Week Eleven

This week I've continued my work with the PastPerfect catalogue and developing the backgrounds for each of the sculptures. Sherwood has more to say about some works than others and this diminishes the reports I can create, however, the corresponding catalogue provided by Rachel has been helpful in creating links and digging up information that may be lacking in the book. The museum's physical catalogue is a trove of information about Polasek and his work, and a good portion of it remains un-digitized, which requires that I physically seek out the information. Although somewhat of a burden, it also has reinforced my research skills that I've developed throughout my undergraduate career and has taught me how to more efficiently parse for the pertinent information.

In terms of work with the statues, this week I tackled the Man Reaching for the Moon. Polasek was inspired by the ambitions of space travel in the early 60's and dedicated the piece to those cultural and scientific movement that was occurring. The statue itself was in a somewhat poor condition; various calcium deposits had formed and the patina had faded and become dull. I washed the statue and then applied a wax coat, but this specific piece required greater attention due to its immediate presence upon entering the premises and its size. It took a day of work on this specific statue but it was worth it to make it look as nice as it currently does. This was also another instance of having to work with an immense piece of art, much like The Risen Christ, and again I learned about how to manage issues of verticality when working with the sculptures.