Conservation of Yves Klein Blue

Yves Klein's Venus Blue. Before and After Treatment

The majestic deep shade and brilliance of the ultramarine blue pigment has conquered the heart of artists and viewers of the Western world since the medieval illuminated manuscripts from c.1100. ‪Natural  Ultramarinus (lapis lazuli), which literally means: "beyond the sea” was imported from Asia, more specific from the quarries of Badakhshan, northeastern Afghanistan. According to Marco Polo’s description, the finest blue azuri “…appears in veins like silver streaks”. Due to its vibrant shade, unmatched by any other blue, the pigment was more valuable than gold during the 13^th century and beyond. Renaissance artists such as Giotto and Cimabue reserved the precious stone pigment for the Virgin Mary’s mantel or the heavenly blue sky. A painting with ultramarine was a symbol of high status and imparted prestige to the rich art commissioners.

Synthetic ultramarine pigment was developed by different chemists between the late 1700's and early 1800's. The vibrant blue hue also captured the interest of modern and cotemporary artists, but no one revived the spirit of the mineral as Yves Klein did with his IKB (International Klein Blue). The French controversial artist, a “master of blue”, as he was sometimes referred, mesmerized the world with his intriguing monochrome paintings and three-dimensional works of art. In the search of a dazzling blue, and frustrated by the dullness that the natural binders conveyed to the pigment, Yves Klein sought the help of his friend, Edouard Adam. Together they found a chemist that was able to combine a polyvinyl acetate resin, called Rhodopas M, used for waterproofing maps, with the blue pigment. The resin allows the powdered pigment to retain its brilliance, its granular look and matt depths. Under the name International Klein Blue the pigment was patented in the 1960’s.

Preservation and Conservation of Venus Bleue (Blue Venus), the headless lady

Yves Klein’s pristine monochrome surfaces are very difficult to preserve. The original resin is not only fragile but, just like any opaque paint, the binder does little to protect the pigment close to its surface. The paint’s matt granular finish is extremely easy to smudge or abrade. In addition, they tend to trap air-born particles such as dust, which is very difficult to remove, even with a soft Japanese brush. Please follow my advice and do not attempt such an endeavor. It is better to leave it in the hands of a professional.

As a conservator, I worked on several Yves Kleins; all Venus Blue. Even though the three dimensional torso is a plaster cast and came from the same mold, they show slight differences. The preservation of these pieces present a challenge to any conservator. In terms of restoring the color, nowadays, vinyl-based copolymers, mixed with pigments, are being used to replace the original toxic Rhodopas M. In addition, I found out that cellulose ethers are a good alternative to replace the resin in the case of an already treated piece.

My best advice to preserve Yves Klein pieces is to keep them under glazing, such as a UV-treated plexiglass box. A climate control vitrine or frame can keep the artwork free from occasional abrasion and dust. But remember, these display cases are not 100% sealed. Never place Klein’s pieces close to a window or an air conditioning outlet, and always keep them far away from pollutants that may be coming from the kitchen. Also, keep in mind that you should never pick up Klein's pieces with your bare hands or even with cotton gloves. Nitrile gloves are much better.

More about art conservation (Viviana Dominguez at the Smithsonian Chanel)

* Yves Klein International Blue 

*Yves Klein at MoMa

 art.conservation.services@gmail.com

Wallpaintings Conservation Workshop. Lima, Peru

The Conservation of Wallpaintings Workshop (2012 and 2014) in Yachay Wasi Institute in Lima, Perú is an introduction to different types of wallpainting media conservation. Instructor: Viviana Dominguez

The syllabus included the history of wallpainting and its social and political commentary; building and construction materials; techniques and materials; environmental problems; and causes of deterioration. It also included writing diagnostic condition reports, conservation treatment proposals, and how to approach photographic documentations.

The 2012 workshop was four weeks long, 6 (six) hours a day. Mornings were dedicated to hands-on and the afternoons to the theory. 

The 2014 workshop was a 12 (twelve) hour webinar and a 6 day intense hands-on experience. The webinar was live and interactive. Participants were able to make comments during the class and they even presented their own Power Points on several occasions. 

