Alexandra,



One institution where I worked had a pretty thorough policy about filming and not only had conservators review any potential hazzards to the collections but a collection staff monitor at all times. Even with that, one film crew blasted an interior with fog and left finely dispersed mineral oil drooplets all over the interior as well as two large 18th century paintings. They told the monitor that it had been "approved". 



Avoid anything that uses oil, incense leaves soot and resins, and dry ice will cause the ambient Rh in the air to condense on any warm surfaces because to temperature differential. 



There just isn't much that is used to create "smoke" or fog that is safe around art or historic collections.



Cheers,

Dave



David Harvey

Conservator

Los Angeles, CA



Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile



-----Original Message-----

From:         Alexandra Trumbull <[log in to unmask]>



Date:         Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:33:57 

To:[log in to unmask]

Subject: [MUSEUM-L] smoke screens in museums





And another question... 
  
I am looking for thoughts by conservation and collections staff on the use of fog machines or smoke screens in exhibits. The Indiana Historical Society has launched a new exhibit that uses a sensor-activated smoke screen, projecting an image on a wall. The director of conservation and I are monitoring the changes in RH in the galleries and are interested in how other museums and galleries have found compromises between exhibits and conservation regarding this technology. 
  
Any insight would be much appreciated.  
  
Thank you again, 
  
Alexandra
 
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