FAPE

Sculpture Restoration at the Winfield House

April 6, 2016 by Bob Hannum

Sculpture Restoration Begins With a Conditions Report and Repair Estimate

This brief trip to London was to inspect the indoor and outdoor sculpture at the US Embassy and the Ambassador’s residence at the Winfield House. I return in the coming months for sculpture restoration.

The One Ton Eagle

First stop was our embassy to look at 15 indoor sculptures, mostly busts of presidents in bronze, resin, and plaster. Next I ventured out onto the roof to inspect the 37 foot long, two thousand pound aluminum “Eagle” by Theodore Roszak that perches six stories above street level.

In 1960 when the eagle was placed atop the embassy, locals hated it as a symbol of American poor taste and brash attitude. Now, 56 years later, our embassy is moving to a new location and the old building has been sold to a businessman from Qatar. Ah, how time heals, because now the neighborhood insists that the building and especially the eagle remain.

So the Qarari businessman has agreed to restore the building rather than tear it down for a new hotel. He also agreed to keep the eagle where it is. The US for their part agreed to gift the sculpture and share the history of its maintenance. One of those rare stories of conflict where all parties end up happy!

One of my tasks is to figure out how exactly this piece was coated over all the years it was exposed to the elements. What kind of resin coating was used? How many coats? Did any contain metal, because this sculpture is often described as ‘guilt’ which is a reference to a coating that contains metal. The new owner intends to care for the sculpture in the best way possible by removing, cleaning, and re-coat it before placing it back on its perch as a major attraction in its rooftop restaurant and bar.

Oh, and about that 6-story high detail, this is a bit of a challenge since I’m not all that comfortable with heights! I survived the inspection, but any restoration by me will have to wait until it’s lowered to the ground.

Gorgeous Winfield House

Next it was off to the Winfield House to inspect all of the permanent outdoor sculpture and a garden pool. During this visit I had the pleasure of interviewing the talented Head Gardener of 20 years, Mr. Stephen Crisp, who was most generous with his time and whose input was invaluable for the report.

These inspections were arranged for the following reasons:

Determine how best to prepare the eagle for its transition to new ownership.
Determine if there are any current sculpture restoration needs.
Create a plan for ongoing maintenance of the sculpture and pool.

My employer for this project is the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE) and the US State Department’s Art in Embassies program. The folks in these organizations are a pleasure to work with. We’ve worked on several sculpture restoration and installation projects over the years including our consulate in Istanbul and our embassy in Athens. After this London project there’s talk of work to be done on an outdoor fountain at our embassy in Japan.

The plan is to return in August when the Ambassador and his family are on vacation, to spend two weeks restoring the artworks so that minor maintenance by in-house staff is all that is needed for decades to come.

To give you a sense of the unusual challenges that come with every project, two concrete garden ornaments in the approximate shape of the American bald eagle, with no artistic value whatsoever, must be replaced! It turns out that major garden publications often feature the exquisite grounds of the Winfield House, and photographs often include these eagles. Thus, although they have no artistic value, they have a great deal of aesthetic value. They have deteriorated over time, been chipped and glued, and now need replacement.

No identical concrete eagles have been located. So a discussion is now underway as to whether we should replace them with similar eagles, replace them with flower-filled urns which look quite nice as well, or make molds of these and make copies. Or do we leave the whole issue up to the fine taste of the gardening staff to do whatever they think is in keeping with the look and feel of the entire garden?

If we copy the existing eagles, we would then let them sit outdoors in some storage area for about 18 month in order to age so that the next time there’s a repair need we’ll simply replace the two eagles with our copies and no one will even notice!

Sculpture Installation at the US Embassy in Athens

February 15, 2016 by Bob Hannum

Six-Week Sculpture Installation

A Major Overseas Project

In 2007 Arts Management Services LLC (AMS) was hired to manage a major and challenging sculpture installation.

For this six-week project I assembled a ten-person team (five from the US and five from Greece) to install “Garden Sculpture” by the artist Michael Singer at the US Embassy in Athens, Greece.

The project was completed on-time, within budget, and without injuries.

What Is FAPE?

The project was commissioned by The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE). This is a non-profit organization dedicated to placing American art in U.S. embassies around the world. For over 30 years, FAPE has contributed to the U.S. Department of State’s mission of cultural diplomacy by partnering with American artists. These artists are specially chosen for artworks that encourage cross-cultural understanding.

FAPE asked Michael Singer to design a sculpture to be placed outside a new building constructed on the embassy grounds. This building was design by Kalman, McKinnell and Wood Architects. Michael McKinnell and Michael Singer have a long history of collaboration which first began with their award-winning Becton, Dickinson and Company project. This new building and outdoor sculpture are adjacent to the existing embassy that was designed by the renown modern architect Walter Gropius.

The sculpture can be viewed from several angles: from inside the new building, from its terrace, from the grounds, and from an entry bridge.

About the Sculpture

It is 70′ long and made of marble, concrete, aluminum, and inlaid tile. Its 49 tons were fabricated at Michael’s studio in southern Vermont. Then it was packed and shipped. I tracked the ship on my computer as it crossed the ocean. At one point I watched the dots on my computer screen representing the container ship, sharply divert from its course to avoid a storm.

