Learn how to identify and care for the plastic materials in your collection in the beautiful surroundings of West Dean College of Art & Conservation.
This course is aimed at anyone with an interest in plastics in the context of museum and gallery collections. Through lectures and examination of objects from West Dean and handling collections you will see how plastic materials may be identified without the use of analytical equipment. By the end of the course you will have learned about the historical development of plastics, where they commonly occur in collections, and have an awareness of their varying instabilities. The need to identify will be demonstrated and different approaches to identification will be discussed. Through a hands-on examination session, you will develop your awareness of the variety of plastics materials available and their different properties which may aid identification. You should also be able to identify the five most unstable materials and thus protect your collection.
The course will cover:
- What is a plastic?
- History & Development of plastics
- Basic care & preventative conservation of plastic materials
- Different approaches to identification of plastics - historical research/analytical techniques
- Practical identification of plastic objects in your collection
This will be a practical session with plenty of time for questions.
Tutors: Brenda Keneghan, David Howell, Hugh Morrison
Further information and booking details may be found at:
Identification of Plastic Materials | West Dean