Students at Yachay Wasi Institute's workshops are well prepared and have a very good understanding of the theory, ethics, and the science behind conservation. Most already work in the field, in archeological sites and museums, or in private practice which made my experience that more productive and unique. Participants came from all over Perú and Brazil and were very enthusiastic, contributing their own knowledge and experience to the class.

During the workshops students learned how to prepare lime for plaster and sketches for fresco murals. We created our own sample murals on the adobe walls of the institute using different techniques such as lime-based fresco, secco and tempera with animal glue. The students not only became acquainted with the materials but also with applying conservation treatments. 

Working on mock-ups, students learned about consolidating the mortar, repairing and filling of material losses, and impainting and retouching techniques. We were to make detailed observations under a microscope from small samples of a real mural.

We learned to prepare lime for plaster and sketches for fresco murals

On-site visits to survey murals in Lima were a highlight of the course. We visited the fresco paintings by Teodoro Nuñez Ureta (below) at the Tacna building and las Nazarenas.

El Huayno, fresco painting by Nuñez Ureta

The participants survey Ureta's mural. They wrote condition reports with photocumentation and did sketches to map damages on the surface.

Yachay Wasi Institute is very well located within the historic district known as el Barranco. The neighborhood is not only an enclave of original colonial National Patrimony but also a very hip and lively area with contemporary galleries and a great nightlife. 

Catedral de Lima (Basilica Cathedral of Lima)

Museo Pedro de Osma, Barranco - Perú ( Museum Pedro de Osma)

The students were very personable and invited me to join them at Pachacamac archeological site outside of Lima.

Group of participants. Behind: Recinto de Mamancones

Gianella Pacheco, one of the workshop's participants and conservator at Pacachamac, explained to us the benefits of using Tuna mucilage (a cactus gel) to consolidate wall paintings on earthen architecture.

Jessica, Gianella, Viviana and Alejandra during our second visit to Pachacamac 2014

Traveling continued towards the Northern coast to Trujillo where I had the pleasure of visiting other archeological sites from the Mochica culture.

Wallpaintings at Huaca de la Luna
Huaca del Sol y de la Luna sancturary

The mural of the Myths at Huaca de la Luna

El Brujo Complex and Huaca Cao Viejo where the Lady of Cao mummy was found. She was the first governess in Perú

Chan Chan, another great example of earthen architecture

Street art in the heart of downtown Lima

Back in Lima
Eastern Week celebrations 

Art in Public places. Sculpture made with recycling materials

Mother and daughter during Pascuas 

Burning incense

    

Conserving WPA Murals in Key West City Hall

Glynn Archer Elementary School Auditorium and Hoffman's Murals

Photo-documenting the mural. Workers building Florida East Coast Railway 

to Key West

William Hoffman, originally from Savannah, Georgia, was one of the many artists invited in the late 1930’s to beautify the city of Key West as part of a rehabilitation and beautification program to promote tourism. The large oil on canvas paintings were created on the walls of Key West High School and represent historic Key West scenes: the Spanish conquistadors arriving to “Cayo Hueso”, and the construction of the Florida Coast Railroad that ran from Jacksonville to the Keys.  Since 1936 the murals were the focus of attention for the students, teachers, alumni and parents, who today still hold fond memories of their time at Key West High School, now known as Glynn Archer Elementary. In 2013 the murals were removed due to remodeling of the structure completed by Bender and Associates. It will soon reopen as the new Key West City Hall. 

Mural of the Spanish conquistadors arriving to Cayo Hueso. Before treatment 

in school auditorium

Following the necessary conservation steps, I performed a thorough examination of the murals with the help of magnifier glasses using UV and raking lights while documenting their initial condition with a digital camera. Dark areas do not emit light while efflorescent areas do so the UV and raking lights help to distinguish old from new paint. The lights unveiled alterations, repairs, and over-paint that the naked eye cannot see. For example, students had left marks on the surface including scribbles, tags, and names or did additions to the drawings.

To the left the UV light radiation is showing old overpaint on the 

conquistador's clothing

Once I established the causes of deterioration, both inherent to the piece and related to the environment, I was able to determine the conservation protocol to be followed. The project was divided in three phases; the first one was focused on the stabilization of the murals and their safe removal from the walls. Furthermore, they were dry-cleaned and insect deposits were removed. 

