The interview as a contemporary art conservation tool: artist versus conservator-restorer

The conservation and restoration of contemporary art often constitutes a complex task. Sometimes the analysis and the material study are not enough to solve the conservation issues associated with objects. The intention of the artist and the reasons that led him to select certain materials and techniques of execution can be made known to the conservator-restorer by the author of the work under investigation. This knowledge can be obtained through the interview, being considered, in the XXI century, the first step in the documentation process of an artwork (Beerkens, et al 2012). Aware of this importance, interviews were conducted with six artists with different fields of activity: sculpture in plaster and ceramics; tile; figurative easel painting on wood and canvas; monochrome and hyper-realistic easel painting; ephemeral installations composed of naturalistic elements and graphic design on paper. In the same period, interviews were conducted with six conservators-restorers, one from each of the specialty areas. The aim of this study was to compare the results between the artists and conservators-restored interviewed, relate each professional's point of view regarding materials, aging and degradation of works, conservation and restoration interventions, among others. Despite some obvious and meaningful differences, it has been found that both conservators and artists, despite the work being done differently, the objectives remain the same: the future conservation of the artwork.