Imagine walking into the Louvre and finding the ‘Mona Lisa’ without her famous smile. Or entering the Van Gogh Museum only to find the ‘Sunflowers’ wilting. Sounds too far-fetched? If art experts are to be believed, this dystopian image might become a reality. In a recent piece, Francesca Casadio, executive director of conservation and science at the Art Institute of Chicago, said that the coronavirus’s impact on artworks “are sure to be permanent”. The fear rises from the premise that norms demanding regular sanitising of galleries and museums may end up harming rare artworks in the long run.
As galleries and museums slowly open worldwide, they have to ensure extra precaution. Germany, Hong Kong, South Korea and Switzerland have gone ahead and opened up their museums. Closer home, the Dhoomimal Art Gallery in Delhi recently organised an exhibition. Vadehra Art Gallery in Delhi has also opened its doors. The one thing the administrative staff at all these public spaces is stressing is repeated and mandatory sanitising of areas.
But what about the chemicals and the alcohol level in sanitisers? Will they end up harming art works—paintings, installations and sculptures—as Casadio fears? Especially those that go back in time and cannot be recreated again?
Akansha Rastogi, Senior Curator, Exhibitions and Programmes, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, says, “Taking a step-by-step approach will be very crucial to the reopening of museums. This is a new terrain for all museum professionals, scientifically as well as at execution level. We would need more research, which means observing what strategy works and what doesn’t. Of course, we would want to restrict the numbers of visitors present in one gallery. We expect considerable changes in the experience of viewing art, with digital viewing becoming primary. We will refer to the guidelines issued for museums by international museum bodies for safety measure and caretaking of artworks.”
Galleries and museums across the globe are now facing the unenviable task of coming up with the best possible way ahead to keep art works healthy while not compromising on human safety. Sotheby’s has a comprehensive policy in place for ensuring the safety of staff and clients. Says a spokesperson of the iconic auction house that handles some of the rarest works of art, “We don’t see any conflict between ensuring the safety of visitors to our galleries and preserving the condition of the artworks that have been entrusted into our care.”
In a bid to ensure that these cultural places are a safe haven, measures such as asking visitors to download their own individual audio guides through apps and allowing a limited footfall in the spaces are being mulled by galleries and museums. But some like artist and sculptor Riyas Komu are not very perturbed. “It is an unnecessarily worry. As long as nobody touches the works, they don’t need disinfecting. And normally no visitor is allowed to touch an artwork.
In museums and galleries, the art handlers don’t touch an artwork without gloves. But, yes, keeping the safety of people and the art objects in mind, it is better to avoid any active disinfectant on the artworks. The best solution is to maintain personal hygiene and to keep a safe distance from one another and the art objects.”Even as careful preparations to open up cultural spaces are underway, Casadio’s words come to mind: “What if 100 years from now, one finds Thymol (sanitising chemical) acting as a fingerprint on the greatest artworks of the past few centuries?”