As you know all of the works in the To Live Forever show are from the Brooklyn Museum. What you may not know is that there was a lot of conservation work that went into putting together this exhibition. So, to find out more about what the BM conservators (and others) did to prepare these objects to travel to the IMA, I asked the three IMA objects conservation summer interns (Kendra Dacey, Andrea Mason, and Courtney Von Stein) to help me come up with some questions for Tina March, BM assistant conservator of objects. I really enjoyed reading Tina’s personal responses and think they help explain how museum exhibitions require a collaborative effort.
BM conservator Lisa Bruno and registrar Deana Setzke were here for nearly 2 weeks to oversee the installation all of the artworks into the exhibition cases. As a way to remember all of the hard work that went into the installation of this show, IMA registration department staffer Jesse Speight made a card that I think wonderfully demonstrates all of the things that went into putting this show up.
The Later Canon, 2008, 8 7/8” x 11-3/4″, RoseArt Washable Markers, BiC ‘Wite-Out’ Correction Pen, Pencil,
Sharpie Permanent Marker (black) on File Folder
How long did it take you to prepare all of the artworks for the To Live Forever Exhibition?
We started to work on the first object, Coffin of the Lady of the House Weretwahset (37.47a-b), in the Fall of 2006, and were finishing up treatment on the very last object a week before it all left the building! While we have been working on these objects for a little over a year and a half, we have been working on many other projects as well. This includes exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum as well as preparing BM objects for loans to other museums.
Filed under: Conservation, Exhibitions
