Methods and Products for the Conservation of Vandalized Urban Art Murals

Andrea Macchia,Margarida Castro,Mauro Francesco La Russa,Silvestro Antonio Ruffolo,Sara Capriotti,Laura Rivaroli,Patrícia Moreira,Claudia Curbelo,Eduarda Vieira

doi:10.3390/coatings11111304

Andrea Macchia, Margarida Castro + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11111304

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Abstract

The possibility of contemporary mural paintings to be “tagged” by vandals, with spray and/or markers, represents a serious problem for the conservation of urban art. The present study aims to define the applicability of a protective coating on murals’ surface to preserve them against vandalism. The research has been focused on anti-graffiti products currently used in the field of cultural heritage conservation. These products represent an optimum start point to preserve mural artwork from vandal actions. The commercially available anti-graffiti products have been compared with an innovative product, PRO-ART, specifically formulated by YOCOCU in collaboration with Pelicoat, for the conservation of murals. At the same time, it has tested the cleaning of contemporary murals by using different mixtures of solvents and surfactants. The experimentations have been carried out on external walls, followed by the conducting of in situ tests (application tests, empirical evaluations and colorimetric analysis), as well as laboratory investigations (contact angle and optical/electronic microscopy).

Highlights

Public art in the urban environment, murals, is made with community engagement; these are projects aimed to promote community identity and to counter social and urban degradation [1,2]
The nature of materials and vandalism are the main causes of degradation [4,5]. Vandalism is due both to the lack of appreciation of the artwork or for its social history, and the loss of cultural integrity through changes in social tastes, as well as authorities’ ambivalence in defining murals as community art. This has contributed to the need to sustain and to preserve street murals [6]
Even if several protective coating products are normally used to facilitate the graffiti removal from walls [13], in this paper, we focused our attention on the effectiveness of these products to preserve the murals

Summary

Introduction

Public art in the urban environment, murals, is made with community engagement; these are projects aimed to promote community identity and to counter social and urban degradation [1,2]. Vandalism is due both to the lack of appreciation of the artwork or for its social history, and the loss of cultural integrity through changes in social tastes, as well as authorities’ ambivalence in defining murals as community art. This has contributed to the need to sustain and to preserve street murals [6]. The debate is mainly limited to the theoretical aspects with regard to the question of whether it is right or not to preserve a mural. The conservation of street art is a topic of great dispute which exploits the limits of ethics and sets new challenging questions for value assessment and decision making [7,8]

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