While admiring the much loved altarpiece by Giotto or other beautiful artwork at the North Carolina Museum of Art, one rarely thinks of what it takes to make them look so good. A rare peek behind the curtain with a livestream webcast from the conservation lab at the art museum Feb. 4, 11 a.m., will share with art lovers and museum professionals how the magic is done.
Viewers can observe the process and also email in questions to be answered in real time. Register to watch and send questions at http://www.ncdcr.gov/dncrtv. "Conservation at the N.C. Museum of Art" later will be posted to YouTube and is produced by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Oil paintings are treated about every 100 years, and some come having been treated and some not. During a conservation treatment paintings are cleaned, or returned to their actual state, before damage is repaired. The museum will share this process with the "Actual State" exhibition Feb. 20 thru July 10, in which conservator Noelle Ocon will work through the conservation process before the public in the museum gallery. This highly skilled work cannot be undertaken at home.
"Actual State" features two Flemish paintings,The Ascension and The Pentecost, attributed to a follower of Bernard van Orley circa 1530. Conservation has been completed on The Ascension, while The Pentecost will be nearby in its actual state awaiting repair. A photograph of The Pentecost before any retouching will enable viewers to see the benefits of effective conservation.
Ocon will be joined in the webcast by other members of the conservation team who explain the process of cleaning, varnishing and retouching paintings that may be hundreds of years old. The NCMA began with the original state appropriation of $1 million in 1952 to start an Old Masters collection because of the promised gift of the Kress collection that would arrive in 1960. Curator of Northern European Art Dennis Weller will review how these and other treasures are handled. Chief Conservator William Brown will explain how the N.C. Museum of Art conservation lab works.
"Sometimes conservation means undoing the work of others who meant well but didn't have the tools of today," Brown observes. "Sometimes other paintings just were not valued nor treated with any care."
Conservator Perry Hurt will review the 21st century process of laser cleaning 16th century artworks, including paintings of British nobility from the time of King James. An additional seven donated portraits of the Scott family are in the process of being conserved even as the conservator tries to discover who the subjects are. Investigation as well as restoration can easily be part of the conservator's job. The Scott and Cavendish portraits will go on view starting this August.
Trained to recognize damage and materials, conservators know what techniques to employ for repair of canvas, wood or other surfaces, as well as what works on oil, gold or other substances in the painting. The detailed and time-intensive work on a single painting can take months.
For additional information, please call (919) 807-7389 of (919) 664-6795. The program is in cooperation with the N.C. Museum of Art, a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, and part of an educational series of webcasts by the NCDNCR.
About the North Carolina Museum of Art
The North Carolina Museum of Art's permanent collection spans more than 5,000 years, from ancient Egypt to the present, making the institution one of the premier art museums in the South. The Museum's collection provides educational, aesthetic, intellectual, and cultural experiences for the citizens of North Carolina and beyond. The 164-acre Museum Park showcases the connection between art and nature through site-specific works of environmental art. The Museum offers changing national touring exhibitions, classes, lectures, family activities, films, and concerts. The Museum opened West Building, home to the permanent collection, in 2010. The North Carolina Museum of Art, Lawrence J. Wheeler, director is located at 2110 Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh.