In September 2024, ArtsNational’s Patricia Robertson Fund, in partnership with the AICCM offered me a generous mid-career conservation scholarship to attend a masterclass by Professor Ambra Giordano entitled Agar Spray: New Applications of Rigid Gel for the Treatment of Large Surfaces. In this case, the scholarship helped foster a conservator living in a remote regional area – the Northern Territory – a place I have called home for the last 16 years.
As conservators, we are aware of the toxicity of chemicals and WHS requirements to protect ourselves and the people around us when treating artworks with chemicals that may affect our health. Safer, sustainable pathways for cleaning large paintings, frescoes and objects in public spaces are increasingly available and it was refreshing to attend a masterclass that shared some of these. The masterclass was held on the top floor of the Baroque-style Palazzo Butera in Palermo, Sicily. This was a two-day intensive that revealed the secrets of agar and how to apply agar gel with Professor Giordano’s refined technique, providing me with a green application for cleaning large paintings in public spaces, minimising risk to the public and staff.
Masterclass Presenter, Professor Ambra Giordano Day 1 Theory Lecture. Photo: L. Nolan
Professor Giordano, with over 20 years of experience, teaches in the Art Conservation Department at the Academy of Fine Arts of Napoli and specialises in custom-made agar rigid gel and its application for conserving fragile paint, frescoes, murals, and plaster sculptures. She holds a BA in art conservation from the Academy of Fine Arts and Restoration of Palermo, a master’s degree in the conservation of paintings from the University of Palermo and a master’s degree focusing on ‘Biology for the Knowledge and Conservation of Cultural Heritage’ from Roma Tre University. She also collaborates with the Research Laboratory of Biology and Biotechnology for Cultural Heritage at the University of Palermo and shares her knowledge nationally and internationally.
Studio lab set up Day 1. Photo: L. Nolan
In the masterclass, students attended Professor Giordano’s morning lectures where we evaluated agar as a cleaning system with her methodical research, experimentations, comparisons and findings. The study included an evaluation of biopolymers, their history of production, characteristics and the mechanical properties of agar and agarose within their chemical structure. The study also explored how osmosis cleans the surface when a rigid gel is applied in a timely manner, its flexibility, how water release and temperature affect the gel’s application to an artwork’s surface and how agar gel attaches to the paint surface, forming a pattern viewed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The key findings were shared by Professor Giordano during the lectures.
Masterclass Presenter Professor Giordano with attendees in the Palazzo Butera.
Photo:
Palazzo Butera Staff member
Lunches were held at Le Cattive restaurant, perched 5m above the historic city walls and offering a view of the Tyrrhenian Sea. We enjoyed traditional cuisine including pasta, peperonata, salads and meats.
Marija’s holding Agar film after removed from wall’s surface. Photo: L. Nolan
In the afternoons, we spent time making the agar gel and spraying it onto various material surfaces using Professor Giordano’s ergonomic and innovative technique. Working together in the lab highlighted the process of making agar gel, preparing for the spray application, using the spray gun to apply the gel at the preferred thickness and understanding when and how to remove the agar gel, film leaving the artwork’s surface clean.
View from the Butera Palace onto via Butera south – west with Rocca Busambra (Rock
Peak) in the distance. Photo: L. Nolan
A tour of the palace grounds revealed many interesting frescoes and hidden architectural features. We met with Claudio Gulli, head conservator, who discussed the restoration of the 18th -century Palazzo Butera, which took place between 2016 and 2020. The palace opened to the public with the owner’s art collection in 2021 and incorporated the building’s elements with nature, such as the roots of a blossoming jacaranda tree displayed through a blue-and-white-tiled water channel.
Agar Spray Masterclass
2024. Photo: Palazzo Butera Staff member
I learnt so much about agar and its structural and mechanical properties, how temperature can cause issues if the application is not carried out in the correct season (if there is no air-conditioning) and why the agar gel self-attaches to the paint surface, which was viewed under SEM.
Living in remote Australia can be quite isolating and the importance of attending practical and theoretical masterclasses to keep updated on techniques and meet with peers is integral to my art conservation practice. I was fortunate to connect with conservators from the Tate, the Vatican, Lithuania, Sweden, Portugal, Croatia, Belgium, Poland, Los Angeles, The Hague and around the Netherlands, France and the Ukraine. We shared our ideas and knowledge with a focus on improving our conservation practices. We all left full of enthusiasm to purchase our new equipment so we can practise the agar gel technique for the treatment of significant large artworks in a safer working environment. Thank you ArtsNational, the Patricia Robertson Fund and AICCM for awarding me the 2024 mid-career conservation scholarship, enabling me to continue my professional development overseas.