View of the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona,
showing its location in the Plaça dels Àngels
The use of a range of materials that are commonplace in everyday life but not quite so prevalent in the world of art means that conservators-restorers need to be armed with knowledge that goes beyond artistic methods. Therefore, it is essential to work in a multidisciplinary team formed by a curator, a coordinator, a conservator-restorer, a sound technician, an image technician, a chemist, a biologist, a geologist, etc. Likewise, the composition of some of the materials used implies that a work of art will be subject to rapid deterioration that is hard to detain. Here in particular we could talk about all organic materials such as toast, Serrano ham, meringues, chocolate, commonplace plastic parts, tyre rubber, etc. In addition, contemporary works of art tend to travel and are handled quite often. It is therefore easy to understand how some of them rapidly deteriorate. Some artists are aware of this process and accept it. Some even include it in their works. For example, let's take Joan Brossa's visual poem entitled "Poema-objecte" of 1956 (mixed technique, 116 x 26 x 26 cm, from the Catalan Government's Col.lecció Fons d'Art), whose brush has got considerably thinner with the artist's consent.
However, some artists would rather have parts of their work replaced as they deteriorate. Those parts are sometimes provided by the artists themselves or occasionally by a delegated person. Some examples of this option are Christian Boltansky, Tony Cragg, Anthony Gormley, Perejaume and others.
Thus, we are faced with a work-of-art concept that is different from the one we are used to: the dematerialization of the work, where the idea takes precedence over the materials. Here it is not a question of conserving a work in which the artist's hand - physically speaking - is always present, since works of this nature are often only installed "in situ" by the artist on the first few occasions. After that, an art dealer, an assistant, a curator or a museum conservator-restorer is responsible for doing so in line with the artist's instructions. As Boltansky said, "What many artists have done since the beginning of the 20th century is to finally establish certain rules of the game. Those rules of the game, which are a bit like musical scores, can be performed by others, and it's nice for a work of art to be open, continuous, changeable,..."(Various Authors Colloque Conservation et restauration d'art contemporain, La Documentation française, Paris 1992, pages 40-44).
In those cases, the most important thing for many artists is to conserve the idea that they want to transmit through their works and not so much the originality of the materials themselves.
However, after the death of an artist , the main problem is deciding what to do.
One tries to get in touch with someone that was close to him who has an in-depth knowledge of his work and, if possible, his conservation criteria. If that is not possible, a conservator-restorer and an art historian have to take the decision. And, as we all know, too much caution is never enough.
Ephemeral works are an extreme case in hand. Those works are designed for a specific space and are expected to disappear once the exhibition is over. Let's take the works by Ignasi Aballí, which incorporated dust on a wall, or the murals by Sol Le Witt, which could be created and displayed in a range of spaces, both ephemeral and exhibited. In Sol Le Witt's case, the works came with the respective certificate of authenticity. Other examples are the works-installations created by several artists like Ignasi Aballí, Daniel Buren, Tadashi Kawamata, Perejaume, Rosie Leventon and others for the exhibition entitled "Mirades (sobre el Museu)", held in the MACBA from 28 June to 24 September 1996. In that case, each artist created an intervention in the building of the Museum. At the end of the exhibition, those interventions were removed once and for all.
Close collaboration with the artist, whenever possible, and teamwork involving the exhibition curator, coordinator, installers and others have led to an increase in terms of the work that a conservator-restorer has to do. An example of that is the interpretation of the artist's instructions for the creation of a work.
We understand that one of the main functions of a conservator-restorer is - forgive the obvious - to conserve cultural heritage for future generations. If that involves the partial replacement of a work, can the artist's instructions always be followed? What happens when a problem arises after the artist's death? Furthermore, let's consider that the replacement items are usually supplied by the artist himself. It is very probable that a time will come when he does not have any left or is no longer with us. So who should choose? His wife, his son, his art dealer?
Depending on the type of works involved, some are obviously destined to disappear in a relatively short period of time, even though the artist might suggest partial replacement. The life of other works will be extended by replacing parts until the time comes when there is no direct testimonial or parts cannot be found. The most likely thing that will happen in that case is that it will end up being given the same treatment as a 12th-century piece, for example.
We have seen that contemporary art museums contain works whose compositions are very diverse. As such, each material requires a particular amount of light and a particular type of light.
Nevertheless, we must also consider that the light the artist wants for his piece may not be the best one for the proper conservation of it. Likewise, that piece might be part of an installation, might need to be exhibited inside a display cabinet, might need to be treated like a painting hanging on a wall... or might even be a particular type of work or one that changes in accordance with decisions taken by the artist. For example, let's take the installation by Antoni Miralda entitled "Holy Food", which is shown differently each time. So, we could say that the lighting requirements in contemporary art are not only determined by the conservation needs of the piece in question but also by the concept that the artist has of his work and the function he gives to it. Following those steps, the determining factors involved in lighting contemporary works of art would be:
