ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

There have been mishaps involving cleaners and art, reports Thomas Schulte-Marxloh in Germany.

Contemporary statues or installations are not only exposed on columns; they can cover walls or floors. Modern artists use perishable materials like meat, vegetables or fruits, some artists even use rubbish. The German common phrase ”Ist das Kunst oder kann das weg?” – “Is this art or can it go (in the trash)?” expresses both, the sometimes unusual materials or positioning of artwork and the sometimes reserved reception by the audience. In any case the cleaning of an exhibition room today can mean a real challenge for cleaning personnel.

As published by a broad range of media, in January a cleaning woman cleaned up an installation by the artist Romana Menze-Kuhn; the piece of art was exhibited in the Philippus church in the town of Mannheim and made of carton boxes and rescue thermal blankets. The artist was shocked to find the installation discarded in a rubbish bin.

Both artist and parish priest emphasised that the piece of art could clearly be identified as an ensemble of individual sculptures, some of them shaped like human bodies. Indignant artist Menze-Kuhn said: “I was seriously annoyed, this is disrespect. You can think about art what you want; but taking a hand in art, taking something away that has shocked me.”

The priest, embarrassed by the incident, explained  the respective cleaning woman was deeply ashamed however no further steps were taken against her. Menze-Kuhn explained that the artwork could not be repaired due to the delicate material of the rescue foil, however she integrated the bin and the destroyed foil into another piece of art.

Apart from natural forces, also careless handling or improper cleaning can ruin artwork. In order to clean oil paintings for example, various cleansing materials were used over the centuries, such as apples, beer, pumice stone, bread dough, butter, bleaching powder, egg yolk, vinegar, bile, sodium sulphate, potatoes, leek water, flour paste, milk, whey, turnip, nitric acid, aqua fortis, salt, hydrochloric acid, sand, soap, turpentine, hydrogen peroxide, citric oil, or onions.

These traditional agents were replaced by a wide range of modern detergents during the last century which however, were still far too aggressive for delicate paintings. Today experts recommend artwork to be cleaned by a professional restorer.

Experts however, also recommend following certain rules of safety and conservation when exhibiting a piece of art; not only temperature or humidity of the exhibition room but also physical protection of the artwork reigns supreme. Museums, for instance, are making great efforts in this respect and usually work with a highly trained cleaning staff in order to prevent any damage. Fortunately, thousands of museums and exhibitions worldwide are kept tidy without problems; an art in itself.