Silicones in the service of art

Silicones in the Service of Art

Silicones are not only outstanding engineering materials and composites. They also inspire well-known artists to produce memorable works. One of them is the Japanese Yoshiyuki Miura, who exhibited his work of art "liquid space" in the entrance hall of WACKER’s head office in Munich. Principal ingredient of his dynamic objects is silicone fluid. It flows in delicate columns from the ceiling. When it lands in the collecting basin, it curls up into tiny turrets and is pumped back up again. Variations in the column arrangement as well as lighting effects create a wide variety of impressions, as can be seen in the following pictures:

Top picture: Lighting effects enhance the space-time effect. The constant buildup and collapse lets the room breathe.

Left picture: Transparent corridors like this convey insight.

Right picture: The silicone fluid threads curl up in the collecting basin as little turrets.

Silicones have also proved their mettle in the restoration of works of art. One of the most prominent examples is the restoration of Michelangelo’s Pietà (St. Peter’s in Rome), which was damaged in several places in May 1972 by a mentally deranged man wielding a hammer. The challenge was to restore the damaged parts on the sculpture to exactly match Michelangelo’s original. First, the broken parts were carefully pieced together and bonded, for example the nose of the Virgin Mary (see pictures). Imprints were made in silicone rubber so that the corresponding parts could be created in marble and ultimately attached to the original.


The Venus de Milo (kept in the Louvre in Paris), the embodiment of beauty in antiquity, has been copied on a 1:1 scale and smaller. The picture shows how a copy of the Venus de Milo is freed from the silicone rubber mold.		The restoration and preservation of historical buildings that are classified as historical monuments is an artistic venture whose success depends on the available materials. Silicone rubbers assist in the restoration of fresco parts in much the same manner as the two examples above (Pietà and Venus de Milo). So that the restored sections and the fresh exterior paint on a building such as Mozart's birthplace in Salzburg would endure, water-repellent silicone microemulsions were used.