Art Restoration on a Snowy Day

Since my road looks like this:

I will not be going into work today.  Instead, I'm working from home at the desk in the guest room and savoring a second cup of coffee.

I wanted to share this interactive from a December 18th article in the NY Times. The Met has a painting in their collection that has, in the sixty years it's been at the museum, been alternately identified as a Velázquez, repudiated as such, and now vindicated. It's a really interesting story, but what attracted my attention even more was the accompanying interactive.

Extensive restoration work was done on the painting over the last eighteen months, which was key in revealing the true identity of the work. To help readers see the difference in the painting pre- and post-restoration work, the Times layered photographs of the two stages (pre-restoration on top & post- on the bottom). Readers can move a slider back & forth to see more & less of the images. The difference is astounding!

I love the idea of using an interactive like this for a museum exhibit, particularly one that includes paintings and can therefore raise those specific issues of art conservation. However, you could also do something like it to illustrate any kind of restoration work, from furniture to documents. It's a more sophisticated version of the "before & after" trick and I think it's probably quite easy to execute on the technical side. Hmmm - I'm getting ideas . . .

Just for Fun

(Image from The Onion)

This article from The Onion, from a little over a year ago, is pretty funny.  It actually reminds me of a commercial for Dos Equis beer, about their faux spokesperson, "the most interesting man in the world."  Each commercial lists things about this man that are amazing and/or show how important he is.  A line in one of them goes, "At museums, he's allowed to touch the art."

Museums in the News

I'm enjoying the motivation that the Museum Daily series provides me, but as I've been off work this week, there's not so much daily museum stuff going on!  And sometimes, I like to go back to my old standard, Museums in the News.  Besides, there have been some really interesting stories from the last few months in the NY Times.  Enjoy!

• Noel in the Museum, Medieval Edition
• Reconsidered, a Met Velázquez Is Vindicated
• Museums Should Dig In

• And a letter from the director of the Met in response to the previous article: Museum as Archaeologist

• To Each His Own Museum, as Identity Goes on Display

• The City as It Was, A Web Site Away  

• Toledo Museum to Return Stolen Artwork
  

And Happy New Year!

Modern Inspiration

So, this should have been my Museum Daily on Thursday, because that's when I actually found out about it at work. One of my museums is in a city where shoes were produced, in large quantities, in the 19th and 20th centuries. Hence, my museum has a very large & very interesting collection of locally made shoes. Over the summer, the curator had a visit from Penelope Guerrero, Women's Senior Shoe Designer at Timberland. They spent some time talking about the shoe industry and looking through our shoe collection.

I wasn't around the day she visited, but the curator received an email from Ms. Guerrero last week saying that she had designed a collection of shoes inspired by my museum's collection! Very cool. Even cooler, she attached a few photos of the shoe design she thought "most reflects the inspiration" she received at the museum. The photos are below.

Isn't the shoe gorgeous? And yes, I went straight to Timberland's website to see if they were available for purchase yet. Couldn't find them, so perhaps they're a 2011 model. Keep your eyes peeled for these shoes!

UPDATE: Just found this video on the website, featuring Ms. Guerrero talking about how she finds inspiration for her shoe designs. Very, very cool to think that our collection was part of her design process.

Christmas Spirit

Love this wreath gracing the door of one of my historic houses. The real front door, a fifteen-panel, mostly-original one from the mid-18th century, is behind the door you see here, installed for protection from the wintry elements. I really like how the wreath, put up by the caretaker, adds a little seasonal charm.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like . . .

Christmas at the Museum!

A jaunty 19th century marble bust at one of my museums.

The Many Faces of Museum Work

Many days, I spend my time scheduling field trips with teachers and volunteers, researching grant possibilities, developing future programming, supervising interns, researching elements of local history, responding to phone calls & emails about two of the historic houses I manage, and teaching school age kids about their town's history.

But, the above is museum work, too. One of my museums hosted a gingerbread cookie decorating workshop as part of its holiday offerings last weekend. So, I spent a few hours last Saturday making & rolling out dough, cutting bear shapes, and baking the cookies. It's nice to have a little variety!