Workshop on Modular Cleaning Program

Modular Cleaning Program
Seattle Art Museum
Seattle, Washington
March 12-16, 2012

<URL:http://www.conservation-us.org/courses>

Instructor: Chris Stavroudis, conservator in private practice, West
Hollywood, CA

Registration fee:  $500 AIC Members; $750 non-members

Participation for this workshop is by order of registration and is
limited to 14 participants.  Participants must have professional
experience in conservation or have completed substantial study, and
have a working knowledge of basic laboratory procedures and safety.
FAIC reserves the right to cancel the registration and make a refund
to those not meeting these requirements.

Scholarships are available for AIC Professional Associates and
Fellows. Additional scholarships may be available for members who
are U.S. citizens or residents.  All scholarship applications must
be received by February 15.

Description:: The Modular Cleaning Program is a systematic approach
to cleaning works of art utilizing water-borne systems, solvents,
solvent gels and emulsions. This five-day workshop will provide
conservators with a series of concentrated aqueous stock solutions,
modular solvent gels, and the materials to mix a range of emulsions
and microemulsions. The provided database, "The Modular Cleaning
Program," assists the conservator in formulating and combining stock
solutions which allows the conservator to create optimized cleaning
solutions for more precise and tailored treatments.

The workshop consists of approximately 2 days of lecture
interspersed into the hands-on workshop. The lectures present the
scientific underpinnings of aqueous and solvent solubility theory in
as non-technical terms as possible. The goal is to make the
participants comfortable with the theoretical underpinnings of
cleaning and give them tools to manipulate that knowledge to
customize cleaning systems. The more precisely a cleaning system can
be matched to a particular cleaning challenge, the better the
success of the overall conservation treatment.

Participants will have the chance to apply what they have learned
during lectures at lab time. Initially, the participants will mix
the stock solutions, both contributing to the set of solutions they
will take back to their studios, but also getting comfortable with
mixing solutions, using pH meters, and seeing how pH affects the
chemistry of the materials we use.

While the instructor is a paintings conservator, the theories and
solutions can be. and are being. applied to many different
conservation cleaning problems. Treatments on and discussion about
other art materials are welcomed and benefit everyone as these allow
the theory to be better understood.

The Modular Cleaning System is offered as both a practical tool and
an opportunity to integrate theoretical and material properties into
daily conservation practice. The database uses calculations based on
physical constants to formulate the stock solutions and allows the
conservator to specify new cleaning mixtures.

Objectives This workshop will help participants to:

    Integrate the theoretical and material properties of cleaning
    into daily conservation practice.

    Understand complicated chemistry of use to the experienced
    conservator.

    Understand and make practical use of aqueous cleaning, solvent,
    solvent gel, and emulsion theories.

    Prepare stock solutions and utilize the computer database to
    formulate cleaning strategies.

    Alter cleaning solutions for individual works of art.

    Customize their cleaning approach by learning how to shift the
    pH or add a chelator or surfactant.

Rationale and Impact: Dirt, varnishes, and surface alterations can
interfere with or even obscure the images of paintings, creating an
image nothing like that intended by the artist. Degraded coatings
can cause aesthetic and even physical damage to the painting if not
safely removed. Much damage has been done to artwork by well-meant
but poorly executed cleanings. More sophisticated cleaning
techniques, not just in paintings conservation, but in all
specializations, allows the conservator to be more selective in
their intervention. Unlike much of the practice of modern
conservation, cleaning is not reversible. It is incumbent on all
conservators to wield the tools used in cleaning with the most
precise and delicate touch. When a cleaning of any object is
undertaken, the most nuanced and subtle cleaning system affords the
best outcome, allowing current and future scholars to discern
important new insights into the artist, the cultural milieu of the
time, and the ability to better critically evaluate the specific
artwork in its context. The Modular Cleaning Program offers a
tested, easy-to-understand methodology for selecting appropriate
cleaning methods for a wide variety of surfaces.

Travel and Housing: Information about recommended hotels and driving
directions will be provided to registrants prior to the workshop.
For information about Seattle, including airport shuttles and public
transportation, please go to <URL:http://visitseattle.org>.
Information about the Seattle Art Museum can be found at

    <URL:http://www.seattleartmuseum.org>

This program is funded by the FAIC Endowment for Professional
Development, which is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
and by contributions from members and friends of the American
Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works

Without this support, the registration fee would be $1,050

Special thanks to Nicholas Dorman and Seattle Art Museum

For more information, contact:

    Abigail Choudhury, Development and Education Associate
    Foundation of the American Institute for
       Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
    1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 320
    Washington DC20005
    202-661-8070
    Fax: 202-452-9328
    Courses<-at->conservation-us<.>org


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:32
                  Distributed: Monday, January 9, 2012
                       Message Id: cdl-25-32-010
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