The Second Project Consortium Meeting of the EU-funded project Nanorestart took place in London on 12–14 JuneÌý2017.
The Nanorestart project team at ºÚÁÏÉç, 14 June 2017
The first two days were hosted by University College London on its Gower Street Campus. Over 50 researchers and the project management team came together for their annual meeting to assess the progress and present the most recent researchÌýdevelopments.
The third and final day took place at ºÚÁÏÉç in the morning of 14 June. It started with a breakfast served in the Viewing Terrace of the Blavatnik Building, which sits at the top floor of ºÚÁÏÉç’s recent expansion by architects Herzog & deÌýMeuron.
Welcome speech by Pip Laurenson, Viewing Terrace, ºÚÁÏÉç, 14 June 2017
Professor Pip Laurenson, Head ofÌýCollection Care ResearchÌýat Tate, welcomed the guests underlying the role of Tate as a recognised independent research organisation and its advancements in the fields of conservation and conservation science, since the establishment of the Conservation Department in theÌý1950s.
The second part of the event took place in the exhibition room dedicated to Mark Rothko’sÌýSeagram Murals. This room brings together eight of °Õ²¹³Ù±ð’s murals, which were painted in 1958–9. On 7 October 2012 one of the paintings,ÌýBlack on MaroonÌý1958, was vandalised with graffiti ink. The visible damage was significant and as the painting was delicate, degraded and unprotected by glazing or a coherent varnish layer, the attack presented a serious conservationÌýchallenge.
Talk by Bronwyn Ormsby and Rachel Barker, Rothko’s Seagram Murals Room, ºÚÁÏÉç, 14 June 2017
Paintings conservator Rachel Barker and Principal conservation scientist Bronwyn Ormsby were part of the team that carried out theÌýsuccessful treatmentÌýof the painting, which was returned to display at ºÚÁÏÉç in 2014. Bronwyn and Rachel guided the Nanorestart team through a private view of Rothko’sÌýSeagram MuralsÌýRoom and gave a talk on the research and restoration that allowed the painting to be enjoyed once again by visitors from all over theÌýworld.
The Nanorestart research team will meet again in Autumn 2018 for the final Project Consortium Meeting and Conference. In the meanwhile researchers and conservators at Tate are continuing the work on the second case study, Roy LichtensteinÌýWhaam!Ìý1963, and are soon starting to work on the third case study, Eva HesseÌýAddendumÌý1967.
LuigiÌýGalimberti
JuneÌý2017