The Conservation of Sculpture Parks

Book excerpt: This publication includes papers presented at the three-day international conference SPark: Conservation of Sculpture Parks that took place in Sisak, Croatia, in September 2015. The contributions to this volume address aspects relating to the preservation, maintenance and protection of open-air sculpture and sculptural landscapes based on case studies in Europe, North America and Australia. Sculpture parks are found in a range of settings -urban, rural, forest, coastal, desert - each facing challenges in relation to its location, climate and management such as negligence and vandalism (including graffiti) and material degradation: physical damage, corrosion, fading and flaking paint, biological growth etc. The authors, sometimes after discussions with the artists themselves, consider methods of conservation and management of both the sculpture park environment and collections of artworks made of different materials: wood, metals and alloys, ceramic, stone, concrete, glass, composites etc.