Parnass Wuppertal (2003), Nam June Paik

SUMMARY
Parnass Wuppertal (2003) consists of a commercially prepared canvas on a four-part wooden stretcher with a white ground, to which two half-sheets of the newspaper USA Today from 2003 have been attached side-by-side with clear plastic tape and additional clear adhesive. The page on the left is from the 28th of an unknown month in 2003, and appears to be the front page of the newspaper. The page on the right is from Thursday, October 23, 2003 and is from the Sports Section (Section C). Over the newspaper pages, marks have been made with a variety of media, including thick impasto paint (likely acrylic) in red, blue, yellow, brown, white, green, blue, pink, and cyan colors; likely felt-tip markers with black, brown, and red inks; and a soft, matte, pastel-like material in black, red, green, and brown colors (called “crayon” by the owner). The marks are both abstract and textual in a variety of writing systems and languages, with the largest text in predominantly yellow paint reading “PAR / NAS / WUPPERTAL” from top to bottom and left to right.

As described by Jochen Saueracker, Paik's former studio assistant, the canvas was part of a work that also included a kinetic model cable car designed by Paik's long-time collaborator Shuya Abe. The cable car is not present. Saueracker believes the piece may have been the last that Paik produced. It has only been shown once, in his former studio on Greene Street, but has since been installed at the loft he shared with Shigeko Kubota until her passing.

CONDITION
The canvas substrate is structurally stable. However, the paper layer is detached from the canvas in several areas, with enough mobility to endanger it further if the piece is placed upright.

The paper layer is embrittled and delicate. It is torn in several areas, including a significant, 31 cm long tear originating in the left edge of the left newspaper page 20 cm above the bottom edge of the canvas, and extending nearly to the top left corner of the page where the paint impasto seems to be holding it together. The paper on the left side of the tear is very mobile, and appears to have been partially skinned from behind where the bottommost layer of some parts of the newspaper is still adhered to the canvas in places. Another significant tear extends along the top edge of the plastic tape that runs horizontally across the bottom edges of the newspaper pages. This tear is horizontal, but with many vertical peaks and associated skinning, suggesting that it was pulled upwards. It begins 23 cm from the left edge of the canvas where the plastic tape shows outward deformation at its top edge, and continues 32 cm to the right edge of the packing style tape, where it turns and continues down along the side of the tape to fully sever the paper. Two smaller tears (5 cm and 2 cm) are also present on the right edge of the right side newspaper on the top right side, and there are numerous small tears (1 cm or less) along the central edges of the two newspaper pages, and a 2cm x 1 cm loss to the left page just above the center fold on the right side.

The matte plastic tape is still adhered to the paper in most areas but only remains in contact with the canvas in the lower left corner. This tape is folded and deformed at its farthest edges where it is detached at the upper left corner, upper right corner, and lower right corner. The glossy plastic tape at the center of the bottom edge is still adhered to the verso, but is loose on the recto.

The paint layer is in good structural condition with no evidence of cracking.

The surface of the primed canvas is soiled overall, with minor abrasions and losses at the high points along the edges.

The paper layer is lightly soiled with fine particulate, and appears to have yellowed and darkened significantly in the past twenty years to a warm, creamy brown. The black, magenta, and cyan printed inks are still visible, but the yellow areas are difficult to see, possibly due to decreased contrast with the color of the paper.

The tacky side of the plastic tape (both glossy and matte) is heavily soiled with a variety of particulate where it is detached. This gives the tape a darker color overall.

The paint surface is soiled with dust but otherwise intact. The pastel-like marks are in good condition, with no significant smudging that does not appear inherent. The ink marks are thin or transparent in many areas, but further examination will be necessary in order to determine whether this is inherent from the artist’s use of dry markers or the result of aging.

TREATMENT
The paper and primed canvas surfaces of the recto were dry cleaned with crumbs of Mars plastic eraser and soft brushes. This cleaning included the acrylic impasto areas, but avoided marks made with dry media.

Following dry cleaning, the surface of the gessoed canvas was also cleaned with polyurethane sponges slightly moistened with de-ionized water.

The non-tacky sides of the pressure-sensitive tapes were dry cleaned with a soft brush. Testing showed that both acetone and ethanol applied with cotton swabs were able to reduce the heavy soiling on the tacky side of the lifted tape without noticeably damaging the substrate, although some slight deformation was possible from the pressure. Ethanol was selected as the preferred solvent, as its slower action made it easier to clean the tacky surface evenly.

To allow required mobility for mending the tear areas along the lower horizontal tape edge, the packing-type tape was detached from the Scotch-type tape with the assistance of a metal spatula warmed with a tacking iron.

In consultation with the owner, and after research and examination of archival images, it was determined that the tears in the paper were not original to the work. Therefore, all tears that were possible to mend without putting the undamaged paper at additional risk due to tension from the adhesive below the paper and the impasto above it were addressed. These selection criteria meant that some small tears were left un-mended, as they could not be closed without placing the already compromised paper in tension that would likely propagate existing tears or cause new ones.

The majority of the tears in the paper substrate were mended with wheat starch paste and a 3% aqueous solution of methylcellulose in de-ionized water. In some areas where the tear passed through and broke the impasto layer, Rhoplex N580 was added to the wheat starch paste used to mend the tear to strengthen it and promote adhesion to the paint layer. Small patches of fine Asian tissue paper were also added to reinforce these mends from the back and front of the paper, and were later toned in where noticeable with watercolor. Some tear edges which lacked a wide chamfer were reinforced from behind with small patches of fine Asian tissue paper. Some wide-open tears were also bridged with tissue applied with wheat starch paste to stabilize them.

The tissue which remained visible on the paper surface after the repairs was toned to match the brown of the newsprint with a mixture of Caran D’ache color pencils and Schmincke Hordam Aquarell watercolors. Tissue which overlaid the impasto was similarly toned to match with watercolor.

The cleaned Scotch-style tape was re-adhered to the foldover sides of the canvas with Rhoplex N580 and dried under pressure. This tape retains some slack on the recto to accommodate future dimensional changes in the paper from shifting temperature and relative humidity. The Scotch-style tape was also re-adhered to the recto of the canvas on either side of the tear that passed through it along the lower edge of the paper with Rhoplex N580. Finally, the packing-style tape was cleaned with ethanol applied with cotton swabs and re-adhered to the top of the scotch-style tape with its remaining original adhesive.