Department of Chemistry

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Pacific Northwest Conservation Science Consortium

About the Consortium

Partners

PSU is pleased to establish the Pacific Northwest Conservation Science Consortium, with support from the Mellon Foundation. Centering on the strengths of regional collections, the projects focus on Asian and Native American works, as well as works of photography and paintings which are of historic significance to the Pacific Northwest. PSU's Regional Laboratory for the Science of Cultural Heritage Conservation, established in 2009 and directed by Dr. Tami Lasseter Clare, enables this unprecedented shared access to specific scientific conservation instrumentation. The five consortium partners are The Portland Art Museum, The Seattle Art Museum, Alaska State Museums, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, and University of Washington Libraries. 

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Goals

Museums in the Pacific Northwest will have greatly improved opportunities to enhance scholarship, and annual forums currently facilitate the dissemination of novel research. This significant partnership between PSU and cultural heritage institutions allows the occasion for PSU chemistry students to gain exposure to a breadth of scientific and artistic concepts, and even contribute to the creation of new educational materials for a wider audience. This meaningful access to conservation science resources by regional professionals will dramatically shift and deepen scholarly and public engagement with the field of cultural heritage conservation.

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In the Media

Dr. Clare was interviewed on Oregon Public Radio's program, "Think Out Loud" where she spoke about how she got started in this field and discussed consortium projects.

Recently, the lab was filmed for a documentary produced by KTOO in Alaska about the lab's work with the Chilkat Dye Working Group and the Alaska State Museum investigating historic and contemporary dye formulations.

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Consortium Projects

Detail from Suzuki Harunobu, The Departure, 1768/1769, color woodblock print with embossing on paper, nishiki-e, Portland Art Museum 2016.18.1

Suzuki Harunobu Analysis of Red Colorants

With the support of the Pacific Northwest Consortium, curator Jeannie Kenmotsu, Ph.D. and conservator Samantha Springer at the Portland Art Museum (PAM) selected a project focusing on extended analysis of multi-colored Japanese woodblock prints by the celebrated artist Suzuki Harunobu. Harunobu pioneered the Japanese Ukiyo-e print aesthetic characterized by the use of five or more colors during printing. The project utilized X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy to identify a range of inorganic red colorants and Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) to identify organic red colorants within a fluorescent proteinaceous binding medium. The scientific research informed PAM's exhibition, Suzuki Harunobu and the Culture of Color (June 23-September 16, 2018) and was able to significantly contribute to the scholarship for the exhibition.

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Chilkat Dye Project

The Chilkat Dye Project is a collaborative effort among the 25-member Chilkat Dye Working Group, conservator Ellen Carrlee at the Alaska State Museum (ASM), and the Clare Lab which aims to identify the dyestuffs used to create the three iconic colors (blue/green, black/brown, and yellow) which typify indigenous Chilkat ceremonial textiles. Through the elemental and mass-spectral analysis of reference dyed fibers provided by the Chilkat Working Group as well as fiber samples representing 23 textiles at the ASM, results were obtained which indicate that both natural and synthetic dyes have been used over the past two centuries of Chilkat blanket production. This research has provided content for the ASM exhibit The Spirit Wraps Around You: Northern Northwest Coast Native Textiles, and sparked science curriculum for local schools. Additionally, Chilkat weavers are learning about their ancestors' dye choices and use this knowledge to inform their own artistry. Ultimately, this collaboration will create a model of research that foregrounds the priorities of indigenous people through a network of long-term relationships.

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Detail from an untitled Chilkat blanket from the Alaska State Museum, date unknown, II-B-1841

 

Detail from A. Curtis, Mt. Rainier, unknown date, University of Washington Libraries, PNWCSC #019

Orotones Project

The Clare Lab, in collaboration with curator Nicolette Bromberg and conservator Claire Kenney at the University of Washington Libraries, has been engaged in a characterization study of the materials and processes used in the creation of orotone photographs. Especially popular during the early 20th century along the American West Coast, orotone photographs are notable for their gold-colored appearance. The photographic process utilizes a positive image on a clear glass plate with a subsequently applied gold-colored metallic backing. The Clare Lab analyzed a range of orotones and silvertones from the University of Washington Libraries as well as one orotone from the Portland Art Museum (PAM). The backing metals were identified as well as the photographic processes and glass composition. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopies added to this analysis and positively identified colorants used in hand-colored orotones. Finally, a delaminating orotone at PAM prompted an analysis of its backing fluid, which yielded surprising results and may indicate use of an unusual photographic material.

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Mark Tobey Paint Binders

Mark Tobey was one of the founders of the Northwest School, an art movement which brought attention to contemporary art in the Pacific Northwest in the mid-20th century. Tobey, primarily a painter, often worked with gouache or tempera paints, both aqueous media which can vary in composition. Working in collaboration with Nicholas Dorman at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) and Chris White at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) in Eugene, the Clare Lab has endeavored to analyze Mark Tobey's paint formulations in order to inform conservation efforts and improve understanding of Tobey's working methods. Conservators at the SAM and the JSMA have provided paint samples from a range of paintings in their collections, which have been analyzed via Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (py-GCMS) to identify the binding media, the material in which pigments are suspended. While work is ongoing, already a range of materials such as waxes, proteins and gums have been detected, and further results are expected to testify to the complexity of Tobey's process.

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Detail from Mark Tobey Farmer’s Market, 1941, Seattle Art Museum, 42.31

 

The Lully Manuscript is examined under an optical microscope to examine previous repairs made to its pages.

