A fantastic July 4th weekend has left me sunburnt, voiceless (as in, I literally lost my voice– probably from singing along to the “Thriller” album…twice) and helplessly behind in my art reading…but this gem caught my eye:
Slate posted a fascinating article by Sam Kean that describes the plight of museum curators in fighting the odorous disintegration of artworks executed decades ago in the medium of plastic, thought then to have a generations-long lifespan. The essay outlines the creation of new plastic products, too, that are meant to be bio-degradable and are finding their way in contemporary artists’ toolkits.
A Naum Gabo sculpture housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is described as looking like “Tupperware that had gone through the dishwasher too often” and other decomposing pieces are said to range in smells from “burnt hair” to “rasberry jam.”
Clearly, this is a serious issue for institutions seeking to record our cultural history; just a few of the noteworthy artists who have worked or currently work in instrinsically-unstable plastics include Eva Hesse, Duane Hanson (see pictured above), Matthew Barney and Jeff Koons. I guess it makes sense, then, that much of the money going into research for new curatorial techniques and solutions to this problem comes from insurance companies responsible for museums’ holdings.
I wanted to say “those plastic sculptures are sweating like a whore in church” in this posting, but just couldn’t find the right moment.
Thanks to Meg (who is diligently studying for the Bar exam in Cleveland– emerge soon!) for the tip.
