To do no harm: risk assessment, art-handling and the road to zero damage

These notes are from a talk I gave on “Art Handling and Object Care” in NYC on September 30, 2019.

Every movement of an object increases risk. We handle art surrounded by risk and the possibility of damage. I have found the best way to protect a collection is to understand how it can be damaged and to constantly evaluate and communicate with your team the methods you believe will prevent that damage.

There are twelve standard reasons that lead to art possibly being damaged. All twelve will increase risk.

There are of course more but these are the basics.

Some we can control.

1. Rushed deadlines, Unrealistic requests for packing or constant changes to a request that constitute a rush.
2. Delays to existing packing/partial packs, A pack is requested then delayed leaving the object in short-term materials for an extended period.
3. Repetition of a single task or object familiarity, The mind rejects the uniqueness of the individual object and begins to look for shortcuts.
4. Changes required after initial packing, Wrap/unwrap for additions or inspections.
5. Poor packing, Improper materials, Hidden artwork during unpacking, Objects not clearly marked or buried in packing, wrong materials, insufficient materials.
6. Regulations outside of collection control, TSA, ICCP, CITES, Under specific circumstances these agencies have authority and control over the objects in your care. Anyone that has managed a collection dreads the call that their crate is been inspected at JFK or an incoming crate is being held at a border for lack of proper wood stamps or as receiving an exhibition “Fish and Wildlife is here and needs to speak to you” (shiver)

Others that are constant risks and that we need to prepare for and do our best to diminish are,

• Vibration and shock.
•  Dramatic changes in temperature and humidity.
• Moisture.
• Insects and vermin.
• Contaminants.
• Human error. Not necessarily handling error. In my time I have seen an umbrella poke a hole in a Rembrandt and Sculpture damaged by uncontrolled children or floor buffers.

In addition, the past decade+ has seen a dramatic increase in climate related risk events and a rise in vermin related damage due to the warmer, moister climate. We can only do so much to control the environment of a museum or commercial space. Doors open and close and vermin will always find a way. The problem for most institutions is twofold, how to control vermin access and what to do once they are in the artworks. Most institutions should know the procedures to isolate an object once we discover an infestation, but most do not have the resources for the necessary freezer and staging space required for multiple damages. Some artwork ends up being unnecessarily sacrificed due to a lack of preparation, space and resources.

‘Is there ever just an accident” you might ask? That depends on who damages the object. A visitor or a child may not understand the importance of the object they stand near or the possible risk of permanent loss that their jostling may cause. So yes, an accident is always possible if someone is aggressively unconscious about the safety of the artwork in their vicinity. We must expect visitors to have a certain level of unconsciousness around the visible collection. Exposure of an object to the public automatically increases risk.

Accidents and damage caused during the handling of art is our focus here as this is an area, we should be able to control. Damage by art-handlers usually is not due to lack of experience or training.

Some of the worst accidents I have seen were caused by exceptionally experienced and talented art-handlers during moments of unconsciousness. This is when the activity is so commonplace that the individual goes on autopilot and takes shortcuts.  Shortcuts increases risk tremendously

Unconscious actions for an art-handler can be disastrous. An accident for an art-handler means that a poor choice was consciously made or that their body was handling the art, but their decision-making mind was somewhere else. Bad decisions or distractions for an art-handler may not lead to an accident every time, but it increases the percentage of risk that an accident will happen. Unconscious activity will almost always lead to an accident.

Art-handlers are not grocery baggers making sure the eggs don’t get broken or the bread squished and they’re not clerks making sure the inventory is accurate.

They are cultural custodians. Art-handlers and registrars have a responsibility to something larger and greater than the individual institution that signs their checks. Their job is not to protect an artwork for today or tomorrow but for generations.

A quality art-handler wants to be able to say, “Art may get damaged, somewhere, but not because of me and not if I could prevent it.” If you honestly don’t feel that way or if this is laughable to you then I guarantee you that you will damage something someday because your acceptance of the possibility of damage without intervention increases the percentage of risk that damage will happen.

Risk is always prevalent and there is always the possibility of accidents and damage. An objects guardian, its handler, acknowledges and attempts to limit risk and visualize the paths to damage and block those paths. This action and process does not eliminate risk, but it decreases it and decreasing risk decreases the possibility of damage.

As I tell my staff, and those I’ve trained and taught, “Your job, your real job, is to figure out how to do no harm.” “There is a Zen to art-handling and until you figure out what that is, you’ll just be a list of methods and materials clanking against each other in your head searching for the proper place to be used.”

My primary directive to my teams has always been, “Before you do anything to an object take a few moments and really look at it. Look for its weak and pinch points, its surface composition and structure. Look for the universal aspects and similarities of the object in front of you to other objects you’ve worked with. Then ask yourself if this object gets damaged how is it going to happen? Then make sure that doesn’t happen! Whatever is going to go right with the movement and handling of an object, the best case scenarios, will almost always go right so plan for the worst case scenarios.”

There is no secret method or technique that will magically protect an object and turn someone into a great art-handler. Though there are acknowledged methods and techniques, knowing these are usually not the reason someone is trusted with a collection. I’ve worked next to and learned from method driven, great art-handlers but that was never my goal because I saw that an attempt at perfecting method also carries risk.

Your goal is to make sure risk is diminished and the art is safe. My goal was to understand the variables of a pack so that I could control risk. My goal was to have art-handlers that understood the bigger picture of what they should and shouldn’t do and to logically evaluate the risks of their own actions. Understanding the bigger picture requires full communication of goals and risks and full involvement in the dialogue leading up to art-handling decisions.

Communication and disclosure do not relieve an art handling team leader from final decisions and responsibilities, but it makes the entire team responsible and supportive.

My goal is to have art handlers that think about arts universal physical structure and know the simplest, most direct methods for protecting that structure, but more important is that they know to start their analysis with one question, “If this thing is going to get damaged how is it going to happen?” And then figure out how to not make that happen. If you know to ask the question but you’re not sure of the answer discuss it with a senior art-handler or someone with a different experience set.  It’s the difference between walking up to someone and telling them “This is what I think we need to do” and instead saying “this is what needs to be done, what are your thoughts?”

If you have art-handlers that are comfortable approaching their head packer and saying, “I’m not fully sure about this, can we discuss it.” You’ll know you’re on the road to zero damage.

You also find out quickly which art-handlers are problem solvers. When you have a staff of problem solvers that communicate, you’ll know you’re in a good place.

I began with this statement and its worth repeating:  Every movement of an object increases risk. We handle art surrounded by risk and the possibility of damage. I have found the best way to protect your collection is to understand how it can be damaged and to constantly evaluate and communicate with your team the methods you believe will prevent that damage.