage.

Can the the "Argelac" samples be reused when the exhibition travels
to its next venue, or should they be reconditioned to a specific
relative humidity? And, finally, should we need to purchase more
"Argelac", does anyone know of a supplier, preferably in Australia?

Caroline Fry
Paintings Conservator
The Conservation Centre
57 Cherry Lane,
Laverton North, 3026
Victoria, Australia


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:57
                   Distributed: Tuesday, May 16, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-13-57-008
                                  ***