How do you conserve art when it's made from chocolate or soap?

When you collect art, you accept the responsibility of caring for the art. Some types of art are easier to protect than others.  Oil paintings can last hundreds of years as you can see from visiting art museums.  Works on paper are more delicate and should be framed properly with acid-free backing. Photographic paper is improving all the time but requires proper mounting to ensure that it lasts.  Regardless of what the material, no art should ever be exposed to direct sunlight.  In fact, even indirect sunlight is not so good for most art.

When you collect art, you accept the responsibility of caring for the art. Some types of art are easier to protect than others.  Oil paintings can last hundreds of years as you can see from visiting art museums.  Works on paper are more delicate and should be framed properly with acid-free backing. Photographic paper is improving all the time but requires proper mounting to ensure that it lasts.  Regardless of what the material, no art should ever be exposed to direct sunlight.  In fact, even indirect sunlight is not so good for most art. If you have any questions about preserving the works in your art collection, you should ask for care instructions from the artist and the gallerist, if one was involved in the purchase. I also suggest consulting websites like this one: http://www.artfacts.org/about/index.html, which give good advice on caring for your art works.

Some contemporary art is made from materials that may not hold up well over time, like latex, chocolate, and soap.  The Hirshhorn's in-house conservation office made this video about how they conserve works that "embrace the modern, synthetic and technologically advanced world in which we live."  Conservator Gwynne Ryan discusses the challenges museums face with this issue: "Should we keep art locked away to make it last? Or let it be experienced as it was intended while accelerating its natural degradation?"  More about their conservation program HERE.

Reminds me of an interesting article from the New Yorker last year in which a renowned conservator was asked to restore a work by Chris Ofili made of cow dung. Read the article HERE.