Proceedings of seminar on biodeterioration

The following proceedings have just been published and are available
through Yale University Press. Price is $65.00. ISBN #0-300-10482-0
(it will be in the YUP, Fall 2004, catalog and on their web page
soon).

    Art, Biology, and Conservation:
    Biodeterioration of Works of Art

    Edited by Robert J. Koestler, Victoria H. Koestler, A. Elena
    Charola, and Fernando E. Nieto-Fernandez

    We think of great art as a timeless and treasured presence in
    our world, but the truth is that art, like almost everything
    else on the planet, is subject to biologically caused
    deterioration. In June 2002 the Metropolitan Museum of Art
    sponsored its first-ever scientific symposium, and it looked at
    just this problem.  The meeting's focus, "Art, Biology, and
    Conservation," brought close to 40 scientists and conservators
    together to discuss ways to control the deleterious interaction
    of living organisms with works of art and cultural property.
    ABC2002, as the meeting was known, looked at the different types
    of biological attack-from bacterial to fungal to insect-and
    considered the best ways to arrest it while preserving both the
    artwork and conservator health.

    This volume contains the proceedings of that conference.  Richly
    illustrated, it is divided into sections on stone and mural
    paintings, paper, textiles, wood and archaeological materials,
    treatment and prevention, and special topics.  The artworks and
    cultural properties discussed span world history and geography,
    and include, among many others, Paleolithic cave paintings, the
    Tudor warship Mary Rose, Tiffany drawings, oil-based paintings
    and pastels, huts built by early Antarctic explorers, Hoover
    Tower at Stanford University, and a collection of toothbrushes
    taken from Auschwitz victims and used today as a historical
    testament.  All of these were deteriorating because of microbial
    attack, and the various methods used to stop that attack and
    prevent further damage are detailed.  Micrographs give an
    insight into art that is not usually available.  A fascinating
    endnote takes a different tack from the rest of the book and
    looks at ways in which fungi, one of the scourges of
    conservators, actually benefit humankind in many ways.

    Robert J. Koestler is a research scientist at the Metropolitan
    Museum of Art.

    Contents:

        Director's Introduction
            Philippe de Montebello
            Director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

        Acknowledgments

            Robert J. Koestler
            Research Scientist
            The Metropolitan Museum of Art, symposium chair

        Special Topics

            The Evaluation of Biodeterioration Processes on Cultural
            Objects and Approaches for their Effective Control
                Th. Warscheid

            Preserving the Timbers of the Tudor Warship Mary Rose
                A.M. Jones, R. Mouzouras, A.J. Pitman, and
                S.B. Pointing

            Biodeterioration Studies on Pastels and Oil-Based
            Paintings
                M. Berovic

            Chemical and Microbiological Causes of Deterioration of
            Toothbrushes That Used to Belong to Prisoners of
            Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp: Research and
            Methods of Their Conservation
                A. Strzelczyk and H.E. Rosa

            Collateral Damage: Anthrax, Gas, and Radiation
            D. Erhardt, C. S. Tumosa, D. von Endt, and
                A.M. El-Easely

        Paper

            An Introduction to Tiffany Studies
                A.M. Baldwin

            Studies of Fungal Infestations of Tiffany's Drawings:
            Limits and Advantages of Classical and Molecular
            Techniques
                M.P. Di Bonaventura, R. DeSalle, D.E. Eveleigh,
                A.M. Baldwin, and R.J. Koestler

            Enzymatic Approach to Removal of Fungal Spots from
            Drawings on Paper
                F.E. Nieto-Fernandez, S.A. Centeno, M.T. Wypyski,
                M.P. Di Bonaventura, A.M. Baldwin, and R.J. Koestler

            Artworks, Drawings, Prints, and Documents-Fungi Eat Them
            All!
                H.M. Szczepanowska and A.R. Cavaliere

            Practical Applications of Enzymes in Paper Conservation
                Y. Van Dyke

            The Need for Baseline Reference Levels for Fungal
            Structures and Beta-Glucans
                M-L.E. Florian

