Art With A Heart
Over the years, drivers passing CSULB along Seventh Street may have wondered about the large concrete block sculpture near the corner of East Campus Drive.
Time and weather had cast a grayish tinge to “Homage to Simon Rodia” by Joop (J.J.) Beljon. But it’s now hard to miss the piece, restored to its original white painted surface as part of the university’s 50th anniversary observance of the California International Sculpture Symposium.
An archival exhibition called Far-Sited: California International Sculpture Symposium 1965/2015, takes place Sept. 12-Dec. 13 in the UAM, exploring the sculptures’ history.
This is the second of the original nine artworks created on campus for the 1965 symposium to be restored in a collaboration between CSULB’s University Art Museum (UAM), the Getty Conservation Institute and the art conservation firm of Rosa Lowinger & Associates. Significant funding for the Beljon restoration came from a Long Beach Navy Memorial Heritage Association grant.
During his 1965 stay in Long Beach, Beljon, a Dutch artist and educator, visited the Watts Towers, created by Rodia as a thank-you to the U.S. Beljon decided to dedicate the campus sculpture in memory of Rodia, who had died earlier that summer, and carved two small hearts in Rodia’s style into one panel of the 130-foot-long series of 19 cast concrete pieces.
Lowinger’s firm specializes in conserving 3D objects, particularly large-scale sculptures, public art and architectural applications. “The concept of an outdoor sculpture that is painted is, first of all, the coating is itself sacrificial; it’s intended to be replaced, just like anything that’s painted and lives outside,” Lowinger said. “However, how you do it is the trick.
“The painted surface itself involves three features that you have to consider. The first is obviously the color. The second is the reflectance. Is it glossy, matte or semi-gloss? How shiny or matte is it supposed to be, and that’s a continuum.” The last feature is texture, which could be rolled, sprayed or brush finishes, she explained.
They evaluated the Beljon piece in cooperation with Getty and found that the paint had significant fungus problems. As a result, Lowinger’s staff stripped it to bare concrete, which itself needed only minor repairs. They then applied a fungicide, primer and new paint, which will eventually mellow into a less bright appearance. CSULB Facilities Management then installed drought-tolerant landscaping surrounding the piece.
The UAM, Getty Conservation Institute and Lowinger’s firm will continue to collaborate on conserving other CSULB pieces in the future.
Learn more about the “Far-Sited” exhibition at http://web.csulb.edu/org/uam/EXHIBITIONSupcoming.html and the Beljon sculpture at http://web.csulb.edu/org/uam/HTML/collections/SCULPTURE/11Beljon.html.
Written by Anne Ambrose
