I am not a painter, I am a poet. Why? I think I would rather be a painter, but I am not. Well, for instance, Mike Goldberg is starting a painting. I drop in."Sit down and have a drink" he says. I drink; we drink. I look up. "You have SARDINES in it.”"Oh." I go and the days go by and I drop in again. The painting is going on, and I go, and the days go by. I drop in. The painting is finished. "Where's SARDINES?" All that's left is just letters, "It was too much," Mike says. But me? One day I am thinking of a color: orange. I write a line about orange. Pretty soon it is a whole page of words, not lines. Then another page. There should be so much more, not of orange, of words, of how terrible orange is and life. Days go by. It is even in prose, I am a real poet. My poem is finished and I haven't mentioned orange yet. It's twelve poems, I call it ORANGES. And one day in a gallery see Mike's painting, called SARDINES.
Together with his Estate and Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, I have been working with the conservation team from the Smithsonian to provide an insight into Mike's work, particularly his process and use of tape. Painted in 1955, Sardines needs a little conservation, particularly the masking tape that is used in the composition. It makes me chuckle a little when I remember a line Mike once said when I questioned the permanency of some of his material choices.. 'Who gives a fuck, let the conservators worry about that later'. Classic Goldberg!
Below is an article from the Smithsonian's Eye Level, detailing the restoration project:
Conservation: Paint, Tape, and Sardines
March 25, 2014
Michael Goldberg's Sardines
A challenging theme has developed in Jessica Ford's projects at the Lunder Conservation Center: tape! In painting conservation, adhesive tape is not usually encountered during examination or treatment. However, in contemporary art the use of unconventional materials is rarely surprising. At times, tape was applied by painters to frame the edges of paintings or to guide a straight line. Michael Goldberg's Sardines uses a different approach and prominently features adhesive tape as part of the painting's composition.
Goldberg's paintings often grow from a central, physical object. The artist begins with a realistic element and then redefines it with an energetic working process. Here, simple line drawings were covered in swaths of heavy paint, collaged elements of paper or tape were relocated or removed, and new lines were painted or carved to recall the original object. Although expressive and experimental, his work was also carefully crafted.
Sardines was brought into the Lunder Conservation Center primarily because both the paint's and the tape's adhesion to the canvas needed to be strengthened. Part of Jessica's work will be cleaning the surface, stabilizing the paint layer, and analyzing the paint's composition. Her other major focus will be addressing the two different types of adhesive tape used by Goldberg. As a material, tape can deteriorate quickly. Over time, it can darken, lose adhesion, and become brittle. A conservation treatment must be planned that does not compromise the artist's intent or the appearance of his materials. In the coming weeks, Jessica will research the art historical context of Sardines and draw on her technical knowledge of artistic media to develop a treatment approach.
Currently, Jessica is looking into the history, material components, and conservation of adhesive tape. Art conservationist often share their findings with others in the field. So, Jessica, along with Lunder conservators Tiarna Doherty and Amber Kerr, will be talking about their work at the American Institute for Conservation's annual meeting this coming May.
Sardines - Goldberg & O'Hara
There's a great photo of Abstract Expressionist Mike Goldberg and the New York Beat Poet Frank O'Hara that used to hang in Goldberg's studio - the two of them clowning around in front of a Picasso at the MoMA. Both young and enthusiastic, it was a great reminder of the youthful bond between the painter and poet. It was taken around the time Frank wrote his work 'Why I am not a Painter' about Goldberg and his painting Sardines that now belongs to the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
I am not a painter, I am a poet. Why? I think I would rather be a painter, but I am not. Well, for instance, Mike Goldberg is starting a painting. I drop in."Sit down and have a drink" he says. I drink; we drink. I look up. "You have SARDINES in it.”"Oh." I go and the days go by and I drop in again. The painting is going on, and I go, and the days go by. I drop in. The painting is finished. "Where's SARDINES?" All that's left is just letters, "It was too much," Mike says. But me? One day I am thinking of a color: orange. I write a line about orange. Pretty soon it is a whole page of words, not lines. Then another page. There should be so much more, not of orange, of words, of how terrible orange is and life. Days go by. It is even in prose, I am a real poet. My poem is finished and I haven't mentioned orange yet. It's twelve poems, I call it ORANGES. And one day in a gallery see Mike's painting, called SARDINES.
Together with his Estate and Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, I have been working with the conservation team from the Smithsonian to provide an insight into Mike's work, particularly his process and use of tape. Painted in 1955, Sardines needs a little conservation, particularly the masking tape that is used in the composition. It makes me chuckle a little when I remember a line Mike once said when I questioned the permanency of some of his material choices.. 'Who gives a fuck, let the conservators worry about that later'. Classic Goldberg!
