Academic thesis

Eva Katharina Bartsch: Lipstick as a working material - „Concious, Unconscious“ (1994) by Rachel Lachowicz. Examination, documentation and conservation strategies with particular focus on the „sweating- phenomenon“ Back
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Abstract: The thesis deals with the examination and conservation/restoration of the artwork „Conscious, Unconscious“ by Rachel Lachowicz. It was created in 1994 and is part of the MUMOK (Museum Moderner Kunst, Stiftung Ludwig) collection in Vienna. ”Conscious, Unconscious” consists of four onesies coated with polyester resin to form hollow bodies and repeatedly dipped into molten red lipstick. The lipstick coating is very fragile and prone to mechanical damages. “Sweating”, the migration of oily droplets to the surface of the coating, is apparent on all four figures and is generally a frequently observed phenomenon on lipstick works by the artist. The examination of causes that generate “sweating” in industrially manufactured lipstick and on the artworks by Lachowicz is a central topic of the thesis. Scientific analysis helped gain an understanding of the components present in the lipstick coating. Correspondence with the artist and conservators from the US provided further information on the working process. Finally, the thesis also focuses on restoration-conservation strategies and deals with questions of presentation and preventive conservation of the artwork.

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Keywords: Rachel Lachowicz, lipstick, sweating, oil- wax formula, paraffin, oily residue, oily droplets, castor oil, Paraffin wax, migration
Details:
  • academic institution: Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien
  • kind of theses:  Diplomarbeit
  • main Tutor:  Univ. Prof. Mag. Gerda Kaltenbruner
  • assistant Tutor:  Mag. Christa Haiml
  • date:  2015
  • Language:  German
  • pages:  300
  • pictures:  159
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