No pieces broke in transit though several replacement pieces were included just in case. These extra pieces were used to increase the concrete walkway surrounding the piece. Notice in the photos the white concrete squares embedded in the ground surrounding the sculpture.

Challenges

Dozens of custom-made wood crates arrived in a single shipping container. They arrived ahead of schedule at the port in Piraeus, not far from Athens. Good thing we shipped early since the container remained in the port for two weeks until a strike by dock workers ended.

Challenges were common in this project. Months before on my first trip to Athens to make arrangements for the installation, a rocket-propelled grenade struck the front of the embassy! I arrived just a day after this occurred. The rocket missed the American Seal it was aimed at and blasting into the ambassador’s private bathroom. No one was injured. The incident occurred early in the morning when no one was in the embassy. I was told that this is typical Greek protest, violent but not meant to injure anyone. The incident underscored the unique challenges we often face in overseas art installation.

Once the container arrived at the embassy, its contents were lifted by crane over the embassy wall and placed around the foundation.

The installation took six weeks including a week to correct errors in the concrete foundation.

What the Artist Says

The artist describes the sculpture in this way:

“…a platform-like structure emerging from below grade at one end and rising three feet from the ground level at the other end. The solid forms of the piece combine to reference a whole, as if the piece were a foundation for something once present. The piece has been said to have archaeological references, an uncovering of something lost and mysterious.”

Michael Singer discusses the design and fabrication of ‘Garden Sculpture.’

Water runs from the high end of the sculpture down over a narrow concrete corridor. Then it spills out onto a wide textured cast aluminum spillway. Finally, the running water falls into a deep, below-ground cistern.

Flowering indigenous succulents were planted throughout the sculpture. They now drape over edges and blend in beautifully with surrounding olive trees and lavender hedges.

Marble slabs provide seating for visitors and employees. It is a place of quiet except for the sound of birds and flowing water.

Success

Special thanks goes to Alan Chapman. He’s the best builder and troubleshooter on the planet, and he’s my number one choice when I need additional help. His unique meld of artist and carpenter make for marvelous solutions. Plus, he made us all laugh when it counted most. And brought us together when things got tense. The success of this project is dedicated to him.

Another special thanks goes to our translator, Fred Naff. He is an ex-pat and local architect who was so much more than a translator. With wonderful calm, intelligence, and humor, he guided us safely through many pitfalls, and was just a heck of a lot of fun to be around! The project could not have succeeded without him.

Update: January, 2018

This large compound of the US Embassy in Athens is expanding again! The new building designed by Kalman, McKinnell and Wood Architects only 10 years ago is now being totally gutted, renovated, and added onto. Michael Singer’s sculpture is now covered to protect it during the three-year construction project. All the plants and dirt were removed and the water shut off. When the project is completed, AMS will return to completely restore this sculpture.

Art Restoration at the US Consulate in Istanbul

February 18, 2015 by Bob Hannum

Restoration of Two Large Sculptures by Maya Lin

Success!

It took three trips to our Consulate in Istanbul over two years (2013 and 2014) to complete the art restoration of two large sculptures by Maya Lin, famous for creating the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC.

All went better than imagined, and I owe it all to a brilliant maintenance staff who just wouldn't give up on a multitude of challenges and 'hidden conditions.' Thanks also to Jim Wenzel from the Office of Cultural heritage of our US State Department. He's that rare administrator who loves to get his hands dirty. Last but not least a special thanks to my employer Jenn Duncan, Director of FAPE (Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies), who always had positive things to say!

The sculptures are now in excellent condition after nearly twelve years in disrepair. Most importantly, the staff know all the 'secrets' for keeping these works running well without the further expense of my services.

A Little History

Maya Lin created these sculptures for our consulate in Istanbul in 2003. These works were commissioned by FAPE.

She recently lectured at Smith College where I had the pleasure of introducing myself and telling her about the restoration project. We had a nice brief chat, and she is a truly impressive individual.

FAPE is a non-profit organization that raises funds - so that no taxpayer dollars are involved - to commission permanent works of American art for our embassies and consulates worldwide. For over thirty years, FAPE has contributed to the U.S. Department of State’s mission of cultural diplomacy by partnering with American artists whose works encourage cross-cultural understanding.

Behind the Scenes

It wasn’t a routine art restoration!

Sometimes restoring a work of art is little more than a careful brush stroke. Not this time. Over fifteen tons of granite were lifted, cleaned, repaired, and placed back together without anything breaking or anyone getting hurt.

And it wasn’t just any artwork. Both sculptures are important works of art by an important artist. These are two early works by Maya Lin in which large and quiet pools of water first appear and become central elements in her subsequent sculpture.

I’d seen many of her other wonderful sculptures. These were special!

Strange Karma!

Here's the weird thing.

First, Maya Lin once stayed with my good friend, the artist Michael Singer, very early on when she was still a young architecture student at Yale. She had just won the design competition for the Vietnam Memorial. This astonishing award would suddenly catapult her to worldwide fame. Michael provided her a last and final brief moment of anonymity.

