Restoring a Frank Lloyd Wright statue | AT THE MUSEUM

MoMA conservators repair structural damage and cracks on a concrete "sprite" statue from Frank Lloyd Wright’s lost Midway Gardens, a Chicago dancehall and biergarten demolished in 1929.
Featuring Ellen Moody, Assistant Projects Conservator and Jessica Betz, Graduate Conservation Intern.
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The comments and opinions expressed in this video are those of the speaker alone, and do not represent the views of The Museum of Modern Art, its personnel, or any artist.
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[@Peaceandlove5ever]

But where's the Belgian linen tho

[@mikebeatstsb7030]

Wow I would love to see more of this process looks intriguing I could easily watch a 45-minute documentary more about this

[@wiguy3]

Thank goodness for trained and patient artisans like you lovely people. Brava!

[@FordFracture]

when I was a younger man I had a carpet cleaning company and I had the privilege of cleaning several FLW homes for many years Some of them were museums but most of them were private homes and the thing that really caught my eye was all his buildings Were designed by the inch not the foot . I know your scratching your head going what ? modern homes are just thrown together Willy nilly but his work was built and designed one inch at a time to the point that thing looked right and felt right the way nature makes a tree or leaf perfectly Proportioned and balanced and everything flows in the same direction .

[@SamarSunkaria]

I am not even sure how I landed up here. But, that was a fine job.

[@carlyacker7863]

Frank Lloyd Wright was my great-grandmothers 5th cousin, on my moms side. Anything I see involving him is always interesting, I'm so happy to see his works being repaired and taken care of.

[@Dizzyfingers2]

Once again, like his houses, proving that Lloyd Wright was a brilliant designer but had not idea about actual physics of the materials and structure ...

[@martymahem236]

Sadly, most things FLW built were not built very well. He was a great architect and designer, but his structures require constant upkeep to keep them from falling apart. They were built to look good and he was apparently not overly interested in how long they'd last. I remember visiting Falling Water in Pennsylvania years ago and no one was even allowed to go out onto the big terrace because it was falling apart and was in danger of collapsing. His "Ennis House" in Los Angeles required millions of dollars of reconstruction not long ago as it was falling apart.

[@cai8751]

This is such an interesting profession and a fascinating video! I wonder what digital art restoration will look like in 100, 200 years from now.

[@pablozitofontan9428]

What a meticulous and delicate job these ladies do!! And with what passion!! My congratulations!!! Hoping to return to NY and to the MoMa after this pandemic has gone. Thanks MoMa for sharing these stories!!!

[@mountvernon]

Excellent video, what a fascinating process.

[@MicaRayan]

I adore Frank Lloyd Wright. Kudos for the conservation works!

[@bobbythekiwi]

I love these conservation videos, but they rarely show what becomes of all this work, perhaps the result, or showing the effect in detail of the step they have just done? Thanks!

[@adamcartwright7281]

That thing looks like it's going to crumble by just looking at it.

[@toobian2]

I think this statue was actually a work by Alfonso Ianelli, but displayed at Wrights project

[@peterstevens6555]

G00D Evening from Auckland, New Zealand it’s Monday, 25 May 2020.

[@cynthiabrown4327]

This was so extremely interesting.

[@chardhin9185]

Skilled hands repairing a piece of art made with materials that do not last time.

[@joyceobeys6818]

Didn’t show the finished product but fun to see how you did it.

[@shelbyhiromi]

How do you get that job? What schooling us required to become a restoration technician? I want to do that for a living.

[@leepoling4897]

Shelby Hiromi also curios

[@paddyskate]

You can study conservation and restoration at art school. Also just ask to shadow someone/work experience. You would be surprised what you can get by just asking !

[@cai8751]

I imagine they would need to take courses in art history, art resotration, archaeology, chemistry, fine art, etc. Then complete a lot of job shadows/ placements to gain skill.

[@glitterypieceofmind]

Are all sections that small, or is that because it was a corner piece? How long did/does it take to finish this?

[@michaelnicola5210]

Fascinating

[@tjta9453]

Beautiful

[@54321Judith]

How did that sculpture get broken? Where is the head?

[@laurensouthgate2458]

wow i would love a job like that.

[@ImpartiallySpeaking]

Wow! ❤️

[@angelicaamora11]

Yeahh But did you use reversible heat, solvent activated resin varnish at the end?

[@tonyennis3008]

Concrete now is much better. I bet such a casting made now would last a long time.

[@NectarineSoup]

I'm intreagued to find out more about this technique? What was the reason behind pouring the mixture out onto a sheet and sandwiching it rather than applying directly to the sculpture and texturing and blending before it sets. Which I assume would give a stronger repair or is it because of bonding issues between cement and your resin?

[@stinew358]

It's because this a work of art and it's not currently the philosophy to permanently alter things. Blending it would add material to existing artist material.

[@arsaeterna4285]

[@Ihaz2fishtanks]

Hmmm...left wondering if the head and other details will be touched up. It would be cool to conserve the sculpture in a way that told the story of Midway and how it burned and ended up partially being dumped in Lake Michigan.

