Roger Conant Statue Restoration
Contributed by Roberta Clement 2/2002
As the result of a $700 grant awarded to the Salem Common Neighborhood Association last September from the Heritage Preservation's SOS Program, representatives from SCNA moved forward to hire a conservator to prepare an assessment for the Roger Conant statue.
Ricka Smith, a conservator from Natick was selected to perform the assessment. She came highly recommended by Arthur Beale, curator at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and has done both assessment and treatment of sculptures in Boston, Cambridge, Framingham, Haverhill, and Wellesley.
The Conant assessment was performed on Nov. 14th. Just to provide you with an overview of the condition of the statue- it does appears that the condition is considered stable. However, it has suffered from extensive copper corrosion which has resulted in metal loss and has obscured surface detail. Also, originally the statue had a mid-tone brown appearance.
The recommendation is to clean, repatinate, and apply a protective coating to the statue to prevent damage from acid rain and air pollutants. The holes should be filled with Epoxy. It is strongly recommended that a wax coating be done annually. The estimate ranges from $17-24,000.
It is expected over the next few months a committee will be established to develop a fundraising plan to support us in our effort to raise funds to meet the cost of the conservation treatment. Usually, a project of this magnitude takes anywhere from 18-24 months to complete. If any of the members have names of potential contributors or fundraising suggestions, please contact Michael Coleman at 978-745-3086.
Meanwhile, should you like to contribute to this effort, please send a check to SCNA, POB 8608, Salem, MA. 01970. Please make checks payable to the Roger Conant Statue Restoration fund.
Or, you can contribute on-line using Pay-Pal's secure payment service.
Any amount would be appreciated.
SOS! (SAVE OUTDOOR SCULPTURE)
TRAVELING EXHIBIT
Contributed by Roberta Clement 1/2003
The Salem Common Neighborhood Association has booked a national traveling exhibition entitled Preserving Memory: America’s Monumental Legacy. SOS! (Save Outdoor Sculpture), which is a joint project of Heritage Preservation and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, developed this traveling exhibition.
The exhibition is scheduled to arrive in Salem, MA around October 15, 2003 and remain here until the first week of December. It will be displayed at the Regional Visitor’s Center, 2 New Liberty St. through a kind offer made by the Executive Director, Steve Kesselman.
Using roughly 200 images on 20 stand alone panels; Preserving Memory gives local sculptures a national context. The exhibition talks about the history of sculpture making, raise questions about why and how monuments are erected, revels secret stories, and considers the loss of sculptures’ meaning due to time and the absence of preservation. Each state will have at least one sculpture included. The entry panel features a public sculpture from the state hosting the exhibition.
It is also the responsibility of each host to offer a humanities- based public program. SCNA is presently working with Salem State College in developing a program that will be interdisciplinary in approach and appeal to visitors of all ages
For further information, do not hesitate to call Roberta Clement at 978-741-4060 or email at roclement@mcp.edu.
To learn more about the national traveling exhibit, please visit www.heritagepreservation.org.