Lasers in the Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Principles and Applications , C. Fotakis , D. Anglos , V. Zafiropulos , S. Georgiou and V. Tornari , Taylor & Francis, New York, 2007. $149.95 (336 pp.). ISBN 978-0-7503-0873-1
During the past 15 years, the use of lasers to preserve cultural heritage has increased significantly, especially with the clear advantages offered by laser-based techniques in analysis, diagnosis, and the treatment of artworks. Laser cleaning of stone sculptures is now considered acceptable and even routine in some conservation studios, although the high cost of laser systems has meant that its use is not yet widespread. In the analysis of artworks, techniques such as the nearly nondestructive laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) are at a much earlier stage of development; the recent growth of compact portable systems has allowed researchers to use LIBS outside the research laboratory for the first time.
Although less common than in the medical and industrial fields, laser application in the preservation of artworks is undoubtedly important, and growing. Witness the success of the International Conference on Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks series over the past 12 years. LACONA has become a critical source of information for experts who study the technique. A small number of books on the topic have been published, but they are aimed more at conservators and tend to concentrate on laser cleaning. Lasers in the Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Principles and Applications, by Costas Fotakis, Demetrios Anglos, Vassilis Zafiropulos, Sava Georgiou, and Vivi Tornari, is ambitious in that it covers an extremely wide range of techniques—from holography to laser cleaning—including both theory and case studies. The authors have succeeded in creating a valuable source of information for various practitioners working in this field.
The intended audience, according to the authors, is “conservation scientists, archaeologists, researchers, and advanced science-oriented students.” The book does a very good job of capturing the current state of the field. Past work is described and current research and developments are discussed using informative case studies. The structure of the text makes it easy for readers to dip into relevant chapters without having to read through pages of material that may be of limited interest. At the start of each chapter, the text includes a detailed, theoretical description of the different techniques; readers would probably need a scientific background to understand it. Those who do not have a grounding in science would find those sections hard going, but they could easily move on to the case studies, which clearly demonstrate the possibilities for each technique. Therefore, it is possible for one to access the book at different levels.
The authors are all well known, highly respected, and actively involved in their field; their work has been widely published. They are all based at the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, part of the Foundation for Research and Technology—Hellas in Heraklion, Greece. The institute has produced much of the cutting-edge research and development in laser applications in cultural heritage preservation. It also initiated the laser cleaning of paintings during the 1990s and, more recently, was instrumental in applying laser cleaning to the conservation of the Parthenon sculptures in Athens. With Fotakis in particular taking the lead, the institute established the LACONA conferences in 1995.
In most respects, the book is detailed, thorough, and clearly presented, although I found parts of the chapter on holography difficult to understand and came across a few instances of inconsistency between different authors. For example, the use of LIBS for online monitoring during cleaning is described as “essential” in chapter 6 but only “valuable” in chapter 7. The corresponding authors clearly have slightly different views on the subject, which could be confusing to the reader. In reality, the differences reflect quite well the heritage conservation field, in which a wealth of opinions exists.
The authors do make some excellent comments about the importance of close collaboration between scientists and conservators; however, the routine nature of laser cleaning in many instances is not really acknowledged. It would be helpful to many readers if, for example, the text had photos of conservators working with laser cleaning systems in the studio and outside on scaffolding. The larger-scale laser cleaning of monuments, of the architectural and sculptural detail of buildings, and of entire buildings is not included, which is unfortunate, as that subject is one which many readers will be interested in but know little about. Excellent work in that area has taken place in Italy, France, Holland, the UK, and the US. Inclusion of some of those projects as case studies and discussion of the issues involved in scaling up laser cleaning would have added depth to the chapter on laser cleaning. A short summary chapter describing and predicting what researchers might expect over the next 10 years would also have been beneficial.
Overall, Lasers in the Preservation of Cultural Heritage succeeds in its ambitious goals of pulling together a wide range of laser-based applications in the cultural heritage field and presenting the material so that it is accessible at different levels. The authors deserve much credit for succeeding, and for providing a valuable source of information for those who have an interest in the preservation of artworks. I strongly recommend the book both to novices and to more experienced researchers.
