Final Report on Degradation of "Scholar's Way" for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

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dc.contributor.advisorSiebach, Kirstenen_US
dc.contributor.authorRajan, Bavanen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-25T22:56:00Zen_US
dc.date.available2024-01-25T22:56:00Zen_US
dc.date.issued2023-05-02en_US
dc.description.abstractThe purpose of this project is to understand the chemical processes that contribute to the degradation of “Scholar’s Way,” a trio of heavily altered basalt sculptures at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH). They were installed at the MFAH in 2020 after their creation in 2018 by South Korean artist Byung Hoon Choi. The work sits in a shallow pond in the museum’s sculpture garden, exposed to Houston’s warm humid climate and regular HCl from treatments to prevent algae growth. After less than 3 years, fragments of the sculptures have been lost, the surfaces have altered in coloration, and salt-like minerals regularly precipitate on the sides of the sculptures. The mineralogy of the sculptures and associated precipitates can inform the MFAH of how and why “Scholar’s Way”, as well as other outdoor sculptures, might be degrading, as well as what steps they can take to preserve their artwork. Visual and Near Infrared Spectroscopy, speciation modeling from the pond’s water chemistry, Electron Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Electron Probe Microanalysis were used to determine 1) the chemical composition of the water features and sculptures, which reveal plausible degradation mechanisms, 2) potential ongoing mineral dissolution, and 3) the drivers of salt precipitation from the pond. These results, along with recommendations to preserve the work, have since been presented to the MFAH in the attached executive summary and technical report.en_US
dc.description.noteCollaborators: Torres, Mark; Costin, Geluen_US
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.25611/9TQX-PG82en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/115444en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsExcept where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the terms of the license or beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_US
dc.subjectArt Conservationen_US
dc.subjectGeochemistryen_US
dc.subjectMineralogyen_US
dc.subjectSpectroscopyen_US
dc.titleFinal Report on Degradation of "Scholar's Way" for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houstonen_US
dc.type.dcmiTexten_US
dc.type.genreThesisen_US
thesis.degree.departmentEarth, Environmental and Planetary Scienceen_US
thesis.degree.levelUndergraduateen_US
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