Vibration

Laura Downey <lldowney [at] aol__com> writes

>A curator has contacted me with a question concerning possible
>detrimental effects of musical instruments played in the galleries
>of his museum. He has not noticed any problems with the collection
>(which includes both oil on canvas and panel paintings, sculpture,
>and works on paper), but is concerned to avoid any possible damage.

In regard to the question of potential damage to collections from
live concerts in galleries, it depends on what you mean by concerts.
It is hard to imagine that the music of a string quartet would
create problems, but loud amplified music, the kind that you can
feel as well as hear, is a different matter. In combination with
very vibration-sensitive material, like Paracas textiles or
extremely brittle paper, small-scale damage from vibration is a
definite possibility.  If you look carefully, many things, like
pendants from chandeliers, can be seen moving when someone walks
across a gallery floor.  Some exhibition cases move slightly.
Quantification is certainly difficult, and swaying objects do not
necessarily represent damage, but large amplifiers are certainly
powerful things.

B. Appelbaum



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                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:60
                   Distributed: Friday, May 26, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-13-60-005
                                  ***