Though conservation efforts are usually done behind the scenes, the Denver Art Museum will be publicly treating
Rain Has No Father? through October 9, inviting the community to witness firsthand the process of preparing a piece for exhibition.
The first two days will be dedicated to setting up tables and documenting the piece in its original state. The bulk of the treatment will be done on Oct. 3 for the museum's Free First Saturday and SCFD 20th Anniversary celebration, as well as Oct. 6-9.Since arriving at the DAM early this year, the glistening tapestry has been waiting to be installed. This 20-by-13 foot behemoth by Ghanan/Nigerian artist El Anatsui is made entirely of copper wire, bottle tops, foil lids, and other found objects. In transit, some of the delicate pieces have shifted and unwound and will need restoration before it is formally displayed for the public.
In order to repair the tapestry, museum conservator Gina Laurin will gradually unfold the work and tend to it piece by piece. Surface dust will be vacuumed up as each new section is revealed. Laurin will stabilize the copper wire ties that link each metallic tab in the piece and replace those that are missing or broken. Some metal tabs were bent or folded, and will be manually flattened into their original form and patched where broken. With all reinforcement and repair complete, the piece will tentatively be installed on Oct. 12.
Anatsui's work has been displayed in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., the Museum for African Art, New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the British Museum, London, and the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
For more information on the
Embrace! exhibition and the Denver Art Museum, visit
www.denverartmuseum.org.