Removing grass and insect deposit
 from the back of the canvas

The murals were then prepared for packing and rolled to a large hard cardboard cylinder protected with a non-woven synthetic fabric

Working on the auditorium's theatre stage

The second phase involved the more complex aspects of the treatment.  Murals were transferred to the Custom House Museum on Front Street for conservation.

One of the murals stored inside the Custom House Museum 

At the Custom House, a small room was prepared to store the murals. Now rolled in Sonotube, they were hung from the ceiling so that the painting’s own weight would not crush the paint layer. Thanks to the Key West Art & Historical Society and Museum Director Michael Gieda, one of the museum’s galleries on the second floor was rearranged and prepared to hold a conservation studio. The conservation phase began a few months later.

Inside the museum's gallery where the conservation of the murals took
place. One of the murals is facing down . The artist tested his color-
pallete by brushing paint on  the reverse of
the painting (see reverse of canva.
The new stretcher is being placed.

Phase two at Costume House Museum

The photograph shows areas where insects 

ate through the canvas

New wood mechanical stretchers arrived from California to re-stretch the murals as the old ones were warped and in very bad condition. The conservation team dry-cleaned the reverse of the canvas several times, and holes produced by termites were secured by mending them with canvas fibers. Strip lining was necessary on the bottom edges where the short tacking canvas wouldn’t provide enough fabric for proper stretching.

Repairing holes and canvas losses

Removing fiber markers scribbles with a solvent rolled
 with cottons swabs

We then cleaned the overall surface with special conservation dry sponges. Mechanical methods, such as scalpels, were used to remove scribbles painted on the surface.  Solubility tests were needed in order to determine the appropriate aqueous cleaning solution for the removal of the more sturdy painted tags and the over-paint. In many areas, a solvent-gel solution was also necessary.

Planar distortions were flattened with moisture and pressure. Scratches and abrasions were filled with a vinyl type mixture, and the color losses were retouched (impainted) with a stable and reversible resin-pigment mixture. 

Preparing the color pallets for inpainting losses of 

paint layer

Three coats of a varnish with UV stabilizers were applied to protect the surface from the light and air-borne pollutants.

The arm of one of the workers with paint losses

The worker's arme after imprinting

Applying a coat of retouching varnish

Framing in Paradise (Susan and Bobbie D’Antonio) handcrafted brand new frames from wood and were colored with patina. For transportation purposes the frames were specially fabricated so that they could be easily disassembled and re-assembled.

Selecting colors for inpainting losses

Consolidating flaking paint

After almost a year of being exhibited at the Custom House Museum, the murals were once again moved. The move and installation was very challenging and was graciously completed with the efforts of contracted professionals, volunteers, and county staff. The murals are presently being appreciated at the Key West International Airport. 

Filling losses

After inpainting losses

Conquistador's face covered with yellow paint

After removing overpaint and color touch up

Mural after treatment with new frame

Removing the mural from Custom House Museum

Installing murals at Key West International Airport

Shoring one of the murals during the installation at the airport

Securing mural to the wall

One of the murals now housed at the Key West International Airport

Phase three will be the re-installation of the two murals at the auditorium of the newly Key West City Hall that is still undergoing remodeling.

 Acknowledgment

Rennie Disrud-Joris, Viviana Dominguez
and Stephanie Mora (left to right)

Conservation Team:

Viviana Dominguez, Chief Conservator/Project Director

Stephanie Mora, Conservation Technician
Susann D'Antonio, Artist
Tom Joris, Artist/Restorer
Rennie Disrud-Joris, Artist

Moving and installation team:
Torch Art (Bobbie and Susann D'Antonio)
Collaborators:
Elizabeth S. Young, Florida Keys Council of the Arts Executive Director
Key West International Airport Staff

Specials thanks for their support to :

Bert L. Bender, Architect at Bender and Associates
Key West Art Historical Society
Michael Gieda, Director at Custom House Museum
Staff at Custom House

Bobbie D'Antonio, Elizabeth Young, Susann D'Antonio

Michael Shields, Key West Art in Public Places Board
Nance Frank, Director Gallery on Green
Daina Katubi
Nancy Bender
                                                     

Michael Shields, Stephanie Mora, Viviana Dominguez, Susann D'Antonio

photograph: Nancy Bender

Tom Joris and Viviana Dominguez

Bert L. Bender