All have been used, over time, to attach an old canvas to a new one in order to conserve a painting. There have been issues with all of those materials, so in recent years, University of Akron researchers worked to improve conservators’ bonding options.
Their success has led to a new formulation of a synthetic adhesive that’s now the standard for conservators worldwide. Why did they need to? Because flour paste dries out. Wax resin can penetrate artwork and change its color. The synthetic adhesive, created in the 1970s, wasn’t up to par after 2007 when one of the ingredients in Berger Ethylene Vinyl Acetate, or BEVA 371, stopped being produced, said Dean Yoder with the Cleveland Museum of Art. An alternative had to be found.
The art community adjusted. Instead of the BEVA 371 solution, which was activated on a hot table, conservators used a formulation that required warming canvases to a higher temperature in order to make the substance tacky enough to stick two canvases together. But they were never really happy about it. It was a risk for heat-sensitive paintings, which could be damaged in the effort to save them. Now, the new concoction is getting raves from the art conservation community. BEVA 371 Akron, developed with the help of the university, is comparable to that first adhesive — and experts in the art community believe it improves upon it.
“I know there’s a sense of relief,” said Chris McGlinchey, a research scholar at the Conservation Center at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University, who directed the project. There were a lot of tricks to finding the right formulation for the new adhesive, said Ali Dhinojwala, the Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering professor at the University of Akron who led the research. It had to be sticky but not completely melted. It couldn’t permeate a canvas. And it had to be reversible, so when the new canvas deteriorated, the painting could be saved again. Plus, the ingredients for the new formulation had to be commercially available — a new material would be no good if its components couldn’t be found.
Dhinojwala said he started with about five potential formulations then narrowed the group down to three based on what temperature it was activated at. He started making test strips of canvas. Was it sticky? How did the peeling process work? Samples went to more than a half-dozen museums where conservators could try the substances and offer feedback. When there was a preference, more extensive testing helped solidify the formulation. Work was also done to make it more sustainable — while the original BEVA 371 was shipped in solvents or film, BEVA 371 Akron can also be shipped as a pellet and even as a fluffy, nonwoven fabric that can be applied to a canvas.
The research was funded by the Getty Foundation, which guaranteed the new formula wouldn’t be patented and would be made available to conservation groups. The intent wasn’t profit; it was access for people who need BEVA 371 Akron to ensure precious artworks sustain. Dhinojwala said this type of work usually takes decades, but this new formulation was completed in four years. It’s now the only adhesive made for this type of conservation. Dharamdeep Jain, who worked in roofing adhesives, completed his post-doc on the project. He said seeing the behind-the-scenes conservation efforts changed his perspective on how museums work.
News Courtesy : Signal Akron.