MCI Project Summaries 2008 - Smithsonian Institution

MCI 6274 Christo’s Running Fence Nylon Panel
MCI Staff: Mary W. Ballard, Cathy Zaret, Elizabeth Shuster, Michaela Sousa, Sara Gillies,
Lauren Sturdy
Running Fence 1976 while installed
(image:
http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/rf.
shtml)
Running Fence was an installation piece by
Christo prepared between 1972 and 1976, and on
display for 14 days in 1976. The piece consisted
of 24.5 miles (2050 panels) of undyed heavy
woven nylon, 18 feet high, strung on steel cable
and poles across Sonoma and Marin Counties,
California. The panels were attached to the cables
with 350,000 hooks, through grommets affixed to
the panels. After the de-installation of the work,
all materials were given to the ranchers whose
land Running Fence had crossed. One panel of
this work has since come into the possession of
the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
This piece is being prepared for exhibition in
early 2010. Upon retrieval from storage visual examination of the fabric revealed blue-green
stains that appeared to be transfer stains from the brass grommets. The grommets themselves
were coated in a blue-green waxy surface deposit and etching was
apparent on the grommet surfaces. Staining occurred whenever there
was contact between the nylon and grommets. Before display it was
considered desirable to remove these stains as they occurred in storage
conditions, unlike the surface soiling which occurred during the
outdoor installation period of the work. For aesthetic reasons, so the
audience sees the panel not the colored stains, a removal method was
sought that would not otherwise impact the visual appearance of the
piece.
A method for cleaning the original waxy deposit on the grommets had
been determined before consulting on the cleaning of the textile. The
goal was to find a time-efficient method for removing the blue-green
stains without any visible sign, such as lightening of the nylon at the
location of the stain. Both wet and dry-side cleaning agents were
tested for efficiency and efficacy, with consideration for economy.
164
Grommet and adjacent
stain before cleaning