No, not a new young adult book, but real life tales from the world of conservation! Conservators at the Museum of Modern Art in NY have been conducting a 10-month examination and restoration of Jackson Pollock’s One: Number 31, 1950 and have made some interesting discoveries. It appears that not all of the paint was applied to a canvas on the floor from a standing position (Pollock’s famous method, seen in photo at left). There is evidence of dripping paint, indicating that it was applied to a vertical canvas. In addition there are odd bits of pink paint in one corner that seem to have been afterthoughts, or possibly spray from another work.
But the most interesting discovery is what appears to be paint additions by someone other than Pollock – they don’t match in paint or application type. And at some point along the way, a fly found its way into the wet paint and is now immortalized at the MOMA.
Read the full article in the New York Times.