Conservation
I currently have my painting “Waterfall”, in the 2009 Bay Area Annual at the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica, CA. This show was curated by the Joanne Northrup, Chief Curator of the San Jose Museum of Art in San Jose, CA. Yesterday I attended her juror talk. First Joanne got up and spoke about herself, her background etc. and then she gave a short talk about the work in the show and those who received awards, and what went into her choices of awards. After that each of us who were artists in attendance stood by our work, and first Joanne, and then the artist would talk about the work.
When it came my turn, Joanne commented on how the work had an Chinese landscape reference, that she thought the work was well done, but asked me why I had glazed the painting. I said that as the painting had been oil on paper, and then mounted on a paneled stretcher bar, it had been recommended by the maker of the strecher bar, John Anenesley, that I varnish the painting to protect the work. He recommended that I varnish the painting with a gloss varnish first to seal in the color and then to go over it with the satin, which is what I told him I preferred. Because the framing, varnishing and delivery of the work all took place within a very short time, I didn’t have time to put the satin coat on before delivery to the show. Joanne seemed to think that it was not necessary to varnish the work and preferred the way my image look that I had submitted for jurying as the textural quality of the marking was more evident and that the varnish had somehow evened out the surface. We talked some more later on, me talking about my concerns regarding preserving the work, my choice to have it mounted on board. We discussed showing work done on paper, and showing them in venues that request that work be mounted and ready to hang; hanging work on clips or with push-pins. Joanne thought the clip/push-pin idea would be good.
I’ve been thinking about this-and here goes the thinking; okay, say I do another painting on paper, show it with either push-pins or on with clips, don’t varnish it. Then the show comes down and then what? How do I protect the work from getting dinged or dirty or bent? If someone wishes to purchase the work, how are they going to show it, protect it? What if I have to store the work for some time, then what? I have older work that I didn’t stretch, work that was in shows, but they have gotten damaged due to difficult storing issues. And then, how does this discussion about varnishing jibe with what is a current trend that some artists are doing, which is covering their paintings with a heavy clear resin, thereby obliterating any brush marks, but giving the work an impermeable surface.
I haven’t figured out why resined works are perfectly acceptable, when varnished work wouldn’t be or why work on paper would be considered better hung on clips instead of mounted? I am trying to understand what goes into curatorial considerations as to what constitutes a contemporary approach-