- Oct 2018
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mikecosgrave.com mikecosgrave.com
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“The painting has lost its depth; the fluid dynamics of the paint has gone. It is just a surface now.”
Critics note that '...the cleaning exposed many losses of paint [on the skull] which bewildered the restorers and caused them to introduce – for the first time, to our knowledge – a piece of painted “virtual reality'."
http://artwatch.org.uk/the-worlds-worst-restoration-and-the-death-of-authenticity/
There is an interesting debate here about restoration and conservation and the perceptions between what is lost (or gained) when a painting is restored (or 'damaged') depending on your point of view. Whither the aura amongst all that... ?
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Holbein’s Ambassadors
Holbein's Ambassadors was controversially restored by the National Gallery 1993-1996. Some have claimed it has been 'over-restored'. The restoration was filmed by the BBC.
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/upload/pdf/wyld1998.pdf
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/scratch-beneath-the-surface-1307490.html
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the aura of the original had migrated from Paris to Venice:
I find the idea of a migrating aura compelling. Caoimhin's point above re Adorno sums it up - that a work of art is more than what it is. It is the sum of all parts and beyond - the traces of human labour and how art is perceived - so I think one can make way for the migration of an aura 'from Paris to Venice' to be almost mystical?!
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Why is it so difficult to apply the same type of judgment to a painting or a sculpture or a building?
Berstein notes in his response to Latour that "existence needs essence the way a walking tour needs local color" (Berstein in Switching Codes, p.299). The difficulties of replication might be tied to the artifact.
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Is it possible that the Venice version, undeniably a facsimile, is actually more original than the Paris original, she wonders?
"I am the derivative product of an originality that spawns me as it spurns me." Berstein in response to Latour, Switiching Codes, Ibid. p.299.
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The final filling, retouching, and control of the surface was done when the facsimile was in its final position and with the lighting that exists in the refectory
OK - so Adam Lowe's deconstruction of the many processes was above my head but what it did illuminate was how many processes, how considered, how technical, how extraordinary a process it was overall. It is well placed as I was brought into the 'story' / trajectory that Latour speaks of above - and then the detail (of N+1?) is realised in this instance by Lowe et al - with the aim of preserving/conserving the intrinsic 'aura'.
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brush marks or “noise” within the canvas.
I think this detail lets us in to how the digital has gone beyond the surface of reproduction - it highlights the richness of the digital world:
"In the digital realm, this distinction between clone-like copying and creative regeneration can be reified in the design of new media." (Donath in Switching Codes, ibid. p.302).
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The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
What kind of world do we aspire towards? How does the digital deal with the richness of reproductions without replicating thoughtless (or 'barren') editions.
Is it possible that a botched reproduction that is 'so bad that it was brilliant' imbues a spirit beyond technical brilliance. One could argue that a re-purposed aura was inadvertently recreated after a poorly restored 19th-century reproduction of Ecce Homo:
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Surely the issue is about accuracy, understanding, and respect-the absence of which results in “slavish” replication.
... so we are aspiring towards an nth degree of replication that is not slavish - with almost imperceptible imperfections that are not sanitised verisons of the original. It adds up to a feat of conservation (and replication).
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So clearly, in the case of the performing arts at least, every new version runs the risk of losing the original-or of regaining it.
"I love originality so much that I keep copying it."
Charles Berstein, The Truth in Versions (in response to Latour, Switching Codes, ibid. p.299).
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(re) played
ie. is it a good edition?
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Since all originals have to be reproduced anyway, simply to survive, it is crucial to be able to discriminate between good and bad reproductions.
So, as I understand it, the differing roles of conservation, restoration & preservation in the reproduction of art (& its locale) should be considered. Each role has its impact on the 'aura' - the essence of a piece.
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What does it mean to enshrine an original, if the contemplation of its auratic quality is impossible?
Exactly!
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without bumping into Mona Lisa addicts.
So true - I brought my children. They were so unimpressed - the crowds, the jostling of elbows, its small size (!) - everyone wanted out. To my shame I didn't turn at gaze at Nozze di Cana in the (badly restored!) refectory. Next time I shall slide pass Mona and head straight over to Nozze ...
When you come to think of it no other art deserves to be placed so close to the Mona Lisa - this is no space for contemplation.
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he very refectory in which the facsimile has been housed is itself a reconstruction
... so really there can be no authentic experience with either the place or the art itself?
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“the Ambassadors” remains behind all successive restorations
So really we are looking at 'layers' of editions on top of the original ...
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the aura was able to travel and might very well have migrated to the newest and latest copy,
I do like this idea of a migrating aura ...
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mechanical reproduction.
Benjamin's materialist theory of art speaks about the 'end of art'. He was a visionary in that (in the 1930s) he saw that art can be transformed by technology. (He also looked at the link between mass culture and fascism which made him somewhat unpopular.) He came up with the 'aura' concept.
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Ur
Ur = earliest original
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the obsession of the age is with the original. Only the original possesses an aura
This brings to mind the idea of the Critical Edition from James O'Sullivan's lecture - what edition most approximates the intent of the author? Which piece of art most approximates the intent of the artist? (maybe it's not the original!)
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a career
Trajectory = career= the story of a work of art (not just its provenance).
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cognitive dissonance.
... the conflict between expectation & reality
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