Author : Claire Guérin
Abstract :
With the increasing number of temporary exhibitions devoted to Pablo Picasso, the specifications of a transport crate have become a crucial point in the preservation of works on loan. Today, the performances of the crates allow to control the thermo hygrometric changes, the absorption of vibrations and the shock resistance in order to preserve as much as possible the works painted on different supports during transport. However, it remains very difficult to assess the actual condition of the works at the time of transport. Indeed the fatigue of the materials which causes the breakage of the pictorial layer remains delicate to appreciate with the naked eye.
In this context, the importance of the courier’s qualification is essential for the quality of a crate to be effective because it is necessary to have knowledge of the work, the risks related to the materials used, its condition, its loan history and an understanding of the specifications of the transport crate in order to optimize the quality of its handling.
Also, the importance of monitoring the health of the exhibition site when repackaging works is paramount. Today we are confronted with the dangers of the mutualisation of convoys, the frequency of loans, the constraints of competitive public procurement, subcontracting and compromises. The implementation of « personalised » training and procedures remains a challenge for the preservation of works.
Keywords: crate, courier, handling, exhibition, training, climatic frame
The temporary exhibition :
According to Jonathan Ashley-Smith, the risks are four times greater for an object that travels than for an object that remains permanently exposed. They occur during transport, on a repetitive, cumulative, or sudden basis: rapid climate changes and unsuitable or even extreme climates, mechanical shocks, vibrations…
Is Picasso still a victim of his success? seventy one Picasso exhibitions opened around the world in 2017.
We have seen an acceleration of diffusion in recent years; the works are in constant movement. Especially the favourite works that do not have time to go home to rest.
We have entered into a partnership system, for mass loans, and the time of preparation and intervention is increasingly limited between each exhibition.
We are also witnessing a cultural change, with permanent collections becoming « temporary collections » within the museum to make them more attractive. This implies internal movements that become dangerous depending on the structures and availability of the teams.
The technique of works in movement :
Picasso mixed in his paintings oil paint, glue, wax, standolies, gouache, ink, watercolour, charcoal pastel, felt pen, wax pencil… on different types of supports.
He used ready-to-use canvas, which had initial tension defects, industrial preparations that he « redesigned » with various primers, coloured, lean or fatty preparations, with or without respect for the rules of fat on lean.
There are pictorial layers with complex stratigraphy, executed under sometimes extreme environmental conditions, as well as the reuse of painted canvases at various levels of drying and fouling. He sometimes reworked on incomplete pictorial layers.
The alterations :
This execution history influences the state of conservation of the works and can lead to physico-chemical reactions during the movement of the works on loan.
In addition, there is the history of storage and presentation conditions as well as the history of loans.
During the movements we must take into account the alterations such as open cracks, the risks of cleavage of the thin pictorial layers on fatty preparations, the loss of plasticity from pictorial layers with Standolies, the pictorial layers which are still deformable and sticky……
The preparation of the works :
Many risks can be reduced by preparing the works. The choice of interventions depends on the risks identified: sensitivity of the collections, fragility, nature of transport, destination, etc.
It should also be taken into account that restoration interventions can create a change of state in the support and the pictorial layer. They can generate new sensitivities like the sensitivity of acrylic products at 10°C and unknown risks.
With regard to the movement of works, we must establish procedures to save time in an era of « shortcuts ». Indeed, for risk assessment and control, time is of the greatest importance. Anticipating the actions to be taken therefore makes it possible to « control » the risks identified and reduce the « unforeseen » ones. The compartmentalization of services and outsourcing hinder the dissemination of information. It is therefore essential to prepare your mission well.
A successful movement thus requires the transmission and sharing of information, so that everyone is aware of the different parameters to be mastered and can choose the right decisions.
Errors reported in exposure reports, particularly when there has been no damage, increase the list of known risks.
Risk assessment :
If we study the « nail to nail » manipulations of an object on loan, distinguishing three stages: the choice and preparation, the conveying with the installation and the uninstallation with the return of the works to their museum; we have on average forty-five manipulations of the object without cash register and fifty-five manipulations of the object in its case.
When the exhibition travels to several places of reception, and travels by air, it is necessary to take into account the multiplication of operations, due, for example, to the failure of the load in different airports concerned and their security rules, the nature of the accesses or the « filling rate » of the storage spaces (warehouses, rooms or museum reserves).
To install a painting, we sometimes have to work with six or seven different teams: transport, unloading and transfer to the rooms, unpacking, presentation for the situation of the work presented, and its installation. Each time the recommendations must be repeated.
