What We Learned about the Hidden Lives of Artworks
As the exhibition Uncrated: The Hidden Lives of Artworks comes to a close today, it’s worth looking back at the work conducted by the team of registrars, conservators, preparators, and curators that made the exhibition possible. WhenUncrated was first proposed in fall 2014, it was viewed as an opportunity to assess and examine artworks long stored in gallery E—a little-known space located deep in the Heinz Galleries that had been used as storage for nearly 15 years. But as the idea developed, it became apparent that this exhibition offered more than an opportunity to review an inventory of artworks: it could also afford visitors a unique yet fleeting window into the museum’s permanent collection. READ MORE
As highlighted throughout the course of Uncrated: The Hidden Lives of Artworks, conservation is a key element in keeping CMOA’s permanent collection in good repair. The Archer is no exception. Noble yet diminutive in form, this kneeling warrior has remained forever poised to fire his arrow at an unseen enemy. Unfortunately, such dedication to task has taken its toll, primarily on his muscles. By 2007, the Archer’s outstretched left arm had so greatly deteriorated that it separated from his body at the bicep. Luckily, CMOA conservators were able to administer aid, employing dowel rods, epoxy, and vinyl spackle to reattach the warrior’s much-needed limb. Pictured are conservation photographs of the Archer before, during, and after treatment to reattach the arm.
Carnegie Museum of Art purchased the Archer in a lot of five casts, which are all marble originals from the eastern pediment of the Temple of Athena in Aegina. This early collection record from the CMOA Archives documents the acquisition—from the date and year down to the dollar amount paid.
Michael Belman, objects conservator at Carnegie Museum of Art, tells the story of how the Archer was rehabilitated for the 2007 exhibition On a Grand Scale:The Hall of Architecture at 100.
The Archer is part of a lot of five casts—including Fallen Warrior, Standing Spearman, Head of Athena, and Bended Warrior—purchased in 1905 for $107.50. The sculptures are all casts of marble originals from the eastern pediment of the Temple of Athena in Aegina. The original, which dates from 480–450 BCE, is currently located at the Glyptothek in Munich. Pictured is a sketch from the CMOA Archives of the eastern pediment of the Temple of Athena, showing the five figures purchased as casts by the museum in 1905.
Plaster Cast of Archer, from the Eastern Pediment of the Temple of Athena in Aegina, Greece
The plaster cast of the Archer reflects CMOA’s unique collection, and offers a snapshot from a fleeting moment in the history of American museums.
In the mid- to late-1800s, when many American museums first opened their doors, institutions routinely purchased plaster casts of famous sculptures and architectural monuments as a way to tell the history of art. CMOA’s Halls of Architecture and Sculpture opened in 1907, offering Pittsburghers an opportunity to experience some of the world’s great buildings and artworks at a time when most people did not travel abroad.
Over time, however, casts fell out of favor. By the 1930s, most museums started dispersing or destroying their cast collections. Leon Arkus, director of CMOA from 1968 to 1980, was instrumental in keeping the collection intact at a time when some believed the Hall of Architecture should be converted to galleries. Today, the Hall of Architecture is the only remaining cast collection in North America, and the third largest in the world.
The Archer is part of a lot of five casts—including Fallen Warrior, Standing Spearman, Head of Athena, and Bended Warrior—purchased in 1905 for $107.50. The sculptures are all casts of marble originals from the eastern pediment of the Temple of Athena in Aegina. The original, which dates from 480–450 BCE, is currently located at the Glyptothek in Munich.
Noble yet diminutive in form, this kneeling warrior has remained forever poised to fire his arrow at an unseen enemy. Unfortunately, such dedication to task has taken its toll, primarily on his muscles. By 2007, the Archer’s outstretched left arm had so greatly deteriorated that it separated from his body at the bicep. Luckily, CMOA conservators were able to administer aid, employing dowel rods, epoxy, and vinyl spackle to reattach the warrior’s much-needed limb.
In September of 2007, the Archer made his post-rehab debut in the exhibition On a Grand Scale:The Hall of Architecture at 100, which celebrated the history of this storied space in the museum.
Uncrated: The Hidden Lives of Artworks is on view in the Scaife Lounge at Carnegie Museum of Art from March 9, 2015–May 8, 2015. Learn the stories behind some intriguing works from CMOA's collection and find out more about the people who buy, move, hang, clean, and care for them. Over the course of nine weeks, a team of registrars, conservators, preparators, and curators will be sharing their work with the public as they examine objects recently taken out of storage. Come back throughout the show and visit uncrated.cmoa.org to see what new discoveries the team is making.
Ann Hamilton’s objects trigger many questions. What is the conceptual as well as practical relationship between an ephemeral event and the remaining artifacts? How can these objects be explained in a museum gallery? This week, as we examine Hamilton’s (offerings) as part of Uncrated: The Hidden Lives of Artworks, the CMOA Archives offer insight about such questions.
The decision about what to keep as art object was a result of conversations among the artist, the curators of the 1991 International (Lynne Cooke and Mark Francis), the artist’s gallery, and the museum’s conservators (see below). In an early proposal, the assertion was that the molds used to cast the wax heads comprise the work of art; the heads would need to be refabricated every time the object was shown, and the process of heating and melting would need to be replicated in the gallery space. In the end, though, practical considerations prevailed, and the artwork was defined as the two furniture elements the museum eventually acquired.
Uncrated: The Hidden Lives of Artworks is on view in the Scaife Lounge at Carnegie Museum of Art from March 9, 2015–May 8, 2015. Learn the stories behind some intriguing works from CMOA's collection and find out more about the people who buy, move, hang, clean, and care for them. Over the course of nine weeks, a team of registrars, conservators, preparators, and curators will be sharing their work with the public as they examine objects recently taken out of storage. Come back throughout the show and visit uncrated.cmoa.org to see what new discoveries the team is making.
Kurt Christian, chief preparator at Carnegie Museum of Art, discusses Ann Hamilton’s (offerings), 1991. The artwork, commissioned for the 1991 Carnegie International, was originally installed in an empty house adjacent to the Mattress Factory. Today, however, there are concerns regarding the structural integrity of the piece—and the best plan for its long-term care.
