| Support Conservation of Historic Artworks When conservators at the Smithsonian American Art Museum set out to preserve Judy Baca’s portable mural Uprising of the Mujeres, they faced many unique challenges due to its size. The mural, created by one of the most accomplished muralists and narrative artists of our time, is made up of six 4-foot by 8-foot panels.
Baca designed the artwork to be moved around Los Angeles to increase its visibility for the city’s residents. Panels were loaded onto the backs of trucks and parked in front locations such as banks and government offices. The mural showed signs of yellowing and old retouching.
To gather the information needed to create a treatment plan for such a large object, SAAM’s conservators used a technique called photogrammetry to document the panels. Overlapping digital images were captured to generate a photorealistic 3D model of the entire artwork. This critical information ensured the painting was cleaned safely.
Thanks to hard work and the generous support of caring people like you, our conservation team was able to carry out a technologically advanced treatment plan to preserve Uprising of the Mujeres for years to come.
Your gift to SAAM will help support more important work like Baca's mural. | 