Press release by Olivia Fincato
”In New York there is the same black crust that is found in Venice. The Venetian marbles are between 7 and 8 centuries old and have only recently begun to experience the serious deterioration which causes them to resemble those I have seen on the Public Library in 5th avenue, built in the early 1900s. These past hundred years have been sufficient to arrive at this alarming state of deterioration ... both in Venice and in N.Y," explains the architect Giancarlo Calcagno, founder of Altech, the Venetian company which specializes in high tech art conservation and restoration, which was commissioned to clean-up the side facades of the Public Library in New York.
Giancarlo Calcagno, a Professor of New Technologies for Art Conservation at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Chemistry at Cà Foscari University (Italy), began to use lasers in art restoration in the seventies and now, after more than thirty years of scientific research and having perfected the technology, he has patented several methods for the conservation of historic works of art, which have never been used in America before. Today the Italian magazine “Sette” met the Genoese architect-scientist, who has since moved to Bassano del Grappa, in Altech’s newly opened workshop/site in New York; the interview follows.
How did your passion for research in the field of conservation and restoration start? 'I was educated in Venice in the 70s and had two professors who encouraged me to use scientific research in the field of art restoration. Ken Hempel of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London taught me to use the most advanced technologies for art conservation and with the help of John F. Jolla Asmuss of San Diego University, who is considered to be the "father" of the laser, I began to develop different methods for transferring the most advanced applications of laser technology, of “light”, to the field of fine art conservation. It was really exciting to see that the black crust, a kind of black deposit, could be removed without causing any alteration whatsoever to the material below.
What factors cause works of art and monuments to become encrusted with grime and deteriorate? "Air pollution due to industrial development, the heating of homes, thermal shocks, acid rain, aerosols: all these phenomena damage the cohesion of the sensitive surface of the work of art. If we look at a statue over a period of time, we can observe the formation of a black crust, which may be several millimetres thick, and which causes the deterioration of the surface to which it adheres.
People have very short memories; if we look at a photograph of a marble sculpture from the Renaissance period taken in the early 1900s we see that it is intact with no loss of detail at all. If we look at photographs of the same statue taken thirty, sixty or eighty years later, we can see that it has lost almost 40-60% of its detail compared to the previous four centuries of exposure to the elements.
That is because there has been constant erosion due to environmental and atmospheric pollution. How can these deposits be removed? "There are the traditional, mechanical methods by means of which the black crust is removed using scalpels, chisels, sandblasting etc..
These methods are abrasive and can cause damage to the original surface. Then there is the method based on the use of water and chemicals which react with the deposits of grime to remove it. However, if there is an image or decoration, these may be damaged, because both methods remove the fine surface of the first layer of the work of art, and the artist’s signature is lost. The system I have implemented, based we might say on the way of light, employs physics to remove the crust. "
When did you start using this system? When did You found Altech? "I founded Altech at the beginning of the eighties because I wanted to implement the new technologies I had learned about and the techniques I had refined. My first assignment, for which I used the vacuum and laser technique, still quite primitive at the time, was the restoration of the Porta della Carta, the main entrance of the Palazzo Ducale in Venice. Since then, I have never stopped developing the technology, especially in cooperation with Quanta System, and investing in R&D, as well. From the Palazzo Ducale and the Maddalene in Venice, we then moved on to the restoration of the Duomo in Cremona and the Duomo in Siena, St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, the Nuremberg museum and many other projects in Europe, finally arriving at the Public Library in New York, where we are using two Michelangelo lasers made by Quanta System SpA, an Italian firm based in the northern part of Milan."
How did the project for the clean-up of the Public Library facades come about? "Some years ago I held a conference in St. Petersburg, and on that occasion I was approached by the architect Tim Allanbrook of WJE who, together with the architect Kyle Normandine had undertaken the restoration of the Public Library in New York. After an interview with the Head of Art Conservation in America, Elen CHAROLA from Chicago, we carried out some testing, drew up the protocol and signed the contract with WJE, the General Contractor Nicolson & Galloway and Lasca Tech. What kind of feedback did you get in America? "The laser was invented by the Americans, so when I talk about laser technology, it is like talking about cars: there is a myriad of models and engine types. The laser cleaning system that I have brought here, has been developed over many years and its suitability for cleaning large surfaces at low cost has been greatly enhanced. In New York I have encountered full cooperation and an open-minded attitude and I have a feeling that this is a good start towards raising awareness about the use of lasers instead of the traditional sandblasting method for the restoration of the Met.
" After this project in NYC, would you like to continue working in the U.S.? "I would like to find partners in science to actively develop, improve and implement new methods and technologies, something which is really extremely difficult in Italy."