Security for the soul

SECURITY HAS BEEN tightened at the Seoul Art Centre in preparation for a major Edvard Munch exhibition that includes such major works as “The Scream” and “Madonna”.
Two metal detectors have been installed in the lobby of the Seoul Arts Centre and a sign erected near them, saying that sharp and blunt weapons, firearms and chemical substances and toxic chemicals are not allowed inside.
“We install metal detectors at every overseas Munch exhibition and also at the Munch Museum in Oslo,” explains Trygve Lauritzen, head of security at Munch Museum. “Works of Edvard Munch are part of the Norwegian heritage and their value is enormous. That’s why we are strict on security.”
The most famous work by Munch, “The Scream”, was stolen twice in Oslo – first at the National Gallery in 1994 and then a decade later at the Munch Museum. Since the two robberies, the museum has tightened security and approved only those overseas exhibitions that meet its heightened security requirements.
Lauritzen declined to discuss the details of the security requirements, but he said the Munch Museum still prohibits people from carrying objects such as knives and screwdrivers into the museum.
 “Metal detectors prevent 99 per cent of what could happen,” he said. Lauritzen added that about 40 per cent of outside exhibitions have been cancelled because they don’t meet security requirements.
The exhibition hall is kept around 21 degrees Celsius with a humidity of 48 per cent throughout the exhibition period to prevent potential damage from the environment. The humidity can reach as high as 80 to 90 per cent during summer in South Korea.
“Fragile works need a stable environment,” says Stein Olav Henrichsen, director of the Munch Museum.
Taking masterpieces of the renowned artist from their home in Oslo is not an easy process. It took three years to examine the museum, make improvements in its settings and conduct conservation work on the paintings to prepare them for travel.
“The works are very fragile and we have to do conservation work on every painting using different treatments,” he says. The director said museum conservation staff applied special adhesives including sturgeon glue to the back of the canvases to prevent the oil paints applied on top from moving during travel.
Henrichsen explained that sometimes lacquer is applied to the surface of paintings by other artists such as Vincent Van Gogh in order to give a furnished look, but the Munch Museum never applies anything on top to maintain the “raw, naked and direct” feeling of Munch’s paintings.
 SCREAM OUT
- “Edvard Munch and the Modern Soul” runs until October 12 at the Seoul Arts Centre in Seocho-gu, Seoul. For more details, visit www.MunchSeoul.com.