J.CAC VOLUME 48 (2024)
La conservation-restauration de l’œuvre contemporaine Le Terrain du dictionnaire A/Z de Rober Racine : restaurer ce qui soutient le sens, restaurer le sens
The artwork Le Terrain du dictionnaire A/Z was created in 1980 by artist Rober Racine. It is composed of 55,000 words taken from the dictionary, Le Petit Robert, adhered to cardboard labels and arranged in alphabetical order on polystyrene panels. The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) requested to have the artwork conserved at the Centre de conservation du Québec (Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications) due to significant changes in condition which prevented the museum from approving loan requests. The piece was affected by several types of deterioration over time, especially the cardboard labels, on which a third of the applied adhesive tape had yellowed. This deterioration altered as much the materiality of the artwork as its appearance. But this problem hid another. Many of the cardboard labels were in the wrong place, in contradiction with the artist’s intent to rigorously respect alphabetical order. In collaboration with Rober Racine and the MAC, we began the work of historical documentation, reflection and discussion about different conservation treatment options. Should we treat the adhesive tape or not? Should we intervene and move incorrectly placed words to the right place? Between considering the artwork’s conservation needs and respecting the artist’s intent, this article presents our decision-making process as it relates to issues specific to the conservation of contemporary art.
Download: JCAC48 Bufe & Cloutier