Most of the everyday writing from the ancient world—that is, informal writing not intended for a long life or wide public distribution—has perished. Reinterpreting the silences and blanks of the ...historical record, leading papyrologist Roger S. Bagnall convincingly argues that ordinary people—from Britain to Egypt to Afghanistan—used writing in their daily lives far more extensively than has been recognized. Marshalling new and little-known evidence, including remarkable graffiti recently discovered in Smyrna, Bagnall presents a fascinating analysis of writing in different segments of society. His book offers a new picture of literacy in the ancient world in which Aramaic rivals Greek and Latin as a great international language, and in which many other local languages develop means of written expression alongside these metropolitan tongues.
La destruction programmée en 2018 des bâtiments historiques de la prison des Baumettes initie pour le Musée des civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée (Mucem), début 2019, l’enquête ...« Graffitis et créations carcérales ». Reprenant la question de la prison et de l’enfermement, l’enquête se déploie en deux volets : d’une part, la constitution d’une documentation photographique en partenariat avec le service de l’Inventaire général du Patrimoine PACA qui prend pour objet la prison en tant que telle (ses bâtiments et son architecture, ses graffitis) et d’autre part, une collecte d’éléments affichés dans les cellules, d’objets créés ou détournés par les détenus et relatifs à leur vie quotidienne.L’enquête se matérialise par plus de deux mille photographies réalisées par le service de l’Inventaire général du Patrimoine PACA, un versement aux archives de cent quarante documents collectés dans les cellules et les coursives, quarante-deux items inscrits à l’inventaire du musée et provenant soit des cellules laissées à l’abandon au moment du transfert des détenus vers le nouveau site Baumettes 2, soit de saisies de l’administration pénitentiaire.
The planned demolition of the historic buildings of the Baumettes prison in 2018 has prompted the “musée des civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée”, the Museum of Europe and Mediterranean civilisations (Mucem) to launch the "Graffitis et créations carcérales", "Graffiti and prison creation" investigation in early 2019. Taking up the question of prisons and confinement, the survey has two parts: on the one hand, the compilation of photographic documentation in partnership with the “Inventaire général du patrimoine culturel PACA”, PACA region’s General inventory of heritage, which takes as its subject the prison as such (its buildings and architecture, its graffiti) and, on the other, a collection of items displayed in the cells, objects created by the inmates and relating to their daily life.The survey took the form of more than two thousand photographs taken by the “Inventaire général du patrimoine culturel PACA”, PACA region’s General inventory of heritage, one hundred and forty documents collected in the cells and corridors, and forty-two items listed in the museum's inventory, either from cells left abandoned when prisoners were transferred to the new Baumettes 2 site, or from items seized by the prison administration.
External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS) are widely used constructive solutions which aim at enhancing the building thermal performance. Nevertheless, ETICS can often present anomalies ...(e.g., stains and microcracks) throughout their service life, and vandalism actions, as in the case of graffiti, are rather common in urban areas. The removal of undesired graffiti is generally carried out through invasive chemical–mechanical methods, which may affect the durability of the ETICS. The adoption of anti-graffiti products can be a feasible protection method; however, no comprehensive studies were already addressed on these substrates. This study aims at evaluating the effectiveness, compatibility, and durability of three anti-graffiti products (with permanent, semi-permanent, and sacrificial properties) when applied on different ETICS. The removal of aerosol graffiti paints was carried out with a low-invasive and eco-friendly removal method (i.e., low-pressure steam jet). The water transport properties, as well as color, gloss, and roughness, were evaluated before and after graffiti removal. The durability of the anti-graffiti was also assessed by artificial aging cycles. Results showed that graffiti removal was rather efficient on ETICS with acrylic-based finishing coats and when using (semi) permanent anti-graffiti products (with Δ
E
*
ab
< 5, i.e., not macroscopically visible, when comparing cleaned and reference surfaces), although these products can reduce their effectiveness after aging. Conversely, unsatisfactory graffiti cleaning was observed on ETICS with lime-based or silicate-based finishing coats (with Δ
E
*
ab
> 5), with considerable alteration also of the water transport properties (reducing water absorption and slowing down the drying kinetic).
The removal of graffiti or over-painting requires special attention in order to not induce the surface destruction but to also address all of the important eco-compatibility concerns. Because of the ...necessity to avoid the use of volatile and toxic petroleum-based solvents that are common in cleaning formulations, much attention has recently been paid to the design of a variety of sustainable formulations that are based on biodegradable raw materials. In the present contribution we propose a new approach to graffiti cleaning formulations that are composed of newly synthesized green solvents such as esterified plant oils, i.e., rapeseed oil (RO), sunflower oil (SO), or used cooking oil (UCO), ethyl lactate (EL), and alkylpolyglucosides (APGs) as surfactants. Oil PEG-8 ester solvents were synthesized through the direct esterification/transesterification of these oils using monobutyltin(IV) tris(2-ethylhexanoate) and titanium(IV) butoxide catalysts under mild process conditions. The most efficient formulations, determined by optimization through the response surface methodology (RSM) was more effective in comparison to the reference solvents such as the so-called Nitro solvent (denoting a mixture of toluene and acetone) and petroleum ether. Additionally, the optimal product was found to be effective in removing graffiti from glass, metal, or sandstone surfaces under open-field conditions in the city of Wrocław. The performed studies could be an invaluable tool for developing future green formulations for graffiti removal.
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