2:30 – 3:00 p.m. Re-thinking the Cleaning of Claes Oldenburg’s Floor Cake
Margo Delidow, Sculpture Research Fellow, The Museum of Modern Art; and Cynthia Albertson, Paintings Research Fellow, The Museum of Modern Art
Just in time for dessert, this unique treatment of Oldenburg’s Floor Cake (Giant Piece of Cake) brought together objects and paintings conservators at the Museum of Modern Art to investigate the painted sculpture’s treatment history and develop methods for re-treatment.
Well organized and clearly presented, the duo provided images of the artist with a number of his painted oversize food artworks, created for the Green Gallery, NYC show in 1962. Since acquisition by MoMA in 1975, Floor Cake has been heavily exhibited including extensive travel, and has undergone at least two treatments, one of which involved surface cleaning using chelating agents.
The project was approached scientifically, using optical microscopy to reveal the artist’s technique, including changing the color/flavor of the cake ‘drop’ a number of times. FTIR was used to examine the original canvas fibers for evidence of cleaning residues from the previous treatment. The pH and conductivity of the surface dirt were measured in order to concoct the appropriate Modular Cleaning Program solution. Cleaning solutions were developed based on the results of considerable research done by Chris Stravroudis and others as presented at the Cleaning of Acrylic Painted Surfaces: Research into Practice (CAPS) colloquium held on July 7-11, 2009 at the Getty.
The treatment of this object provided a useful practical application of this research, including the investigation into different solution delivery methods (PVOH sponge vs. cotton swab). It was particularly interesting to see this acrylic painting treatment in the OSG session, as these types of surfaces are going to become increasingly problematic for sculpture conservators.
Additional information regarding this treatment, including future testing, can be found the the Museum of Modern Art conservation blog, INSIDE/OUT.