Assessing the (In)Stability of Urban Art Paints: From Real Case Studies to Laboratory Investigations of Degradation Processes and Preservation Possibilities
Urban art as a shared expression of street art between artists, citizenship and municipalities has always had an important role in the social life and appearance of modern cities. However, the durability of urban and street artworks is susceptible to the degradation processes that the employed comme...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Heritage |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/2/33 |
| _version_ | 1797486841599885312 |
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| author | Dafne Cimino Raffaella Lamuraglia Ilaria Saccani Michela Berzioli Francesca Caterina Izzo |
| author_facet | Dafne Cimino Raffaella Lamuraglia Ilaria Saccani Michela Berzioli Francesca Caterina Izzo |
| author_sort | Dafne Cimino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Urban art as a shared expression of street art between artists, citizenship and municipalities has always had an important role in the social life and appearance of modern cities. However, the durability of urban and street artworks is susceptible to the degradation processes that the employed commercial paint formulations undergo once outdoors. These are complex mixtures of compounds, differently sensitive to environmental agents according to their chemical nature. Starting from the colorimetric analysis of murals created in 2010, 2011 and 2018 in Reggio Emilia, Italy, documenting their degradation already after a few months, this study aimed at understanding the stability of the most unstable paints used by the artists in these artworks. A multi-analytical approach evaluated the commercial products under the chemical point of view, after natural and accelerated ageing. Additionally, two manufactured anti-UV varnishes were evaluated for their possible use as coatings. The results pinpointed the weaknesses of the selected paints and highlighted how the application of an anti-UV coating might slightly affect the visual aspect of the artwork, though ensuring a greater resistance to the outdoor conditions due to their minor chemical sensitivity to environmental agents. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:39:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6d9474274d1347788508ef4a1f29530c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-9408 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:39:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heritage |
| spelling | doaj.art-6d9474274d1347788508ef4a1f29530c2023-11-23T16:54:06ZengMDPI AGHeritage2571-94082022-03-015258160910.3390/heritage5020033Assessing the (In)Stability of Urban Art Paints: From Real Case Studies to Laboratory Investigations of Degradation Processes and Preservation PossibilitiesDafne Cimino0Raffaella Lamuraglia1Ilaria Saccani2Michela Berzioli3Francesca Caterina Izzo4Sciences and Technologies for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155/b, 30173 Venice, VE, ItalySciences and Technologies for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155/b, 30173 Venice, VE, ItalyCESMAR7-Centro per lo Studio dei Materiali per il Restauro, Viale dei Mille, 32, 42121 Reggio Emilia, RE, ItalyAN.T.A.RES srl, Via Aldo Moro, 24/a, 40068 San Lazzaro di Savena, BO, ItalySciences and Technologies for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155/b, 30173 Venice, VE, ItalyUrban art as a shared expression of street art between artists, citizenship and municipalities has always had an important role in the social life and appearance of modern cities. However, the durability of urban and street artworks is susceptible to the degradation processes that the employed commercial paint formulations undergo once outdoors. These are complex mixtures of compounds, differently sensitive to environmental agents according to their chemical nature. Starting from the colorimetric analysis of murals created in 2010, 2011 and 2018 in Reggio Emilia, Italy, documenting their degradation already after a few months, this study aimed at understanding the stability of the most unstable paints used by the artists in these artworks. A multi-analytical approach evaluated the commercial products under the chemical point of view, after natural and accelerated ageing. Additionally, two manufactured anti-UV varnishes were evaluated for their possible use as coatings. The results pinpointed the weaknesses of the selected paints and highlighted how the application of an anti-UV coating might slightly affect the visual aspect of the artwork, though ensuring a greater resistance to the outdoor conditions due to their minor chemical sensitivity to environmental agents.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/2/33street and urban artspray paintsacrylic paintsalkyddegradation of modern artanti-UV varnishes |
| spellingShingle | Dafne Cimino Raffaella Lamuraglia Ilaria Saccani Michela Berzioli Francesca Caterina Izzo Assessing the (In)Stability of Urban Art Paints: From Real Case Studies to Laboratory Investigations of Degradation Processes and Preservation Possibilities Heritage street and urban art spray paints acrylic paints alkyd degradation of modern art anti-UV varnishes |
| title | Assessing the (In)Stability of Urban Art Paints: From Real Case Studies to Laboratory Investigations of Degradation Processes and Preservation Possibilities |
| title_full | Assessing the (In)Stability of Urban Art Paints: From Real Case Studies to Laboratory Investigations of Degradation Processes and Preservation Possibilities |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the (In)Stability of Urban Art Paints: From Real Case Studies to Laboratory Investigations of Degradation Processes and Preservation Possibilities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the (In)Stability of Urban Art Paints: From Real Case Studies to Laboratory Investigations of Degradation Processes and Preservation Possibilities |
| title_short | Assessing the (In)Stability of Urban Art Paints: From Real Case Studies to Laboratory Investigations of Degradation Processes and Preservation Possibilities |
| title_sort | assessing the in stability of urban art paints from real case studies to laboratory investigations of degradation processes and preservation possibilities |
| topic | street and urban art spray paints acrylic paints alkyd degradation of modern art anti-UV varnishes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/2/33 |
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