Bishop's Throne. Artist/maker unknown, French. Made in Roussillon, southwestern France, France, Europe. 1150-1200. Marble. 42 1/2 x 36 1/2 x 36 1/2 inches (108 x 92.7 x 92.7 cm). European Decorative Arts and Sculpture. Gallery 203, European Art 1100-1500, second floor. Accession Number: 1929-109-1. Gift of Elizabeth Malcolm Bowman in memory of Wendell Phillips Bowman, 1929
Friday, March 22, 2019 - 9:00am to 2:45pm
9:00am: Meet at the Scott Burton Rock Chair installation
PMA/Penn/Mellon Object-Based Workshop, "Stone"
Organizers:
Kate Cuffari, Associate Conservator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture
Jack Hinton, Associate Curator of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture
Ann Kuttner, Associate Professor of History of Art, University of Pennsylvania
Sally Malenka, The John and Chara Haas Senior Conservator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture
This workshop will explore stone sculptural and architectural objects and their physical and material qualities, drawing on the museum’s collections of sculptures and architectural fragments made of a range of different types of stone. Sessions in the galleries will incorporate close examination of works on display to glean insight into the intersections of material selection, manufacture, design, and user and viewer experience with the physical properties of the medium. Discussions will address how the perceived character of a material and of its working can be intrinsic to the meanings of objects. The practice of other media applied to or joined to stone objects will also be examined. Participants will explore and consider the physical alteration of structures and surfaces over time, through weathering or natural exposure and through active interventions including reuse, alteration, interpretive installation, conservation, and restoration. The special issues raised by the documentation of three-dimensional stone objects by means of photographic images and the resultant impact of these images on interpretation of objects will also receive attention.
In the Decorative Arts and Sculpture Conservation Lab, participants will work with carving tools and several types of stone, providing a haptic experience and frame of reference for the historic stone surfaces examined throughout the day. Sculptures of varied stone types and surface character from a range of chronological and cultural origins will be gathered for close examination, providing direct comparisons and unusual pairings, to develop participants’ acuity for works of art in stone and appreciation for the subtle discernment that direct observation provides.
THIS EVENT IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC AND OPEN ONLY TO HISTORY OF ART FIRST-YEAR GRADUATE STUDENTS AND FACULTY