AIC's 53rd Annual Meeting

Andy Warhol’s Oxidation paintings of 1977-78 represent the Pop Artist’s exploration of abstraction in the final decade of his life. For an artist deeply invested in a mechanical approach to image making, Warhol paradoxically introduced the intimately human element of urine as the painting medium to the effect of unpredictable colors and patterns. The resultant series of nearly 100 works with irregular forms and sometimes-arabesque abstractions are a distinctive contribution to the art and conservation fields alike as no other paintings containing urine are so widely known. The renowned gold and copper-colored canvases, with fields of greens, blacks, and browns, belong to institutions and private collections in the States and abroad, but the focus of this research is the oversized 1978 Oxidation (50” x 200”, 127 x 508 cm) in The Andy Warhol Museum. The project was facilitated by a temporary HVAC failure at The Warhol during the pandemic summer of 2020 when Oxidation reacted to the fluctuations in the gallery climate. The 45-year-old canvas secreted liquid from within its paint layers, resulting in color changes and new drips in the metal field. The Warhol is uniquely positioned to carry out the study because it is also home to archives of the artist’s work, which include scraps cut off from original canvases and numerous painting materials, such as the metallic powders and paints used by the artist in the Oxidation series. Empirical data was collected from the painting as well as mockups, which were made according to the documented techniques of Warhol and his Factory assistants. Scientists in sister institutions and the private sector then identified materials and corrosion products in the original works with x-ray diffraction and SEM/EDS. Subjection of mockups in artificial aging chambers set to parameters akin to those experienced in June of 2020 helped to determine the active role of metallic salts in climate variation. This study confirms the delicate nature of materials in modern collections, especially the non-static behavior of components in the Oxidation series and the importance of reliable climate control systems in facilities that house works of art and cultural heritage. During a time when museums are considering means to reduce their carbon footprint, this study supports a continuation of strict climate standards.