Articles
We recently had the honor of treating a painting titled Madison Landscape by John Steuart Curry from the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art ; the painting is part of MMoCA’s permanent collection and will be featured in their upcoming exhibition A Broad Sweep of Sky, which explores how Regionalist artists of the 1930s and 1940s helped define a distinctly American, place-based visual identity.
The power of the drum is rooted in its ability to send messages. With the constant tempo of warriors' feet beating on the ground, it summons allies and beats back enemies with the same force. It can be used as an instrument of war or peace, a companion to dance and celebration. During the Revolutionary War, the drum played a vital role in conveying messages, persuading troops to fight, and boosting morale.
Last month we had the pleasure of hosting a private tour of our conservation laboratory and warehouse in collaboration with the Glessner House Museum. The museum previously brought us a ceramic piece from their collection that had shattered. When the tour came through in the first week of the month, the group was fortunately able to see the piece mid-treatment.
Each time The Chicago Conservation Center is involved in a disaster relief situation, be it small or large, we are presented with new challenges in art handling and conservation. The Veterans Memorial Museum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa proved to be one of those situations in which ingenuity and quick-thinking was required to save their collection from the recent flooding of the Cedar River. In less than two days, and with crucial help of local volunteers lead by Michael Jager of Cedar Rapids, The Center’s Disaster Response Team was able to inventory and pack the entire collection of 425 military artifacts housed in the now toxic environment.
As a consequence of the massive flooding of the Cedar and Iowa rivers that occurred in Iowa last June, The National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids was surrounded by 15 feet of water, well above any historical level. As soon as the water started to recede and the building was safe to enter, The Conservation Center sent a five person disaster response team to assess and recover the textile collection that was located on the first floor of the museum and thus totally immersed during the flood. This portion of the textile collection encompassed approximately 1,000 traditional Czech and Slovak costumes and garments, many with detailed colored embroidery, glass beading and metallic thread decorations.
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