When we organise a movement of the art work, we have to ask ourselves the right questions:
What?, Where?, When?, How?, Who?, Why? How many?
The condition report :
Before drawing up the specifications of the crates, knowledge of the works, their state of conservation and their health requirements is essential.
The preliminary condition report will thus make it possible to evaluate the fragilities likely to evolve and to determine the gripping areas useful for the handling of the works.
It is carried out in raking light to facilitate the identification of « visible » areas that are likely to change examination. However it still very difficult to establish the actual state of conservation of an object with a simple visual.
Moreover each examiner has his or her own interpretation of a visual aspect of the condition of a painting and many parameters can influence this interpretation sometimes even with the same examiner.
The fatigue of the materials :
It remains difficult to really know the condition of the object and to assess the fatigue of the materials used in the work and the restoration products when the measuring devices are not reliable and the information provided by the museums is not always representative of the real situation that the works are undergoing.
What about the verification of the effectiveness of assembly and hanging systems and the geographical location of works that can create micro-vibrations and cause mechanical damage to works?
The loan history is fundamental, as it identifies the risks already incurred. Hence the importance of reports in order to be able to register the invisible that can become visible.
The study of previous findings will shed light on the fatigue of materials: the suspicion of a passage from a pictorial layer of plastic to a state of rupture may lead to classifying a painting as one of the most sensitive, even untransportable, objects in a collection.
New control devices with multiple applications (safety, HR, T°, vibration…) and data that can be downloaded to mobiles are available on the market, but if they can be used for the loan of one or two works, what about « mass » loans?
They have a cost of purchasing price, maintenance and significant updates.
The real life :
If we look behind the scenes of temporary exhibitions, we realize that the stress suffered by works of art is exponential: in addition to the traditional risks during handling and transport, there is now also the new marketing management of audiences: the « spontaneous » influx due to tour operators, artistic performances, selfis, audio guides…
In addition, whether during installation or during sanitary surveillance: Can we really assess the condition of an object when there are four hundred works to be inspected, with or without a weekly closing day? It’s a repetitive and exhausting job.
The crates :
The perception of the risks incurred by a work is subjective; it is a question of situating oneself accurately, without under- or over-evaluating them. However, for many, « when you say crate, you mean protection » and vigilance is slackening.
Today we have a multitude of packaging techniques that can be used: stamping, cardboard box, wooden box, basic box, counter box which can have a double thermal insulation.
The possibility of quickly seeing the object without having to touch it will be useful for possible customs controls but also to check its condition after transport. This will be an opportunity to give unpacking instructions for sensitive works.
The materials of the thin thermo-reflective insulation type allow us to improve the insulating qualities of the boxes with a consequent benefit in volume and weight. It also facilitates the re-use of crates for extreme conditions.
The transport:
The use of control tools guides us on the actual levels of protection to be provided for works of art.
In air transport, the largest peaks recorded by vibration detectors occur during pallet handling and transfer, from the freight area to the tarmac and vice versa. Then come the takeoff and landing. Peaks are not very important during the flight.
In truck transport with pneumatic suspension, the peaks are mainly located during carriage or pallet truck movements and during loading and unloading.
In contrast, a complete air suspension absorbs shocks but tends to accentuate oscillatory movements type Z that can induce damage to works (for example, the relaxed canvas support of a painting can hit the crossbar of a stretcher or the mounting of works on paper can come off).
In this case the use of the inclined crate allows us to absorb this oscillatory motion.
Transport is the time when the most imponderables are encountered.
It must be ensured that the work protocols set by the company correspond to the recommendations.
Habits are indeed very difficult to change, especially without the presence of a courier.
It is difficult to control all operations where there is an increased growth in the outsourcing of operations and constant changes in security measures.
We must study the course of the works well.
The specific request for equipment:
It will be useful to specify the material and equipment required.
Requiring carts with air wheels (properly inflated) will avoid the use of unsatisfactory models. Indeed, the manipulations on trolleys are, according to the data-loggers’ recordings, the phases in which the work undergoes many types of vibrations.
Mutualisation :
In some condition of loans we can read that the courier must be familiar with the conditions of conservation of his own institution and the sensitivity of the works he is transporting.
He must be familiar with the crate and the packaging of the works in order to quickly assess the risks in the event of an incident during transport, and possibly to change the procedure.
It should not be forgotten that once the crate is closed, the courier will generally be the only one (from loading to unpacking) to know the work, its condition and its arrangement in the crate.
A world separates the theory of the courier guide with practice.