        Textiles

            Characterization of Bacteria Isolated from Naturally
            Aged Silk Fibroin
                O. Ciferri, M.E. Becker, and E. De Rossi

        Stone and Mural Paintings

            Microbial Communities in Caves: Ecology, Physiology, and
            Effects on Paleolithic Paintings
                L. Laiz, J.M. Gonzalez, and C. Saiz-Jimenez

            Red Stains on Carrara Marble: A Case Study of the
            Certosa of Pavia, Italy
                E. Zanardini, P. Abbruscato, L. Scaramelli,
                E. Onelli, M. Realini, G. Patrignani, and C. Sorlini

            Microbial Processes in the Deterioration of Maya
            Archaeological Buildings in Southern Mexico
                C. McNamara, T.D. Perry, M. Zinn, M. Breuker,
                R. Muller, G. Hernandez-Duque, and R. Mitchell

            Microbiodeterioration of Mural Paintings: A Review
            J. Karbowska-Berent

            Methodological Approaches to the Study of Stone
            Alteration Caused by Cyanobacterial Biofilms in Hypogean
            Environments
                P. Albertano

            Study of Microbial Communities Colonizing Hypogean
            Monument Surfaces Using Nondestructive and Destructive
            Sampling Methods
                C. Urzi, F. De Leo, P. Donato, and V. La Cono

        Wood and Archaeological Materials

            Deterioration in Historic and Archaeological Woods from
            Terrestrial Sites
                R.A. Blanchette

            Degradation Patterns in Waterlogged Wood and the
            Two-Step PEG Treatment for Large Archaeological Finds:
            The Case of the Bremen Cog
                P. Hoffmann

            The Conservation of the Wooden Objects from Gordion,
            Turkey: Methods for the Treatment of Dry Archaeological
            Wood
                E. Simpson

            Deterioration and Conservation Issues Associated with
            Antarctica's Historic Huts
                B.W. Held, R.A. Blanchette, J.A. Jurgens,
                S. Duncan, and R.L. Farrell

            Evaluating the Wooden Remnants of the Tektas Burnu
            Shipwreck
                J.A. Jurgens, R.A. Blanchette, and D.N. Carlson

        Treatment and Prevention

            Visual Assessment of Biocide Effects on Japanese Paint
            Materials
                J. Suzuki and R.J. Koestler

            Anoxic Eradication of Fungi in Wooden Objects
                C. Tavzes, J. Pohleven, F. Pohleven, and
                R.J. Koestler

            Microbiological Impurity of Conservation Treatment
            Waters
                V. Bullock

            Consequences of Microbe-Biofilm-Salt Interactions for
            Stone Integrity in Monuments
                E. May, S. Papida, and H. Abdulla

            Mechanisms of Microbial Calcium Carbonate Precipitation
                C. Barabesi, E. Tamburini, G. Mastromei, and
                B. Perito

            Biomediated Calcite Precipitation for the Reinforcement
            of Monumental Stones
                P. Tiano, S. Bracci, and S. Resci

            Biological Mortars: A Solution for Stone Sculpture
            Conservation
                G. Orial, Th. Vieweger, and J.-F. Loubiere

            Biocides and Treatment of Stone: Limitations and Future
            Prospects
                M. P. Nugari and O. Salvadori

            The Use of Metallic Oxides in Control of Biological
            Growth on Outdoor Monuments
                D.P. Wessel

        Endnote: In Defense of the Fungi
            A.R. Cavaliere

        Contact Addresses
        Author Index

The full citation is: Koestler, R.J., Koestler, V.R., Charola, A.E.,
and Nieto-Fernandez, F.E., (Eds.), 2003. Art, Biology, and
Conservation: Biodeterioration of Works of Art. The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York. Yale University Press. New Haven, 576pp.
Price is $65.00 ISBN #0-300-10482-0 (will be in their Fall 2004
catalog and on web page soon)

Robert J. Koestler
Ph.D. Research Scientist Science Group
Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
212-396-5390
Fax: 212-570-3858


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 17:66
                 Distributed: Thursday, April 15, 2004
                       Message Id: cdl-17-66-005
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