Below is an article from the Smithsonian's Eye Level, detailing the restoration project:
Conservation: Paint, Tape, and Sardines
March 25, 2014
Michael Goldberg's Sardines
A challenging theme has developed in Jessica Ford's projects at the Lunder Conservation Center: tape! In painting conservation, adhesive tape is not usually encountered during examination or treatment. However, in contemporary art the use of unconventional materials is rarely surprising. At times, tape was applied by painters to frame the edges of paintings or to guide a straight line. Michael Goldberg's Sardines uses a different approach and prominently features adhesive tape as part of the painting's composition.
Goldberg's paintings often grow from a central, physical object. The artist begins with a realistic element and then redefines it with an energetic working process. Here, simple line drawings were covered in swaths of heavy paint, collaged elements of paper or tape were relocated or removed, and new lines were painted or carved to recall the original object. Although expressive and experimental, his work was also carefully crafted.
Sardines was brought into the Lunder Conservation Center primarily because both the paint's and the tape's adhesion to the canvas needed to be strengthened. Part of Jessica's work will be cleaning the surface, stabilizing the paint layer, and analyzing the paint's composition. Her other major focus will be addressing the two different types of adhesive tape used by Goldberg. As a material, tape can deteriorate quickly. Over time, it can darken, lose adhesion, and become brittle. A conservation treatment must be planned that does not compromise the artist's intent or the appearance of his materials. In the coming weeks, Jessica will research the art historical context of Sardines and draw on her technical knowledge of artistic media to develop a treatment approach.
Currently, Jessica is looking into the history, material components, and conservation of adhesive tape. Art conservationist often share their findings with others in the field. So, Jessica, along with Lunder conservators Tiarna Doherty and Amber Kerr, will be talking about their work at the American Institute for Conservation's annual meeting this coming May.
I am not a painter, I am a poet. Why? I think I would rather be a painter, but I am not. Well, for instance, Mike Goldberg is starting a painting. I drop in."Sit down and have a drink" he says. I drink; we drink. I look up. "You have SARDINES in it.”"Oh." I go and the days go by and I drop in again. The painting is going on, and I go, and the days go by. I drop in. The painting is finished. "Where's SARDINES?" All that's left is just letters, "It was too much," Mike says. But me? One day I am thinking of a color: orange. I write a line about orange. Pretty soon it is a whole page of words, not lines. Then another page. There should be so much more, not of orange, of words, of how terrible orange is and life. Days go by. It is even in prose, I am a real poet. My poem is finished and I haven't mentioned orange yet. It's twelve poems, I call it ORANGES. And one day in a gallery see Mike's painting, called SARDINES.
Together with his Estate and Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, I have been working with the conservation team from the Smithsonian to provide an insight into Mike's work, particularly his process and use of tape. Painted in 1955, Sardines needs a little conservation, particularly the masking tape that is used in the composition. It makes me chuckle a little when I remember a line Mike once said when I questioned the permanency of some of his material choices.. 'Who gives a fuck, let the conservators worry about that later'. Classic Goldberg!
Below is an article from the Smithsonian's Eye Level, detailing the restoration project:
Conservation: Paint, Tape, and Sardines
March 25, 2014
Michael Goldberg's Sardines
A challenging theme has developed in Jessica Ford's projects at the Lunder Conservation Center: tape! In painting conservation, adhesive tape is not usually encountered during examination or treatment. However, in contemporary art the use of unconventional materials is rarely surprising. At times, tape was applied by painters to frame the edges of paintings or to guide a straight line. Michael Goldberg's Sardines uses a different approach and prominently features adhesive tape as part of the painting's composition.
Goldberg's paintings often grow from a central, physical object. The artist begins with a realistic element and then redefines it with an energetic working process. Here, simple line drawings were covered in swaths of heavy paint, collaged elements of paper or tape were relocated or removed, and new lines were painted or carved to recall the original object. Although expressive and experimental, his work was also carefully crafted.
Sardines was brought into the Lunder Conservation Center primarily because both the paint's and the tape's adhesion to the canvas needed to be strengthened. Part of Jessica's work will be cleaning the surface, stabilizing the paint layer, and analyzing the paint's composition. Her other major focus will be addressing the two different types of adhesive tape used by Goldberg. As a material, tape can deteriorate quickly. Over time, it can darken, lose adhesion, and become brittle. A conservation treatment must be planned that does not compromise the artist's intent or the appearance of his materials. In the coming weeks, Jessica will research the art historical context of Sardines and draw on her technical knowledge of artistic media to develop a treatment approach.
Currently, Jessica is looking into the history, material components, and conservation of adhesive tape. Art conservationist often share their findings with others in the field. So, Jessica, along with Lunder conservators Tiarna Doherty and Amber Kerr, will be talking about their work at the American Institute for Conservation's annual meeting this coming May.
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