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Other SOS! articles: NEA Survey Shows Deterioration in Contemporary Outdoor Sculpture |
Conservation Treatment Awards Near Finish
This year marks the turning point for the SOS! Conservation Treatment Awards. Over 80 percent of the 124 projects have completed the conservation treatment phase. All but a select few are slated to be complete by the end of the year. So there are many stories to tell and many successes to applaud.
The famous 32-foot-high New Ulm, Minnesota, copper sculpture Hermann the Cheruscan (Alphonso Pelzer, 1889) has been removed from his pedestal as the first step in his conservation treatment. Hermann was a ninth-century A.D. military leader who led the Cheruscan and other Germanic tribes to the first major victory over the Roman legions. He stands in New Ulm as a national symbol of German-American heritage and is the second tallest copper sculpture in the United States—second only to the Statue of Liberty. The estimate for the total cost of the conservation exceeds $600,000, so the City of New Ulm has been drumming up financial support through the Minnesota Historical Society and an aggressive fund-raising campaign. Currently the sculpture is being analyzed by sculptor Dave Hyduke and metal fabricator Arnie Lillo. At Montana Tech in Butte, Montana, Marcus Daly (Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1906) is a symbol of the community. In August 2002, Jonathan Taggart of Taggart Objects Conservation made sure that Mr. Daly will have many more years at his post on campus. Mr. Taggart cleaned the sculpture using pressurized walnut shell blasting, then repatinated and waxed the sculpture to give it a rich brown hue. A rededication on November 12 was attended by residents of the campus and community. The Associated Students of Montana Tech are in charge of the sculpture’s semi-annual maintenance as trained by the conservator. In Scottsdale, Arizona, Louise Nevelson’s Windows to the West (1973) was trucked all the way to New York City to receive conservation treatment from the Tallix, Inc. Foundry, under the supervision of conservation professional Glen Wharton. The Cor-ten steel Windows to the West had faced a challenging environment since its installation in a fountain and reflecting pool. While at the foundry, the sculpture was disassembled, and pieces damaged beyond repair were refabricated. The entire sculpture was cleaned of dirt and rust and finished with a patina matching the original metal. The sculpture is reassembled and will be reinstalled in a newly redesigned plaza in Scottsdale. To read more about the sculpture and its conservation, visit the Scottsdale Public Art Web site at www.scottsdalearts.org/spa/nevelson.asp. Photo: Vulcan by Giuseppe Moretti, 1904, in Birmingham, Alabama. Credit: Nick Veloz. |
In Birmingham, Alabama, the 56-foot-tall iron sculpture Vulcan (Guiseppe Moretti, 1904) returned to his prominent spot after a thorough conservation. Made to represent Alabama’s iron and steel industry for the World’s Fair in 1904, Vulcan is so large that he had to be removed and reassembled in pieces, often using a helicopter! The conservation effort gained steam as Vulcan Park was closed due to the sculpture’s instability, resulting from age and metal fatigue from the freeze-thaw cycle. In five years, the Vulcan Park Foundation raised nearly $4 million for the project, using newsletters and various events to keep the citizens of Birmingham energized about the project. Conservator Nick Veloz from Alexandria, Virginia, was the chief consultant for the project, and he was able to get up close and personal with the giant sculpture.