Artists Participating in Conservation
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Artists Participating in Conservation
by isabelle brajer on Fri May 18, 2012 8:38 am
keywords: contemporary outdoor murals, artist’s intent, authenticity, repainting, community involvement
One of the topics provoking the liveliest debate at the conference Modern and Contemporary Mural Paintings organized at the Polytechnic University of Valencia May 4-5, 2012 was the participation of artists in the conservation process. The organizers invited the Catalonian artist Ignasi Blanch-Gisbert to present his recreation of his mural on a piece of the Berlin Wall. A 1.2 km long fragment of the wall next to the River Spree was preserved as an on-site gallery, where selected artists from different countries were given sections and asked to create murals. Blanch-Gisbert completed his piece of the wall in 1990, thinking that it was not going to last more than a few years (fig. 1).
Fig. 1. The original version of the mural, created in 1990. Photo: Ignasi Blanch-Gisbert.
Meanwhile, the decorated wall turned into a big tourist attraction, and in 1996, the artist was asked to recreate the mural, which had deteriorated over the course of 6 years. The surface was cleaned, and he did not try to slavishly reproduce the original mural, but rather concentrated on capturing the ‘spirit’ of the first painting (fig. 2).
Fig. 2. A recreation of the original mural, from 1996. Photo: Ignasi Blanch-Gisbert.
Unfortunately, the quality of the paints he used was inferior, and the mural quickly deteriorated. In 2000, he was asked to recreate it again, and this time he tried to be truer to the original composition (fig. 3). Over the course of the next nine years the image had become popular – it was used on city logos, and it was reproduced souvenirs, such as coffee mugs. The most recent recreation happened in 2009 (fig. 4), and again, the artist made an effort to replicate the first version as accurately as possible, while at the same time he also tried to replicate the spontaneity of the paint application.
Fig. 3 (top). The version from 2000. Photo: Ignasi Blanch-Gisbert.
Fig. 4 (bottom). The version from 2009. Photo: Ignasi Blanch-Gisbert.
Although this case might be an interesting example to use in a discussion of authenticity, particularly the concepts of authenticity of design and spirit, placing it in the same category as the 61st iteration of the Ise Jingu Shrine in Japan, scheduled for replication in 2013, it was quickly pointed out that this case really has nothing to do with conservation, even though the Blanch-Gisbert referred to his act as a ‘restoration’. However, the participation of artists in acts of conservation is something that the profession should discuss. It is a touchy issue when artists are still alive and reluctant to ‘hand over’ the responsibility of preserving their creation to conservation professionals. Blanch-Gisbert believes in the artists’ right to extend the life of their paintings through their creative acts, even when it includes changes in the pictorial contents. Many conservators at the conference expressed the opinion that once an artist has finished a painting and signed it, it becomes part of history that should not be changed according to the whims of the artist.
I recently spoke with the Danish street artist Ulrik Schiødt, who created what is credited to be the largest contemporary outdoor mural painted by one artist, Evolution (fig. 5, 6, 7 and 8). The piece was created over the course of two summers in 1999/2000 on a 170 m long wall.
Figures 5-8. [i]Evolution is a 170 m long mural created by Ulrik Schiødt in 1999/2000. It is considered to be a street art masterpiece. Photos: Kira Krøis Ursem. [/i]
For 12 years other street and graffiti artists respected the integrity of the piece (it is surrounded by rampant graffiti activity), which testifies to their high valuation of its artistic qualities. It is now starting to show signs of deterioration, particularly in one section, where alarming flaking is occurring (fig. 9 and 10). And unfortunately, it was tagged for the first time several months ago, probably due to the deterioration (fig. 11).
Fig. 9 (top). Detail from [i]Evolution, condition in 2008. Photo: Isabelle Brajer.
Fig. 10 (middle). Detail from Evolution, condition in 2012. Photo: Isabelle Brajer.
Fig. 11 (bottom). Detail from Evolution with vandalism. Photo: Isabelle Brajer.[/i]
The artist acknowledged that it was probably time to ‘touch-up’ the painting. When I asked him how he would do that, Schiødt replied that he would just brush off the loose flakes, and start painting on top of the damaged area, eliminating the losses in the pictorial content, without relying on his preparatory sketches or early photographs. He was also of the opinion that only he had the right to restore his work, and could not imagine relinquishing this task to a conservator. His insistence on carrying out any future restoration work himself was evident in his dismissive rebuttal: “Do conservators know how to handle a spray can?
