Fügen eines „Haubenbildes“ aus Polystyrol der Künstlerin Pia Linz

Abstract

Re-joining a Polystyrene ‘Haubenbild’ by the Artist Pia Linz
How can the open adhesive joints of a painted three-dimensional plastic object be re-joined? Which transparent, hard plastic was used for the support of the “Haubenbild” by Pia Linz? And which adhesive was used to construct this box? These questions arose at the outset of the conservation treatment of a painted plastic object from 1997 from the series of so-called Haubenbilder, which together with four other works of the same series is housed in the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt (Hessian State Museum Darmstadt). Correspondence with the artist clarified that the support, which is cuboid in shape, consists of transparent polystyrene plates and was butt-joined with a cyanoacrylate adhesive, otherwise known as superglue.The painting was done with acrylic paint inside the transparent box similar to the technique of reverse glass painting. The joints had partially opened due to the degradation of the adhesive, rendering the construction of the “Haubenbild” unstable. This paper details the conservation requirements demanded of the adhesive used to rejoin the plates and describes the treatment that was carried out.