The Conservation of Plastics in Artworks

This presentation will give a brief introduction to what is meant when we use the term plastics.

It will outline:
– The history of their development
– Where they are found in art and heritage collections
– How they behave or degrade
– A history of plastics conservation or preservation
– Current practice in the preservation of plastics

Introduction to plastic materials, explaining what plastics are and their classification according to the morphological and structural aspects of the different types of polymers (thermoplastics, thermosets and elastomers). Function of additives. Relationship between the structure and composition of plastic materials and their behaviour and properties. Fossil-based, bio-based and recycled plastics. The plastic materials market.

Plastics, and by extension polymeric materials, became ubiquitous in our daily lives during the 1960s and 1970s and, at the same time, artifacts made partially or entirely of natural and synthetic polymers began to appear in collections and museums dedicated to science and technology, modern history, design and, above all, to modern and contemporary art. 

On the other hand, due to their intrinsic nature, polymers are much more prone to degradation and ageing than more traditional materials, even in the conditions normally found in museums. Although they form part of different types of collections, it is above all the durability of modern and contemporary artworks, partly or completely made with plastics, that is especially relevant, both for society and for professionals directly involved in their conservation. In this sense, it is worth highlighting the worse ageing of sculptures (including collage and installations) compared to paintings, possibly due to the widespread use of commercial materials developed for applications and purposes very different from those that interest the artist, who is more focused on aesthetics than on the durability of the work of art.

This presentation will present the tools and methodology necessary to confront the problem of artworks made partly or completely out of plastic, through various examples. More specifically, the application of a methodology to evaluate the state of conservation and predict the durability over time of contemporary artworks will be taught, as well as the application of a new technique to detect early ageing.

In October 2022, a Plastic Identification Workshop was given to the employees at MACBA. Since this workshop took place, we have worked on several research topics related to the preventive conservation of plastics. In this presentation we will show how we further investigated the smell of plastics and will share new studies and experiences regarding the storage of plastics.

The MACBA Collection is currently made up of almost 7,000 works of various typologies and constituent materials. In order to guarantee the correct conservation of the works that contain some form of plastic polymer, it is necessary to carry out a preliminary and exhaustive identification process.

This project, currently in its initial phase, aims to identify these works in order to implement the most appropriate preventive conservation measures.

In addition, the technological innovations applied in the Department of Conservation-Restoration of the MACBA Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona have become palpable by automating various processes, adapting them to a new digital reality. In this presentation we will discuss how the Coeli tool can be useful with the implementation of a technological innovation project that will help with decision-making applied to the conservation and restoration of plastic polymers in works from the collection.