Lully Manuscript

The University of Washington Libraries with conservator Justin Johnson selected the considerably damaged late 17th century operatic score Atys Tragedie by Jean Baptiste Lully for analysis. The manuscript is believed to be one of the seven extant complete copies in the world. The manuscript's condition is characterized by water damage, mold growth, and multiple repairs of various stabilizing materials. The impetus for further analysis was to determine the specific types of historical repairs so as to serve as a reference for complex adhesives for bound works on paper. Utilizing small samples removed from the manuscript, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis was used to characterize the adhesives used in previous repairs of the manuscript. The analysis determined the presence of four classes of adhesives, including proteins (i.e. animal glues), carbohydrates (i.e. rice paste), waxes and synthetic resins.

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Consortium Publications, Exhibitions and Presenations

Publications

  • L.N. Kissell, T. K. Quady and T. L. Clare, (2022) Optimized micro-sampling and computational analysis for SERS identification of red organic colorants, Spectrochimica Acta A, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa2022.120857.
  • Lyndsay N. Kissell, Trine K. Quady, Dario Durastanti, Samantha Springer, Jeannie Kenmotsu, and Tami Lasseter Clare, (2022), A multi-analytical approach to identify red colorants on woodblock prints attributed to Suzuki Harunobu, Heritage Science, 10, 94, https://doi:10.1186/s40494-022-00731-4.

Exhibitions

  • Clare, T. and Carrlee, E., Art - The Spirit Wraps Around You, Northern Northwest Coast Native Textiles, organized by the Alaska State Museum, Juneau, AK USA Non-Academic, International. (May 7 - October 9, 2021).
  • Clare, T. and Kenmotsu, J., Art- Suzuki Harunobu and the Culture of Color, Exhibition, Invitational, "Science of Color," Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR USA, Non-Academic, International. (2018).

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Presentations

  • Vanessa Johnson, Nicholas Dorman, Chris White, and Tami Lasseter Clare, Investigation of Mark Tobey's paint materials using mass spectrometry methods, Western Association for Art Conservation annual meeting, Seattle, WA, October 2022.
  • Vanessa Johnson, Ivanny Jácome Ottati, Claire Kenny, and Tami Lasseter Clare, Identifying materials and processes used in the manufacture of orotone, hand-colored orotone, and silvertone photographs, Western Association for Art Conservation annual meeting, Seattle, WA, October 2022.
  • Vanessa Johnson, Ivanny Jácome Ottati, Claire Kenny, and Tami Lasseter Clare, Identifying materials and processes used in the manufacture of orotone, hand-colored orotone, and silvertone photographs, MS&T22 Technical Meeting and Exhibition, Pittsburgh, PA, October 2022.
  • Dario Durastanti, Lily Hope, Ellen Carrlee, and Tami Lasseter Clare, Collaborative investigation into wool dyeing practices of Chilkat textiles: culture, chemistry, and conservation, Sealaska Heritage Institute: Northwest Coast Weavers Gathering, Juneau, AK, June 2022.
  • Dario Durastanti, Lily Hope, Ellen Carrlee, and Tami Lasseter Clare, Collaborative investigation into wool dyeing practices of Chilkat textiles: culture, chemistry, and conservation, American Institute for Conservation, Los Angeles, CA, May 2022.
  • Vanessa Johnson, Nicholas Dorman, Chris White, and Tami Lasseter Clare, Investigations of the binding medium of Mark Tobey paintings using pyrolysis-GC/MS, American Institute for Conservation, Los Angeles, CA, May 2022.
  • Tami Lasseter Clare, The Chilkat Dye Project, ArtBio Matters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 2021.
  • Ivanny Jácome Valladares, Claire Kenney, Stephanie Lamson and Tami Lasseter Clare, The development and application of instrumental methods for the identification of materials and processes used in the manufacture of orotone photographs, 2021 AIC/SPNHC Joint Virtual Annual Meeting, May 26, 2021.
  • Lyndsay N. Kissell, Trine K. Quady, Samantha Springer and Tami Lasseter Clare, Elucidation of natural organic red colorants on paper via microsampling and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, 2021 AIC/SPNHC Joint Virtual Annual Meeting, May 26, 2021.
  • Tami Lasseter Clare, Pigment of your imagination: tales of artwork from a conservation science perspective, School of Materials, Boise State University, Boise, ID, (Invited) February 2020.
  • Tami Lasseter Clare, Identification of Historical Dyes Using Mass Spectrometry, Sharing Our Knowledge, Juneau, AK, (Invited) September 2019.
  • Dario Durastanti, Ellen Carrlee and Tami Lasseter Clare, Chilkat robe dye analysis by GCMS to identify historical dye sources, User Group for Mass Spectrometry and Chromatography, Ottawa, CA, June 2019.
  • Lyndsay N. Kissell, Trine K. Quady, Samantha Springer and Tami Lasseter Clare, Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy as a minimally invasive method for definitive identification of organic colorants on paper, American Institute for Conservation, Uncasville, CT, May 2019.
  • Lyndsay N. Kissell, Trine K. Quady, Samantha Springer and Tami Lasseter Clare, Identification of organic colorants using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) as a minimally invasive method for analysis of words on paper, 74th Northwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society. June 18, 2019.

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Outreach

August 14 2018: Oregon K-12 teacher training, East Asia focus

Conducted a hands-on workshop with 40+ teachers. Presented the Harunobu project and led hands-on block carving and printing using paints derived from natural plant pigments such as turmeric, madder root and indigo.

August 6 2018: Facebook Live broadcast

Conversation with Curator of Japanese Art Jeannie Kenmotsu, Conservator Samantha Springer and Conservation Scientist Tami Lasseter Clare

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