PRESENT AND FUTURE: Caring for Ephemeral Art

Ephemeral art using unstable materials has made conservation problematic. Certain kinds of materials, which can carry meaning, must be used even though there is a concern about durability. How much should the artist's intention be taken into account when it comes to the conservation of ephemeral art, and who decides what to save and on what basis? This issue has received much attention, since conservators for the first time need to decide what will be left of the twentieth century.

This post refers to coursework done for ARCLG141 (2015-16), one of the core courses of the UCL MA  Principles of Conservation. As part of their assessed work for this course, students were asked to design and produce a poster communicating specific aspects of conservation. We hope you enjoy our work! Comments are most welcome.