Treatment of Plastics
Instructor: Caitlin Richeson, David Booth Assistant Objects Conservator at the Museum of Modern Art
Caitlin Richeson demonstrating filling a scratch on a PMMA sample
Goals for the seminar:
- Become familiar with the different types of plastics found in museum collections.
- Become familiar with commonly used adhesives/consolidants, fill materials, and tools for treatments on plastic objects.
- Gain an understanding of the preservation challenges of plastics and compare preventive vs. interventive strategies.
- Have ethical discussions about preserving artist intent, working with living artists, and other difficult scenarios when working with modern and contemporary art.
Photo: Nicole Chausse
Test samples made by me (right) and classmates. The aim of this exercise was to test the effectiveness of adhesives for gluing plastics together.
Photo: Nicole Chausse
Me and classmate, Kiki Peters, making fills on PMMA sample tiles