"Mold is a perennial scourge in museums that can disfigure and destroy art and artifacts. To keep this microbial foe in check, institutions follow protocols designed to deter the familiar fungi that thrive in humid settings. But it seems a new front has opened in this long-standing battle. I'd recently heard rumblings that curators in my then home base of Denmark have been wrestling with perplexing infestations that seem to defy the normal rules of engagement."
"Some museums responded quicklytoo quickly, perhaps, to have checked with their curators. Ten minutes after receiving my inquiry, the press office at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence assured me unequivocally that there was no mold at the Uffizi. The museum declined to connect me with the curatorial team or restoration department. Many institutionsthe Louvre, the British Museum, the Musee d'Orsaydidn't respond to my calls and e-mails at all."
A survey of major European museums asked whether they had recent mold incidents in collections. Mold can disfigure and destroy art and artifacts and thrives in humid settings. Institutions maintain protocols to deter familiar fungi, but new, perplexing infestations have emerged that resist normal controls, notably reported in Denmark. Many museums responded defensively or not at all: some quickly denied problems, one declined curator contact, several ignored inquiries, and one institution may have blocked the caller's number. Mold remains taboo in the museum world because reports can damage funding and bar objects from traveling exhibitions, leading to secrecy and whispering.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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