Blog @ the Nelson-Atkins

Who made that? What is it for? Why did you become a Curator? What the heck was that artist thinking?

Museum Curators across the world are ready to tackle your art-related questions via Twitter during Ask A Curator Day on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010. We want to hear from you!

Although the Nelson-Atkins regularly participates in audience evaluation, this is a great opportunity to tell us about your art-related interests in real-time and learn more about curatorial work.

Our Curator Q&A team:
Stephanie Knappe
Assistant Curator, American Art

Colin Mackenzie
Senior Curator, Early Chinese Art

Jan Schall
Sanders Sosland Curator, Modern & Contemporary Art

April Watson
Associate Curator, Photography

How does this work?

1. Join/log-in to Twitter on September 1.
2. Follow us @nelson_atkins.
3. Send us your art-related questions. Be sure to add the #askacurator hashtag so that everyone benefits from your awesome inquiries.

Check out www.askacurator.com for more details and a list of participating Museums and Galleries.

See you September 1st!

A group of 5 high school students took on the “real world” challenge for a week this summer. Nelson-Atkins art teacher Kreshaun McKinney explained that the overall purpose of the class is to give students the opportunity to work directly with a local Kansas City artist.

The students visited the artist’s studio and then the artist came to the Nelson-Atkins to work with them on a project. McKinney hopes the Museum can continue to work with local artists on a regular basis.

The artist this year is Michelle Dreher who runs a printshop called Two Tone Press, as well as teaches art classes at the Museum.

A graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, Dreher loves being an artist in Kansas City.

“The Kansas City art scene is great. We have a really strong community and there are a lot of people trying to do what they want with their art,” said Dreher. “It is really affordable so many artists are able to do their work without having to worry about money.”

The project for the class is called relief printing. The students began by finding images in magazines or books along with texture rubbings from wallpaper samples to inspire their design.

They traced over portions of the images onto acetate before using actual tracing paper and graphite to finalize their drawings. Once the drawings were completed, they placed them face down onto linoleum blocks. By rubbing the back of their drawings, they were easily able to get the graphite to transfer to the surface.

The next step is to carve away parts of the design. The remaining raised surface is the part that will get inked while the carved lines are left blank creating the patterns and images on the paper.

Once the design is ready, ink is rolled over the carved image. Then the inked plate is run through an etching press with paper placed on top.

Each design was unique. One had butterflies, another had skateboarders while yet another was a girl singing. The students each made multiple prints trying different colors.

In addition to learning the print making process, the students also discussed what it might mean to each of them to be an artist and what to look for in an art school. Whatever these girls end up doing, it looks like they have a bright future ahead!

Classes for high school students are available this fall. Click here for details.

Recently, conservators, curators and scientists examined Monet’s beloved Water Lilies to understand how the artist painted, what pigments were used and how his composition evolved.

Given the large size and popularity of the painting, the examination took place in the gallery. A portion of the space was roped off so visitors could watch Mary Schafer, Associate Conservator, at work and learn more about the examination process.

During the examination, Schafer studied each part of the painting to answer questions about its construction. In what order did Monet apply his colors? What brushes did he favor? What was the consistency and texture of the oil paint? Perhaps most intriguing, how did the composition change as he painted? Some of these findings will be shared in a series of posts, beginning with artist changes and x-radiography.

Monet painted Water Lilies over a ten year period, between 1916 and 1926, and made significant changes as he developed the composition. Simon Kelly, Associate Curator of European Painting and Sculpture, identified several artist changes by comparing the Nelson-Atkins panel to the artist’s studies as well as early studio photographs.

X-radiography was also used to see water lilies that Monet painted out as the composition progressed. With this examination technique, x-rays pass through the painting and expose film placed on the canvas reverse. Dense pigments block x-rays from reaching the film and produce light areas on the processed film.

The black and white x-radiograph (above) shows a beautiful lily pad and bloom that Monet eventually covered with green paint (below). Comparisons between the earlier water lilies and the final composition reveal a dramatic change in the way Monet painted; the lily pads shift from distinct oval masses to the loosely painted, abstracted forms that we appreciate today.

Monet’s painting process will be featured in an upcoming exhibition, Monet’s Water Lilies, which will reunite all three panels of Monet’s triptych, made up of the Nelson-Atkins panel and those in the St. Louis Museum of Art and Cleveland Museum of Art. The triptych has not been assembled in over thirty years and so the exhibition is a rare opportunity to see Monet’s entire composition.

Mark your calendars for April 2011!

Have you ever wondered what an ancient work of art looked like when it was first created? Or how an artist was able to achieve a certain color or texture? Ever wondered why lighting is different in various galleries? Or how to tell if a work of art is authentic?

If you have asked any of these questions, did you think that science held the answers? From June 21-25, the children’s studio class “Science of Art,” led by Ford Learning Center teacher Penny Selle, tackled those questions and more as students (ages 9-13) set forth on a hands-on exploration of science’s role in art.

The class began with a visit from Nelson-Atkins conservator Paul Benson who talked a bit about what a conservator does and how science factors into his job. Mr. Benson shared with the class a beautiful 300-year-old plate as well as a silver spoon, explaining that part of his job is to answer important questions about the objects. Impressive scientific equipment including x-rays, black lights, and the x-ray fluorescence spectrometer (or the XRF gun) is often used to help determine age, quality, authenticity and composition of art objects—and help identify their value and any needed repairs.

