Characterization of first writing art work in Italy and evaluation of coatings for its protection

Abstract

The artistic Writing movement, which began in the United States of America in the XX century and later arrived in Italy in the 1980s, utilised products available on the market or sponsored directly by spray paint manufacturers. The behaviour in the outdoor environment of these paint systems and the possible degradation phenomena of writings were not considered until recently when research has focused on understanding the degradation processes of synthetic binders and pigments, in particular in relation to the outdoor environment, and evaluating possible consolidating and protective materials. This project focuses on writing work in Quattordio, Piedmont, Italy. The work was created in 1984 by the artists Phase2, Delta 2, Ero and Rammellezee. Ero, Delta 2, Rammellzee and Phase 2 grew up and started their activities as artists in various areas of New York in the 1970s and 1980s; they all became international artists. Phase 2 was an African American artist; he has been active since the 1970s and developed the "Bubble style" a momentous transition for the movement, and he introduced arrows to decorate letters. The municipality of Quattordio and the Paint company “Industrie e Venici italiane (I.V.I)” commissioned the artists. I.V.I. company used to produce paints and sprays and sponsored the event. The artwork has been brought to light recently and preliminary restoration work was carried out using a nano-silica-based consolidating agent by restorer Elena Astolfi, Arte Restauro Conservazione Srl. Anyway, the state of conservation of the writing requires the application of a protective coating.

This project involved two consecutive phases: - The first step focused on the characterization of the samples from the writing in Quattordio using a multi-analytical approach. This phase was crucial to understanding how materials degraded over time when exposed outdoors.

- Phase two of the project involved the production of mock-up samples using materials commercially available and used by street artists. Next to this, also protective products were selected taking into consideration their availability and used in the field of conservation. The mock-ups were subjected to natural and accelerated ageing (UV light, relative humidity 80 %) to evaluate their degradation processes. For this study next to microscopic observation, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) and External Reflection mode (ER-FTIR), Raman Spectroscopy, Fibre Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS), Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GS-MS), Contact angle, Spectro-Colourimetry were employed. The aim is to identify the paint materials used by artists and their degradation phenomena. Further, we evaluated the protective products and their behaviour in natural and accelerated ageing, for future conservative intervention.