Preserving glow-in-the-dark art and fashion: advances presented at ACS meeting

Sprouse, a designer known for blending graffiti prints, a playful 1960s aesthetic, and vivid Day-Glo colors, rose to prominence in the mid-1980s. His work won admirers including Andy Warhol, and he gave Blondie's Debbie Harry her distinctive Bowery punk look. Several examples of his fashion are now preserved in the textiles collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, where conservationists are trying to learn more about the pigments he used in order to keep the colors from dulling over time.

The research draws on a science that has fascinated observers since the Middle Ages, when phosphors—minerals that glow in the dark after being exposed to light—were first described. Such materials absorb light energy, store it, and release it gradually as re-emitted light. The related phenomenon of fluorescence is what powers DayGlo paints and similar products: these pigments convert ultraviolet light into visible light, producing brighter and more vibrant colors in daylight.

A key historical discovery in this field came in 1896, when physicist Henri Becquerel found that phosphorescent uranium salts fogged photographic plates left in a closed drawer, even without any light source. That accidental observation led to the discovery of radioactive decay, highlighting how the study of luminous materials can illuminate far broader areas of science.

For the conservators at Newfields, understanding the precise chemical behavior of Sprouse's pigments is essential. The colors in his garments are prone to fading, and the goal is to develop conservation strategies that slow that process. The findings presented at the ACS meeting represent a step toward identifying the specific pigments and the mechanisms of their degradation. While the session's technical details were not fully disclosed in Ars Technica's account, the researchers' progress signals a practical application of this fundamental optical science.