The Contingency of Conservation: Changing Methodology and Theoretical Issues in Conserving Ephemeral Contemporary Artworks with Special Reference to Installation Art

Lizzie Frasco, College '09, Art History, Visual Studies Non-Traditional Methods for Non-Traditional Art: Conserving Art in the 20th Century Art conservation as a practice of preventing change in a useful way has recently begun to change with the more ephemeral nature of the material that increasingly characterizes late 20th-century art. Today’s neon lights, foil, newspaper, synthetic paints, soil, glue, and Magic Marker have not been tested for durability or chemical stability. Their uneven and unpredictable rate of degradation further complicates their analysis and evaluation during conservation. What are the current technical, historical, and ethical challenges in contemporary art conservation, and what do they tell us about the chances for the long-term survival of this art?