The Case of the Vanishing Gabos at Tate

Abstract

Many different staff have examined, documented, monitored and analysed the plastics-based sculptures by Naum Gabo in the Tate collection, numbering over 40 works, since the 1980s when the first significant deterioration was noted in some. They are made from cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate or polymethyl methacrylate, sometimes with more than one polymer present in each small model or sculpture. The deterioration has ranged from colour change, increased opacity, delamination and deformation to total collapse. Documentation has included conventional photography, laser scanning, photogrammetry and touch probe sensing, most of which have given rise to problems with data retention and readability. Today, accurate measurements made with digital callipers and detailed observations are used when deterioration is first noticed and these have been logged in a long-running spreadsheet (Excel). This captures details of manufacture and construction that would enable a replica to be made with the permission of the artist’s estate and many Tate stakeholders. FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) microscopy applied to small samples removed from accessible parts of the works has given more useful information than portable FTIR instruments, and all have been analysed. The Gabo collection has contributed to a number of collaborative research projects over the years. Improvements to packing and better-informed decisions on the best storage environments compatible with the normal operations of an institution which loans and moves a very large number of artworks each year are described.