Bronze is an alloy of copper with other metals that modify its hardness, color, and ability to be cast into a detailed mold. When bronze is cast it is usually a gold color. After the casting and finishing is completed, the surface is often treated with chemicals and heat which patinates the metal, coloring it green, brown, black, or a combination of the colors. Foundries usually apply waxes or other coatings to the surface of a patinated outdoor bronze to protect it from pollutants. This wax may wear off in time. We recommend annual maintenance by a professional conservator. The surface of the sculpture may be washed to remove pollutants and dirt, and waxed. If done annually, the rate of corrosion will be retarded (though not totally eliminated), and disfiguring rain streaks will be minimized. I collect twentieth-century furniture. How can I best preserve it? Some twentieth-century furniture was created from non-traditional materials, such as foam, plastic, and cardboard.

Do not store or display works of art in areas of potentially high humidity or water leakage, e.g. basement, bathroom, outside walls, under pipes. Avoid areas where temperature and humidity fluctuate, or where there is inadequate air circulation, e.g. attic and places listed above. Do not hang artworks over or under radiators, heating and cooling vents, active fireplaces, humidifiers, and vaporizersA. The hygroscopic nature of wood means that it will take water from the atmosphere and expand, but it will contract as the humidity lessens. The direction of shrinkage is almost always around the circumference, which causes a solid piece of wood to crack vertically. Keeping it in a steady relative humidity can stabilize the sculpture; if the wood does not absorb or release moisture, it will no longer expand or contract.

Innocence and Experience deals principally with the shift in recent decades from a positive, hopeful vision of childhood’s purity and power to a counter-imagery of youth threatened or corrupted. The gallery exhibition includes works by Diane Arbus, Robert Gober, Mona Hatoum, and Mike Kelley. An accompanying film and video exhibition includes films and videos by Stan Brakhage, Joseph Cornell, Sadie Benning, Louis Malle, Satyajit Ray, and Arturo Ripstein. Matter investigates the new role of materials in fine arts and design, as well as its force in inspiring and guiding the creative process, by considering and connecting several distinct creative fields. Works by Joseph Beuys, Robert Morris, Gaetano Pesce, Mona Hatoum, Eva Hesse, designers Hella Jongerius and Tom Dixon, and photographer Vik Muniz are shown.

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