Keith Haring and the city of the Leaning Tower: preservation of the mural Tuttomondo

This paper reports the preliminary results obtained from the data acquired during the diagnostic survey, begun in September 2011, to evaluate the state of conservation of the mural Tuttomondo (1989) by Keith Haring (1958-1990). Multispectral imaging technique, ultra-high resolution photography, ultraviolet (UV), visible (Vis), and near infrared (NIR) Fiber Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS), colorimetry, and Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) analysis were performed directly on the mural or on samples taken from the mural to support the conservation intervention, which was focused on cleaning and the subsequent consolidation of the painting. These analyses were carried out as part of the research project "Preventive Conservation of Contemporary Art" (COPAC). The COPAC Project is a 2-year research project (2011-2013) financially supported by the Regione Toscana (Tuscany, Italy) in the PAR-FAS program, Disciplinary Framework Science and Technology for the Safeguard and Valorisation of Cultural Heritage. The COPAC 2 Project is a joint effort of research institutions, conservators, city councils, museums, and art collections in Tuscany. COPAC activities are focused mainly on the study of the materials used by contemporary artists to produce their artworks with a twofold goal: defining artworks materials and monitoring their conservation and/or their degradation processes over time. In order to achieve this goal the research team adopted a plan based on the use of several diagnostic methodologies for the study of selected contemporary artworks belonging to museums, galleries, and collections in Tuscany. The purpose of this approach was to acquire as much data as possible about artists' materials and techniques and, also, to monitor both the state-of-conservation of the artworks and the surrounding environmental conditions (Learner, T. 2005; Chiantore, O., Rava, A. 2013). All of the collected data will be used to evaluate the conservation-state of the artworks selected for investigation and to identify their risk factors in order to select the most appropriate preservation practices. The ultimate goal of the COPAC Project is to set up an interactive archive to manage and disseminate the acquired information for the benefit of all of the curatorial and technical participants.