The courier was not always able to supervise the packing or make the condition report, at best he has photos and copies of the reports to familiarize himself with the works in movement. In case of mutualisation, it is rare for the courier to have access to this type of information, so we are into a system of supervision that could be described as at risk.
It should also be remembered that the participants (transporters and others) are also overwhelmed by work; temporary exhibitions are scheduled on the same dates all over the world.
In reality, the control of all stages is time-consuming, in the time of preparation and installation that we are given.
When a courier is responsible for a large number of works (sometimes sixty or more), a « standardisation » of instructions and handling is introduced, which does not make it possible to target the real risks of the objects transported. Also, museums do not always have enough courier to handle all loan requests and must call on external service providers to support them.
We then enter into a system of emergency planning: it becomes necessary to establish priorities and make compromises.
Thanks to the insurance values of some Picasso paintings ; the number of crates in a transport can be reduced, but other painted works are not always so lucky.
To know and understand :
Not only must we have read the file, but we must also try to understand the choices that have been made to make the right decisions when the unexpectedness happens. Sometimes it’s the attention to detail that makes the difference
On the other hand, it is always necessary to relate the required quality of the crate and its dimensions to a truck’s loading plan, taking into account the season and journey time. Are oversized super-insulated crates justified, for example, in the autumn season (15°C-23°C), for a four-hours journey, requiring the carrier to use two trucks when in the case of single crates only one truck would be sufficient?
We have to go back to the effectiveness against the spectacular
Overprotection to deal with the unexpected can lead to other risks.
What about the conservation of works that are packed in super-isothermic, totally waterproof and without buffer material, after having remained exposed several days in environmental conditions approaching 70% RH?
Conclusion :
What are the options available to us to minimize the risks and the failure mechanisms when Pablo Picasso’s paintings move?
Prioritize long-term loans over itinerant exhibitions.
Create a protective envelope around the work. Invest in well-designed enclosed frame (front and back) : the materials that make up the work should not act as a buffer material.
The enclosed frame (waterproofing or not) solves problems related to the manipulation, transport (reduce the Z mouvement), exhibition times ( restauration, variations of temperature and humidity, dust, spittle, the effectiveness of remote control and their risk, manipulations during packaging and unpacking..). Also, solves the risk due to the increase of the number of visitors in exhibition spaces that are not extensible (like the effectiveness of barrier or platform and its risks). It authorizes loans in defaulting reception centres. The installation of Stretcher-lining, wedges or « cushions » reduces the impact of vibrations.
Today there is a multitude of quality surface protections and all have a Ultraviolet filtered glazing (which allows us to focus on the problems of reduction of the amount of Lux). Also, most of the formats of Pablo Picasso’s painted works allow this.
As for the assistance in raising public awareness of measures to protect works.
It would be possible to develop the reuse of proven crates, with inter-museum agreements such as the exchange of display cases, and thus meet the policy of sustainable development.
Build company loyalty despite public procurement agreements and make it profitable to rent transport crates in order to have a sufficient budget to ensure the presence of a courier. Work with packers to improve the performance of rental crates to have « tailor-made » solution.
More than compromise, the human factor remains essential for risk reduction: the choice of intervenants and the recruitment of teams that must be united are essential.
Bringing skills and knowledge together in working groups means opening up a successful space where discussion, complementarity and a « personalised » network of help and advice conducive to the transmission of knowledge can be established with kindness.
Team spirit allows you to see solutions and solve problems.
We have the knowledge, a versatile and motivated staff, efficient transport crates, increasingly sophisticated control tools but we are missing time to make good associations, staff to meet demand and……
To dream but to act to preserve the cult of the original and not to pour, under the pretext of preserving the works, into the presentation of digital exhibitions.
Many thanks to :
Malek Zeggout, Reyes Jiménez-Garnica, Brigitte Lam, Marina Biron, Christine Pinault, Charlotte Piot, Antonio Ortega, Alberto Peinado, Laura Resina, Jaimie Sutherland, David Gonzalez, David Bernabé.
Bibliographie :
Ashley-Smith J., (1999) « Risk Assessment for object conservation», Butterworths
Hackney S., (1990) «Framing for conservation at the Tate Gallery», «The Conservator», n°14, p 44-51
Richard M., Marion F., Mecklenburg M.F., Merrill R., (1991) «Art in Transit, Handbook for Packing and Transporting Paintings », National Gallery of Art Washington
Marcon P., (2010) « Forces physiques », ICC, http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/
Saunders, D., (1999) « Packing case design and testing for the transportation », ICOM, p 100-105
Roche Alain, (2003) « Comportement mécanique des peintures sur toile : dégradation et prévention », CNRS
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