Designing Effective Treatment Strategies Workshop 2018

This workshop was held February 19–23, 2018, at the Getty Center.

The Conservation Institute has developed strong relationships with conservators who specialize in the treatment of outdoor painted sculpture, as well as paint industry professionals, paint applicators, and artists' estates and foundations. The curriculum for this series of workshops results from the combined expertise and interaction of this diverse range of professionals.

The workshop included lectures, group discussions, and site visits, as well as demonstrations and practical exercises. Due to the large scale of outdoor painted sculpture, hands-on activities were limited to local retouching. There were opportunities to look at objects off-site and discuss their condition and associated treatment options, as well as maintenance approaches. A site visit to a paint applicator was also included.

The objectives of the workshop were to provide conservators with the practical and theoretical tools to design effective treatment strategies for outdoor painted sculpture. As a result of the workshop, participants were better able to:

• diagnose coatings failure
• understand and select paint systems
• understand the pros and cons of different application methods carry out treatment logistics and planning
• exhibit the practical skills for local retouching when applicable
• work with the paint industry, paint applicators, and artists' estates and foundations
• apply various approaches to maintenance

• John Escarsega, US Army Research Laboratory
• Rosa Lowinger, Principal Conservator, RLA Conservation
• Abigail Mack, Sculpture Conservator and Principal, Mack Art Conservation, New York
• Nikki van Basten, Conservator of Modern and Contemporary Art, the Netherlands

• Stephanie Auffret, Project Specialist, Getty Conservation Institute
• Rachel Rivenc, Associate Scientist, Getty Conservation Institute