Taking Care of My Art
· Identify questions
or concerns about taking care of your art.
· Identify experts who can help you learn more about
taking care of art.
Getting
Started
Below is a list of topics about taking care of art. Lesson
Three introduces these topics as they apply to the art of
Luis Jiménez.
A. Threats from People
B. Threats from Nature
C. Assessing Condition
D. Restoration
E. Protection
Review
what you've already learned about the artwork you selected.
Think of a question that relates each topic to the artwork
you selected. For example for the first topic about threats
from people, you might ask:
- Is there any damage visible
in the artwork I selected that might have been caused by
a person?
- Do I know where the artwork
is presently located and what people might have access to
it there?
Once you
have selected a topic (other than A), think about whom in
art has knowledge and experience about this topic. Different
art experts understand art in different ways. Click to read
descriptions of what
various art experts do. You can learn a lot from experts
if you ask specific questions about the things they know best.
For example
you might ask the registrar of the organization that owns
or is responsible for an artwork whether the organization's
files include any record of vandalism. [CAUTION: Damage from
vandalism or other cause may not be invisible in a reproduction
or even in the original artwork, especially if the artwork
has been repaired or restored.] You might ask a curator (or
registrar) who has owned the artwork from the time it was
made to the present and where it has been stored or displayed
over the years. You might ask an art historian whether people
ever used the artwork for some practical, ceremonial, or other
function when people might have touched it.
Below are
links to some interesting Websites that feature taking care
of art:
Click to
see before
and after shots of restored paintings.
Click to
see how restorers have filled in missing sections of an ancient
sculpture so that viewers can tell which
parts are original (tan) and which are restored (white).
Click to
find out more about the work of the Getty
Conservation Institute in Los Angeles.
Click to
learn more about the Save Outdoor
Sculpture program.
Click to
see photographs of parts of Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling
before
and after restoration.
Click to
learn about treasures lost and efforts to preserve treasures
after the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001.
Now think
about whether there is someone outside art who has experience
or knowledge about the topic you selected. Click to read descriptions
of what experts
in a variety of disciplines do. The list names only experts
used in this program. Of course there are others, including
psychologists, mechanics, physicians, lawyers, athletes, musicians,
and many more who can bring different perspectives to the
topic. Again, you can learn a lot from experts if you ask
specific questions about the things they know best.
For example
for the first topic, threats from people, you might ask a
chemist to identify the components of human perspiration that
might affect the surface of your artwork if it is touched
(for example effects on natural dies, on wood, or on bronze
patina). You might ask an historian what major political,
economic, and social events took place in any location where
your artwork has been stored or displayed.
Click to
read about the continuing
controversy about the Elgin Marbles removed from the Acropolis
in Athens, Greece and now on display at the British Museum
in London. Political, economic, and social events in the early
19th Century and today affected and continue to affect how
well the ancient marble sculptures were preserved in the past
and will be taken care of in the future. Fifty-six marble
panels were taken in 1801 by the 7th Earl Elgin, former British
ambassador to the Ottoman empire. In 1816 bankruptcy forced
Elgin to sell the marbles to the British government. Click
to see the original location in Greece and scroll down to
see panels on display in London.
Choose
one of the topics (not A) to write about in your journal.
- Think of a question related
to the topic that you believe an art expert might
be able to help you answer.
- Think of a question related
to the topic that you believe an expert outside art
might help you answer.
Checklist
I included:
- The topic I selected (B,C, D, or
E)
- Present location of the artwork
- A specific type of art
expert who might guide my inquiry
- A question related to this topic
for an art expert
- A type of non-art
expert who might guide my inquiry
- A question related to the topic
for a non-art expert
- Any other thoughts I have about
what may have damaged (or might in the future damage) the
artwork or about how it has been or might be protected.
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