AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

The Harvard Art Museums are focusing on the preservation of their Barbara and Peter Moore Fluxus Collection after a recent survey revealed most of the works of art contain plastics, many of which are unstable. The Moores’ collection consists of 121 editions from the early 1960s through the late 1970s and includes prototypes, rare works, and variations of the same work.

Fluxus emerged in the early 1960s as a loosely organized international group of about 40 artists who challenged conventional ideas of what constitutes art. Fluxus rejected the notion that a work of art is unique and can only be created by a single artist. They produced collaborative works in a wide range of media including poetry, music, film, newspaper, books, performances, and objects mostly consisting of Fluxkits. The original group of Fluxus artists dissolved by the 1970s, but Fluxus continues today.

The majority of objects in Harvard’s Collection are Fluxkits, which are multiples produced in unnumbered, unlimited editions. Most take the form of small boxes with various contents, usually low-cost ready-made objects, and printed works on paper. The boxes were intended to be inexpensive alternatives to unique and valuable art objects and are interactive requiring the viewer to open them and handle the contents.

Caring for the Fluxus Collection is challenging because over 70% of the objects contain plastics. One Fluxkit can contain over 10 different plastics, and often includes one or more of the five most at-risk plastics that are deteriorating at an accelerated rate (cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate, rubber, plasticized polyvinyl chloride and polyurethane foam). These plastics are failing and their interactions with each other are causing damage. One of Fluxus’ main premises is that artwork is in constant flux so deciding how much intervention is acceptable for these objects is difficult.

The Museums’ preservation strategies will be presented and are driven by the Collection’s need to remain accessible for teaching and research. The bulk of the work is preventive to improve housing and separate different plastics from each other with Mylar to prevent further damage. Components are being kept together whenever possible, and only in a few rare cases have any been removed and housed separately. In addition, works of art are being filmed to capture their interactive nature, and existing and new artist interviews are being used to help inform how to care for the Collection. Finally, over 20 objects have been treated, some recently, but the majority were completed almost 20 years ago. These treatments will be revisited to see how both the repairs and the plastics have aged. Highlights will be presented from the treatments, which include surface cleaning, adhering broken elements, stabilizing cracks, and consolidating lifting veneers and paint. Case studies where no treatment was carried out will also be discussed. The high number of plastics in the Fluxus Collection makes its preservation challenging, but the work being undertaken at the Museums will allow the continued use of these objects and extend their lives further into the future.