[@zainkhan4649]

Cool

[@Elizabeth-mj5br]

Is that a Kusama (I forgot how to spell it) in the background?

[@KMCDM]

I like her style!

[@adaode3413]

Damn, I kinda want to do this for a living now

[@somerandomname3124]

Then do it.

[@The-Meaning-of-Life-is-42]

Unintentional ASMR stuff right here

[@avialiner]

such a strange way to hold tools in hand

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

No finished product? Has it not been finished?

[@rhysmeyrick615]

blimey.What floor is your workshop on?

[@robertopizzicato]

Amazing humans.

[@dimatadore]

So, do you guys have team meetings before deciding on what to best approach a restoration? Are they Ego-free or do you run into bosses that force bad decisions? By ego free I mean no boss wanting to impose their way over a better way, scientifically. How many experts weigh the best way to restore a piece before finally deciding on the approach? I’m very curious. Thanks! 😊

[@Hugginsince79]

Where did you get your degree in preservation

[@Lucyart]

good job girls

[@MrBrownnn696]

I wanna do that

[@Andy-ed9to]

What program would you need to take in university to get this kind of job?

[@rlt94]

Try the grey stuff...

[@wrtyiw1508]

Hello guys ! What is the name of this profession? Someone is know the name ?

[@randolphfriend8260]

❤

[@DrewDienno]

god I want her job so badly

[@hellfishazeroth]

Someone get this girl a rolling pin!

[@maiyaadrien6376]

She gives me Claire from the Bon Appetite test kitchen vibes.

[@alain8747]

mask, hood, and what else? Maybe a decompression chamber. Fortunately, at the time they did not work like that

[@davidricobene9024]

I'm disappointed to see that even in death the work of the great Italian-American sculptor Alfonso Ianelli is still being ignored or misattributed. FLW did not design these "Sprite" statues by himself. In fact many have speculated that Ianelli contributed more to the design of these sculptures than FLW. After FLW took all the credit for designing the "Sprite" sculptures the two men never spoke again.

[@RisingBagel]

Thats right Iannelli need more recognition! His Vaudeville posters are amazing!

[@Eltonm28]

Is that a giant vacuum cleaner?

[@judithwalker3600]

MRI, CT scan, Xray, etc, and 3D print anything in this day and age.

[@frankanddanasnyder3272]

Why....it's just cast concrete!

[@Mountlougallops]

I bet Frank is turning over in his grave seeing women beautifully repairing his shoddy work. 😘

[@zoranignjatovic9386]

You could've used coprolite!...

[@paulunga]

Rebar Bent!

[@mervearal6010]

What's her accent?

[@trulsdirio]

Well, if wearing it like *that* you could also not wear the mask in the first place..

[@lexithomas2696]

okay but what happened to her head restoration 🙄

[@themuseumofmodernart]

Thanks for your question, Alexis! The conservator from the video, Ellen, will have an answer for you during our Live Q&A this Wednesday, March 14 at 3:00 p.m. EDT. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYbCh6Z_iZmVmMU

[@KenPaulsenArchitect]

Seems to me that using the same material (concrete) rather than synthetic materials would have integrated into the repair better. Dissimilar materials are more likely to develop problems. Although the repair "looks" good (now), deep inside, we know things are artificial. FLW is rolling over in his grave.

[@robot7759]

This is not a structural restoration, more of a cosmetic? Or am I missing something here?

[@creolelady182]

very tedious work

[@Codename-B]

I would have taken care of its structural integrity fist in order to be able to move it without much concerns. Then the cosmetics.

[@dariomcewen2074]

they did fix the structural integrity of it. she talks about how they addressed that in the first minute or so. the portion the video shows is their cosmetic conservation of it.

[@wickandde]

Great job but the colour difference is stark tho :/

[@Aleph-Noll]

the restoration isnt finished yet, this video only shows a small fraction of the total work.

[@christopher-]

Someone clearly didn't watch until the end before commenting.

[@rarenest9150]

It is irresponsible for MOMA to attribute these sculptures to Mr. Wright when the great majority of Wright scholars agree these works were designed and fabricated by Alfonso Iannelli (1888 - 1965). Nothing against FLLW . He was a genius - but this attribution has been widely debunked for decades. 😥

[@vintageswiss9096]

So it's not an original work anymore...

[@timothychessel1958]

This work needs to be done by a mason with period correct materials

[@DatBoiOrly]

So instead of doing it properly by using a sandstone mortar you opted for using resin? I thought the point of restoration is to fix it not bodge it.

[@JM-yn8mb]

Bruh imagine repairing a statue without the head... Pointless!

[@stepcorngrumbleteats7683]

Nice technique, next time try wearing gloves that fit.

[@margotmorisse5294]

First of all, you're wearing a powder mark for resin purpose, bad choice!!! This restauration is against all ethical standards, it should be clearly recognizable (cf cesare brandi, la teoria del restauro) which is the opposit of what you're dioing here......for a europeen museum standard, this restauration is a mess!!

[@chrisrangel2000]

It's ugly anyways. Only sculptures like David and La Pieta should be treated with care.