One can sympathize with an artist concerned with maintaining the appearance of a painting created with a sophisticated technique, which had probably taken time to master. But in the recent restoration of the outdoor mural in West Harlem, Homage to Seurat: La Grand Jatte in Harlem, (fig. 12 and 13), painted by the now deceased artist, Eva Cockcroft, in 1986, artists from the community were hired to repaint the faded mural (fig. 14), despite the fact that it was executed in a simple (colour-by-number) technique, with flat colours, where little painting skill apart from colour matching was required.
Fig. 12 (top) [i]Homage to Seurat: La Grand Jatte in Harlem, before repainting in 2011. Photo by Camille Perottet. Used courtesy of Resue Public Murals.
Fig. 13. (middle) Homage to Seurat: La Grand Jatte in Harlem, after repainting in 2011. Photo by Camille Perottet. Used courtesy of Resue Public Murals.
Fig. 14. (bottom) The artists that performed the restoration (from left): Jessica Guzman, Ariel Mercado, Alexandra Unthank, Maria Dominguez, Director Janet Braun-Reinitz, and Rochelle Shicoff. Photo by Tim McDevitt/The Epoch Times.[/i]
Other issues than conservation or artistic skills are at stake in such cases. Community murals, particularly in the United States, have a very strong social function. Many were created as a common project in an effort to promote unity and harmony in the community. This idea lives on when a mural is repainted regardless whether the artist who created it is directly involved or not, as seen in the article about this project http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/united-states/mural-restoration-harlem-23764-print.html
The involvement of conservators in the conservation of community murals can be seen by the community as an intrusion by an ‘outsider’. Despite the conservation profession’s fought-for recognition and establishment of principles and guidelines, we cannot ignore the core values behind organised efforts promoting the creation and preservation of contemporary outdoor murals, such as the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia: It Ain’t About the Paint. The ideal solution for the treatment of contemporary murals is advocated as a holistic approach by the Getty Conservation Institute, under whose leadership projects have been carried out with conservators and artists working side by side, preserving as much genuine material as possible, while artists carry out careful in-painting. However, this is not always possible, mostly due to budget restrictions, which often lead to easier short-term solutions, usually involving the application of a fresh coat of paint. However, this type of treatment can contribute to problems of flaking cause by the thicker paint layer, thus leading to a cycle of deterioration and repainting. In the long run, though, it is probably better to keep the pictorial contents of the murals alive by repainting by artists or community volunteers than if they should be completely lost.
Isabelle Brajer
One of the topics provoking the liveliest debate at the conference Modern and Contemporary Mural Paintings organized at the Polytechnic University of Valencia May 4-5, 2012 was the participation of artists in the conservation process. The organizers invited the Catalonian artist Ignasi Blanch-Gisbert to present his recreation of his mural on a piece of the Berlin Wall. A 1.2 km long fragment of the wall next to the River Spree was preserved as an on-site gallery, where selected artists from different countries were given sections and asked to create murals. Blanch-Gisbert completed his piece of the wall in 1990, thinking that it was not going to last more than a few years (fig. 1).
Fig. 1. The original version of the mural, created in 1990. Photo: Ignasi Blanch-Gisbert.
Meanwhile, the decorated wall turned into a big tourist attraction, and in 1996, the artist was asked to recreate the mural, which had deteriorated over the course of 6 years. The surface was cleaned, and he did not try to slavishly reproduce the original mural, but rather concentrated on capturing the ‘spirit’ of the first painting (fig. 2).
Fig. 2. A recreation of the original mural, from 1996. Photo: Ignasi Blanch-Gisbert.
Unfortunately, the quality of the paints he used was inferior, and the mural quickly deteriorated. In 2000, he was asked to recreate it again, and this time he tried to be truer to the original composition (fig. 3). Over the course of the next nine years the image had become popular – it was used on city logos, and it was reproduced souvenirs, such as coffee mugs. The most recent recreation happened in 2009 (fig. 4), and again, the artist made an effort to replicate the first version as accurately as possible, while at the same time he also tried to replicate the spontaneity of the paint application.
Fig. 3 (top). The version from 2000. Photo: Ignasi Blanch-Gisbert.
Fig. 4 (bottom). The version from 2009. Photo: Ignasi Blanch-Gisbert.
