Friday, May 22, 2009

A Day at the FAMSF Photo Studio

Amazing art comes through the photo studio on a regular basis.
 
We tend to save Mondays (when we’re closed to the public) to photograph artworks that are normally installed in the galleries. This way we can take the objects out of the galleries and into the photo studio without impacting the public.
 
Recently we shot two recent acquisitions from the AOA department. The images will appear in the next edition of the museums' Fine Arts magazine.
 
The first object: Mayan plate with Maize God head in cacao tree and "kill hole" passage to the afterlife
 

Lesley Bone, our objects conservator, deinstalling the plate in the morning.
 

The plate waiting for its appointment under the photographer’s lights. Our mount maker quickly soldered together (and painted) the mount this morning (sitting next to the plate). He made the mount specifically for the photo shoot.
 

The plate being carefully installed on the photo table.
 

Joe McDonald, our photographer, adjusting the lights... [more]

Posted by: Sue Grinols | May 22 at 2:26:40 PM
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Listed under: de Young News | Collections | Conservation

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Bouquets to Art: Conservators on Patrol, Part 3

The Yearly Invasion of Flowers into the Museum through the lens of the Conservation Patrol.

Monday Afternoon, March 16, 2009
The set up wraps up.



On the other hand, the Conservation Patrol gave a reprieve to these "grapes." Any furry creature would be in for a big surprise if they stole one of these plastic stand-ins.



This animal slipped in because he was made of flowers.

.. [more]

Posted by: Andrew Fox | March 18 at 10:26:05 AM
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Listed under: de Young News | Public Programs and Events | Conservation

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Bouquets to Art: Conservators on Patrol, Part 2

The Yearly Invasion of Flowers into the Museum through the lens of the Conservation Patrol

Monday Noon, March 16, 2009
The setup continues…



The invasion at its height.



Floorplan of the museum mapping the placement of each Bouquet.

.. [more]

Posted by: Andrew Fox | March 17 at 10:45:16 AM
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Listed under: de Young News | Public Programs and Events | Conservation

Monday, March 16, 2009

Bouquets to Art: Conservators on Patrol!

Editor's note: The Fine Arts Museums' annual floral extravaganza, Bouquets to Art, takes place this week (March 17–21). It's our biggest fundraiser of the year, and it's extremely popular with museumgoers. It can be especially challenging to the FAMSF conservation staff, however, given the potential to admit insects and other unwelcome visitors to the museum. This photo essay is courtesy of our conservation staff (AKA The Conservation Patrol).

The Yearly Invasion of Flowers into the Museum through the lens of the Conservation Patrol.

Debbie Evans, a paper conservator who has policed Bouquets to Art for 25 years wearing her sherrif’s badge waiting to say “Howdy” to the exhibitors.



Eager exhibitors waiting to be let in at 7:45 am.

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Posted by: Andrew Fox | March 16 at 2:57:37 PM
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Listed under: de Young News | Public Programs and Events | Conservation

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Lions of Babylon at the Legion

Dr. Joachim Marzahn from the Museum of the Ancient Near East in Berlin reassembles the Lion Relief at the Legion of Honor.

The current special exhibiton at the Legion has not one, but two examples of rare Lion Reliefs from the Processional Way in ancient Babylon. These 6th-century-BC works of art once lined the great Processional Way that led to the city's Ishtar Gate, which has been reconstructed at the Museum of the Ancient Near East (Vorderasiatisches Museum) in Berlin.

One of the examples comes from the Museum of the Ancient Near East. It was accompanied and assembled at the Legion by Dr. Joachim Marzahn, whom you can see working on the relief in the photos above and on our Flickr photostream. This reassembled lion is joined in the exhibition by a similar, but completely reconstructed, example from the National Museum of Egyptian Art in Munich, Germany.

You can view installation photos on our Flickr photostream.

Posted by: Andrew Fox | October 22 at 11:24:39 AM
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Listed under: Legion of Honor News | Exhibitions | Conservation