After traveling to the recently reinstalled Egyptian galleries, Mr. Benson revealed the vast array of scientific investigation involved with the objects displayed—and the steps taken to preserve them. For example, careful analysis was needed to safely position Meret-it-es’s coffin upright. Students also saw some equipment used in the gallery to help protect the art from potentially damaging factors such as light, temperature and humidity.

Back in the classroom, students experimented with materials to help illustrate the impact of external factors, including natural and chemical elements, on various objects. Students gathered organic fibers for weaving projects and considered physical changes that happen to substances over time—including when artists are working—such as folding, cutting, burning, stretching, and bonding. They investigated the impact of various solutions (salt water, sugar water, vinegar and bleach water) on paper, wood, and even clay. Students realized that a critical part of both science and art is close observation, and they practiced it during experiments as well as gallery visits.

Later in the week, students had the chance to watch a conservator in action: Mary Schafer, who was examining Monet’s Water Lilies. To supplement Ms. Schafer’s talk about chemical properties and ingredients of paint, students experimented with oil and water resisting using Craypas and watercolor paint on different surfaces. They also created compositions using permanent marker and watercolor. Before the watercolor dried, students added salt and watched the chemical reaction force the pigment to separate from binder and solvent and saw the individual ingredients of paint.

The whirlwind week of discovery came to a close with students reflecting on what they learned—and some even planning for the future! In “thank you” notes, they expressed fascination with the science of art and the machines used in conservation. And some expressed a desire to be conservators one day!

Hi! I’m Julia Stroud and I work in the prep department. I thought I’d tell you a little about the creation of the ushebti wall in the new Egyptian galleries.

First question, “What is the prep department?” The Preparation Department handles the artworks in the museum and in storage. We are responsible for installing and transporting artworks throughout the Museum, packing artworks which have been approved for travel, and safely storing artworks which remain in the museum and storage facility. Working with the conservation department, preparators produce mounts for objects and maintain proper packing and installation procedures.

Second question, “What is a ushebti?” According to Robert Cohon, Curator of Art of the Ancient World, “Before there were office temps, there were ‘ushebtis.’ Ushebtis – which means ‘responders’ – were meant to come to life and perform any labor that might be requested of the deceased in the hereafter. Not taking any changes, Meretites had 305.” Originally, we called them “shabtis” but that was later changed to the more appropriate ushebti.

Now, back to my story.

Believe it or not, over six months worth of work went into the mounting of those 300-plus little guys. It was one of the first and biggest projects that I was in charge of here and one of the most rewarding to see completed.

A year before we started the installation, I’d already been designated the “shabti lady” because it was one of my jobs to transport them in and out of the viewing room when scholar Michele Valentine came to examine them. Over the months, I developed a kind of affection for my “tiny blue army of the undead” (as the prep crew referred to them), and looked forward to creating a permanent home for them.

The first step was designing the mount, which I worked on with mountmaker Chris Holle. Chris’s main priorities were that it be simple, easy to mass-produce, and safe for the object.

Even though the pieces look very similar, there is quite a bit of variation in size, so I ended up making two different mount sizes to accommodate these differences. After I ordered all the brass stock, I cut it down into hundreds of brass strips, tubes, and hooks. Each long strip was finished and sanded, then had a small piece of tubing soldered to the back. I hadn’t had much soldering experience before then, but I definitely got in a lot of practice during those months!

In the final design, each ushebti is tied with monofilament onto an L-shaped bracket with a small piece of square brass tubing on the back. The tubing fits over a hook that goes into the wall and suspends the ushebtis in space, making it appear to float. The bottom of the “L” supports the ushebti’s’ feet and keeps it in place.

In the meantime, exhibition designer Amanda Zeitler was working to finalize the layout for the display case. We spread out huge sheets of paper so she could create a template to transfer to the case backboard.

Once the mounts were fabricated, Amanda and I chose the best paint color to match the ushebtis. The colors of the individual statues range from a light powder-blue to bright sky-blue to almost green, so it was difficult to pick one color that would play nicely with all of them. After the mounts were painted, they were padded with very thin felt and finally ready to be matched up with their objects. I’d first begun working on these mounts in October 2009, and here we were in March!

Chris and I spent a week tying the ushebtis to their mounts, using a complicated series of knots that we reinforced with adhesive. In the meantime, the case backboards were fabricated and charted out according to Amanda’s design.

Before the ushebtis went up in the new gallery, we did a test mockup in a larger area. That way we would have enough room to take a photograph of the entire display (there isn’t enough space in its current gallery).

Amanda and I spent three days hanging the ushebtis on their hooks, tweaking them so that all their feet were level and the spacing between them was consistent (the laser level was a life-saver!). Once photography was completed, the ushebtis went back into their storage boxes one final time.

Finally, at the end of April, the ushebtis were wheeled into the gallery and installed for opening weekend.

When you spend so much time so close to a project, it’s hard to envision the end result.

I knew they were interesting little objects, but I was surprised and delighted to see how well they held up both as individual pieces and as a cohesive display.

Not every work of art would be able to compete with the large scale and color of Meritites’s coffin across the aisle, but I think the ushebtis command their space well and both encourage and reward close study and attention.

Photo 1: Test ushebti installation (front view)
Photo 2: Mount component
Photo 3: Test ushebti installation (side view)
Photo 4: Full installation mockup in Gallery 203
Photo 5: Final installation in Gallery P1