Related Materials
Articles
"Repairing transparency, recovering the image: Research and testing fill materials and methods for conservation treatment on photographs face-mounted with poly(methyl methacrylate)" by Ann Laganà, Sarah Freeman, Julia Langenbacher, Rachel Rivenc, Maëlle Caro, Vincent Dion, and Tom Learner. In Topics in Photographic Preservation Vol. 18 (2019), pp. 108-22.
Conference Papers
"The Future of Looking Younger: A New face for PMMA. Research into fill materials to repair poly (methyl methacrylate) in contemporary objects and photographs" by Anna Laganà, Julia Langenbacher, Rachel Rivenc, Maëlle Caro, Vincent Dion, and Tom Learner. In ICOM-CC 17th Triennial Conference Preprints, Copenhagen, 4–8 September 2017.
"Looking through Plastics: Investigating Options for the Treatment of Scratches, Abrasions, and Losses in Cast Unsaturated Polyester Works of Art" by Anna Laganà, Rachel Rivenc, Julia Langenbacher, John Griswold, and Tom Learner. In ICOM-CC 17th Triennial Conference Preprints, Melbourne, 15–19 September 2014.
"The L.A. Look from Start to Finish: Materials, Processes, and Conservation of Works by Finish Fetish Artists" by Rachel Rivenc, Emma Richardson, and Tom Learner. In Preprints of ICOM-CC 16th Triennial Conference, Lisbon 19-23 September 2011.
GCI Newsletter Articles
Conservation of Plastics Issue (Spring 2014)
Less is More: Exploring Minimally Invasive Methods to Repair Plastic Works of Art (Spring 2014)
POPART comes to the GCI (Spring 2012)
GCI–Disney Collaboration (Spring 2010)
Modern and Contemporary Art Issue(Fall 2009)
Video
Icons of Plastics
Head of Science Tom Learner led a conversation with experts in the field who are grappling with issues related to the conservation of design objects made with plastic materials.
Key Publications
Books, Journals, and Conference Proceedings
Conservation of Plastics: Materials Science, Degradation and Preservation by Yvonne Shashoua (2008), Oxford: Butterworth- Heinemann
Future Talks 009: The Conservation of Modern Materials in Applied Arts and Design edited by Tim Bechthold (2011), Munich: Die Neue Sammlung, The International Design Museum
Future Talks 011: Technology and Conservation of Modern Materials in Design edited by Tim Bechthold (2013), Munich: Die Neue Sammlung, The International Design Museum
Future Talks 013: Lectures and Workshops on Technology and Conservation of Modern Materials in Design edited by Tim Bechthold (2013), Munich: Die Neue Sammlung, The International Design Museum
Plastics: Collecting and Conserving edited by Anita Quye and Colin Williamson (1999). (pages 55–69) Edinburg: NMS Publishing Limited.
Plastics in Art: A Study from the Conservation Point of View by Friederike Waentig (2008), Petersberg, Germany: Michael Imhof (originally published as Kunststoffe in der Kunst, 2004)
Plastics in Art: History, Technology, Preservation edited by Thea van Oosten, Yvonne Shashoua, and Friederike Waentig (2002), Munich: Siegl
Plastics: Looking at the Future and Learning from the Past, Papers from the Conference Held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 23–25 May 2007 edited by Brenda Keneghan and Louise Egan (2009), London: Archetype Publications
Preservation of Plastic Artefacts in Museum Collections edited by Bertrand Lavèdrine, Alban Fournier, and Graham Martin (2012), Paris: Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques
PUR Facts: Conservation of Polyurethane Foam in Art and Design by Thea van Oosten (2011), Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press
Saving the Twentieth Century, the Conservation of Modern Materials: Proceedings of a Conference, Symposium '91, Saving the Twentieth Century, Ottawa, Canada, 15 to 20 September 1991 edited by David W. Grattan (1993), Ottawa: Canadian Conservation Institute
Key Websites
Bewahren der DDR-Alltagskultur aus Plaste
Caring for Plastics and Rubbers, Government of Canada
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kunststoffgeschichte
From Research to Restoration
Future Talks
How Plastics Are Made, American Chemistry Council
ICOM-CC Modern Materials and Contemporary Art Working Group
Identification of Plastics by Looking, Touching, and Smelling, Victoria and Albert Museum
International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art (INCCA)
Modip
Know, Name, and Access your Plastics, Design Museum Gent
New research project on the identification and conservation of plastics in The Netherlands
Plastic Identification Tool
Plastics Historical Society
Plastipedia, British Plastics Federation
Polymers Project, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands
POPART
Terminology for Conservation of Plastics
Getty Research Library
For further information on this subject, explore Getty Research Library materials in Library Catalog.
Page updated: June 2017