Cross Bearers (1993), Bessie Harvey

SUMMARY
The piece, composed of 16 main wooden elements decorated with paints, glitter, marbles, shells, and jewelry, was in structurally fair condition. Most of the wooden elements were joined with nails, and most of the surface embellishments were glued on with adhesives ranging from a clear thick colorless glue resembling a hot-melt adhesive to an opaque brown putty possibly sold as a wood glue or filler. Most of these adhesive joins were still intact, although some had failed, and dry rot was present in many areas, weakening the wood.

Extensive insect damage appeared on the vine/roots around the Stump Base that comprises the bottom third of the piece. Exit holes through the paint layer suggest that some of this damage occurred after the work was made. The phloem/cambium layer of the inner bark (beneath the paint surface) was found to be mostly frass in many areas, and the surface was extremely delicate. While one small dead worm and several egg sacs (likely spider) were retrieved from the surface, but no living insects were seen.

As a result of the damage to the inner bark in these areas, the surfaces on the Stump Base were particularly fragile, and substantial losses in these areas were visible in photographs of the work dating back to 1995, two years after its creation, when it was exhibited in the Whitney Biennial. In many areas of the outermost surfaces of the vines that encircle the stump, raw wood was exposed where the painted surface had fallen away.

TREATMENT
The first priority in this treatment was to stabilize the sculpture as much as possible before its installation, concentrating on the Stump Base in particular. Because the required treatment was so extensive and the installation date was quickly approaching, preference was given to relatively quick-drying adhesives, as well as adhesives that would not stain the wood, and adhesives with good flow/penetration to reach further into the damaged wood substrate. With these criteria, both Jade PVA and Paraloid B-72 in acetone (10% and 20%) were selected to consolidate in different ways. Generally B-72 was applied to loose surface areas where fine layers were delaminating, and the thicker Jade was applied under the bark to form "posts" and boost the surface up into its original position. B-72 was also applied through insect holes using a syringe to consolidate the frassy layer under the paint. The silver paint was sensitive to acetone, so diluted Jade was used to consolidate silver-painted areas.

The upper two thirds of the work were dry cleaned with a soft brush and variable speed HEPA vacuum on low power with the nozzle covered with fabric to prevent the accidental loss of surface pieces. The lower third of the work was consolidated and then similarly vacuumed. Some pieces which had fallen into crevices in the roots were possible to place and re-adhere, but many were not possible to identify and reattach in the time allotted, as the surfaces they once connected to were no longer extant themselves. These pieces are retained in case they are possible to place in the future. A marble “eye” which had been detached from the piece before it arrived in the lab was reattached with B-72.

After installation, areas of the piece that had not been previously accessible through the crate became available to examine and treat. Two loose wood elements attached to the reverse of the work were reinforced at the nail holes with 20% Paraloid B-48N in acetone, selected over B-72 for B-48N’s affinity for adhering to metals. The smaller piece was reattached at the broken hot-melt glue points with PVA. The larger piece, which was deteriorated with rot, was consolidated in many loose areas with B-48N and B-72 in acetone. One ¼ inch piece of the surface at base had been dislodged when the work was moved: its placement was identified from photographs, and it was re-adhered with PVA. The work was gently vacuumed overall so that it could be more effectively monitored for new frass or losses during the exhibition period.