As if that weren't serendipitous enough, another close friend knew her, too! His brother had dated Maya in college.

So I felt strangely chosen to resurrect these damaged and lost works of great beauty.

Unusual Challenges

There were leaks, but no one knew where exactly despite years of study. And no one would ever know until someone took the whole thing apart! Even Jenn’s optimism and our track record of success with other challenging projects wasn’t giving me much confidence.

I love challenges but this was over the top. Would a long career of successes come to a crashing halt!

Both sculptures had been in disrepair since shortly after their completion over a decade ago. FAPE commissioned the artist and the State Dept hired the contractor, a contractor who cut corners. And so it leaked from the very beginning, and leaked too much to 'turn on' except for very special and infrequent occasions.

I could rail about the madness of greed that just can’t spend $100 to finish a job properly even after being wildly overpaid! And I’d be right. But the truth was that I wouldn’t be visiting this marvelous city, wouldn’t meet and work with these wonderful people, and wouldn’t have yet another thrilling project, had it not been for this corrupt contractor. Life is strange. Life is good.

The Sculptures

Both sculptures are large outdoor art works made of a beautiful granite native to Turkey. The sundial theme in both sculptures was inspired by this history-changing invention which is traced back to Turkey’s ancestors.

One huge fountain greets employees and visitors as they enter the consulate. The other calms and enchants employees in an inner courtyard. Both languished for years rarely ever filled with water or lit with their impressive array of lights except when the Secretary of State visited or on a Fourth of July celebration.

I make a living off of sculpture that involves water. Nature filters water naturally, but not sculptures. They need help. Pumps and filters prevent the buildup of debris and algae, but they must be cared for regularly or they break down. Electricity must be completely coated with special waterproof material or bad things happen. And what holds the water must be specially coated or it leaks. Even with the best care, coatings and pumps get old and die. Sculptures have lives.

And there is a secret about fountains – one must never seek perfection. There will always be a leak somewhere, and one must not waste time and money curing the smallest leaks. But no leak should be so great as to be wasteful. So the restoration of a fountain is a delicate matter: like a Persian rug, you must leave a tiny flaw, for only Allah is perfect.

Four Miracles!

We’d done lots of tests and calculations and had a strong idea where the leak was located but no one had actually seen it. Then came the miracles!

The first one appeared as a wild engineer out of nowhere! Jim Wenzel from the US State Dept. He's in charge of preserving all the antiques and works of art at our embassies and ambassador residences overseas, from priceless paintings to antique furniture to historic structures. He has his plate full with 294 US embassies, consulates, and diplomatic missions around the world. It's a vast collection of valuable antiques, works of art, gifts, and historic architecture to care for. His department, the Office of Cultural Heritage, and FAPE work in partnership to preserve these assets.

This guy’s supposed to be shuffling paper behind some desk. Instead here he is lending a hand even with the dirtiest job, even in the rain, and with engineering know-how that turned out to be critical to the success of the job - he figured out where the leaks were!

The second miracle was a quiet plumber named Demir. He was fluent in English. I knew no Turkish. He tried to teach me a few words each day but I was hopeless. I needed numerous materials too dangerous or heavy or weird to ship from the States. He’d take off and soon be back with exactly what I needed or better, and do it cheerfully many times a day so that my work remained focused and uninterrupted!

The third miracle was Taric, a young guy forced to escort me all the time. All visitors to our foreign missions no matter what their purpose must be escorted for security reasons, even to the bathroom. I was worried. I needed another special person like Demir, but this time someone very experienced to operate a crane. You see, no one understood what was really going on here. No one seemed to realize the real danger involved in moving huge pieces of rock that could kill someone if not handled properly.

Turns out Tamir was some kind of angel sent to protect us all! He was a master at interpreting my frantic hand gestures, my fearful expressions, and my every infidel prayer, as he manned the controls of the crane better than I ever hoped for, delicately lifting huge slabs without even once making a mistake that risked severing straps and dropping the load to shatter or worse! Not one of over thirty huge pieces ever received so much as a scratch!

Finally, here comes Serkan the electrician. Not just any electrician. Years ago when the sculpture was built, custom lights were made out of a new technology at the time called LED. It was an expensive choice costing hundreds of dollars for each light fixture, and there were dozens of lights. But it was a wise choice at the time because LED lights use very little electricity and last a long time.

But twelve years later many lights no longer worked, and the original manufacturer was no longer in business. I knew that somehow we could improvise and find a solution, but I needed an electrician who thinks outside the box, someone who could somehow fit new LEDs into old irreplaceable custom fixtures. He did it, creating new fixtures at $6 each instead of $500!

Conclusion

And so we are all well and two sculptures look and operate like new! Thanks to my new friends, Jim Wenzel, Demir Kurt, Tarik Albayrak and Serkan Duran. Sezer Yucel and Rasim Ozdemir relieved my aging shoulders of some of the worst work! Their boss, Facilities Maintenance Supervisor Mustafa Unal, a better administrator I’ve never met!

Another challenging art restoration accomplished.