Integrated Chemical Mapping and Analytical Pyrolysis for Tracking the Evolution of Street Art Material

Area of Science:

• Cultural heritage science
• Analytical chemistry
• Art conservation science

Background:

• Street art (urban neo-muralism) gained prominence since the 1970s, necessitating conservation efforts.
• Understanding the evolving chemical composition of modern art materials is crucial for effective preservation strategies.
• Industrial innovations and regulatory shifts continuously alter the properties of synthetic paints.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the evolution of street art materials over the past three decades.
• To apply an integrated analytical approach for comprehensive material characterization.
• To provide insights into the transformation of organic and inorganic components in urban art.

Main Methods:

• Integrated analytical approach combining chemical mapping via spectroscopy with analytical pyrolysis, chromatography, and mass spectrometry.
• Application of the methodology to two key street art case studies.
• Analysis of both organic and inorganic materials to understand their transformations.

Main Results:

• Detailed chemical mapping and compositional analysis of street art materials.
• Identification of changes in synthetic paint formulations over a 30-year period.
• Demonstration of the integrated approach's capability to overcome limitations of individual analytical techniques.

Conclusions:

• The integrated analytical approach offers a state-of-the-art method for studying synthetic paints in modern art.
• This study provides crucial insights into the historical evolution of materials used by street artists.
• Understanding material evolution is vital for developing targeted conservation and preservation strategies for urban neo-muralism artworks.