Teaching About Sculpture the Hands-On Way

Vacquero, by Luis Jimenez, was one of the sculptures on the tour. Photo courtesy Kronkright Conservation of Cultural Materials, Inc.

In El Paso, Texas, 37 public high school students and teachers joined a six-hour outdoor sculpture conservation tour and education program facilitated by conservator Dale Kronkright. The National Endowment for the Arts and Save Outdoor Sculpture! provided funding; the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department coordinated the event.

A sketched sculpture design by a participant.

The program included a tour of three public sculptures (including Vaquero by Luis Jimenez) discussing different aspects of creating public art such as selecting a site and maintenance issues. Students were then taken to a classroom and divided into teams. Each team “designed” a sculpture for a selected site in downtown El Paso, taking into consideration issues of subject matter, materials, and long-term maintenance.

Participants enjoyed learning about the artworks and their history, and appreciated the hands-on aspect of the group project. This program uses the principles of design education in which students are able to immediately apply learned knowledge by executing a design project.

In California, the City of Santa Monica received funds from SOS! and the National Endowment from the Arts (NEA) to conserve Santa Monica Art Tool: Walk on LA, by Carl Cheng. Sculpture Conservation Studios, the conservation firm that conserved the sculpture, helped write a piece to publicize the conservation in Seascape, a local quarterly newspaper published in Spanish and English.

art Art Tool was created in 1988 with funding from the NEA and is located on the sand north of the Santa Monica pier. Its 13-ton concrete cylinder leaves an impression of Los Angeles in the sand when rolled over the beach. The work has delighted beachgoers for nearly two decades, but the sand, sun, ocean spray and thousands of visitors who climb on it had taken their toll.

The conservators dusted and pressure-washed the surface, then removed graffiti and stains. They repaired cracks and applied a clear silicone coating to protect the sculpture’s surface from future graffiti and grime. During each step of the conservation, the conservators took extra care to ensure that none of the cleaning agents were washed into the ocean. Today the piece stands better protected from the environment and can be enjoyed for years to come.

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