Although this case might be an interesting example to use in a discussion of authenticity, particularly the concepts of authenticity of design and spirit, placing it in the same category as the 61st iteration of the Ise Jingu Shrine in Japan, scheduled for replication in 2013, it was quickly pointed out that this case really has nothing to do with conservation, even though the Blanch-Gisbert referred to his act as a ‘restoration’. However, the participation of artists in acts of conservation is something that the profession should discuss. It is a touchy issue when artists are still alive and reluctant to ‘hand over’ the responsibility of preserving their creation to conservation professionals. Blanch-Gisbert believes in the artists’ right to extend the life of their paintings through their creative acts, even when it includes changes in the pictorial contents. Many conservators at the conference expressed the opinion that once an artist has finished a painting and signed it, it becomes part of history that should not be changed according to the whims of the artist.
I recently spoke with the Danish street artist Ulrik Schiødt, who created what is credited to be the largest contemporary outdoor mural painted by one artist, Evolution (fig. 5, 6, 7 and 8). The piece was created over the course of two summers in 1999/2000 on a 170 m long wall.
Figures 5-8. [i]Evolution is a 170 m long mural created by Ulrik Schiødt in 1999/2000. It is considered to be a street art masterpiece. Photos: Kira Krøis Ursem. [/i]
For 12 years other street and graffiti artists respected the integrity of the piece (it is surrounded by rampant graffiti activity), which testifies to their high valuation of its artistic qualities. It is now starting to show signs of deterioration, particularly in one section, where alarming flaking is occurring (fig. 9 and 10). And unfortunately, it was tagged for the first time several months ago, probably due to the deterioration (fig. 11).
Fig. 9 (top). Detail from [i]Evolution, condition in 2008. Photo: Isabelle Brajer.
Fig. 10 (middle). Detail from Evolution, condition in 2012. Photo: Isabelle Brajer.
Fig. 11 (bottom). Detail from Evolution with vandalism. Photo: Isabelle Brajer.[/i]
The artist acknowledged that it was probably time to ‘touch-up’ the painting. When I asked him how he would do that, Schiødt replied that he would just brush off the loose flakes, and start painting on top of the damaged area, eliminating the losses in the pictorial content, without relying on his preparatory sketches or early photographs. He was also of the opinion that only he had the right to restore his work, and could not imagine relinquishing this task to a conservator. His insistence on carrying out any future restoration work himself was evident in his dismissive rebuttal: “Do conservators know how to handle a spray can?
One can sympathize with an artist concerned with maintaining the appearance of a painting created with a sophisticated technique, which had probably taken time to master. But in the recent restoration of the outdoor mural in West Harlem, Homage to Seurat: La Grand Jatte in Harlem, (fig. 12 and 13), painted by the now deceased artist, Eva Cockcroft, in 1986, artists from the community were hired to repaint the faded mural (fig. 14), despite the fact that it was executed in a simple (colour-by-number) technique, with flat colours, where little painting skill apart from colour matching was required.
Fig. 12 (top) [i]Homage to Seurat: La Grand Jatte in Harlem, before repainting in 2011. Photo by Camille Perottet. Used courtesy of Resue Public Murals.
Fig. 13. (middle) Homage to Seurat: La Grand Jatte in Harlem, after repainting in 2011. Photo by Camille Perottet. Used courtesy of Resue Public Murals.
Fig. 14. (bottom) The artists that performed the restoration (from left): Jessica Guzman, Ariel Mercado, Alexandra Unthank, Maria Dominguez, Director Janet Braun-Reinitz, and Rochelle Shicoff. Photo by Tim McDevitt/The Epoch Times.[/i]
Other issues than conservation or artistic skills are at stake in such cases. Community murals, particularly in the United States, have a very strong social function. Many were created as a common project in an effort to promote unity and harmony in the community. This idea lives on when a mural is repainted regardless whether the artist who created it is directly involved or not, as seen in the article about this project http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/united-states/mural-restoration-harlem-23764-print.html
The involvement of conservators in the conservation of community murals can be seen by the community as an intrusion by an ‘outsider’. Despite the conservation profession’s fought-for recognition and establishment of principles and guidelines, we cannot ignore the core values behind organised efforts promoting the creation and preservation of contemporary outdoor murals, such as the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia: It Ain’t About the Paint. The ideal solution for the treatment of contemporary murals is advocated as a holistic approach by the Getty Conservation Institute, under whose leadership projects have been carried out with conservators and artists working side by side, preserving as much genuine material as possible, while artists carry out careful in-painting. However, this is not always possible, mostly due to budget restrictions, which often lead to easier short-term solutions, usually involving the application of a fresh coat of paint. However, this type of treatment can contribute to problems of flaking cause by the thicker paint layer, thus leading to a cycle of deterioration and repainting. In the long run, though, it is probably better to keep the pictorial contents of the murals alive by repainting by artists or community volunteers than if they should be completely lost.
Isabelle Brajer
- isabelle brajer
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