I don't know if you've heard of an ancient piece of rock art in Utah called The Harvest Scene in Nine Mile Canyon, but if you have, you've probably heard that there's been some difficulty lately in preserving this panel particularly but the whole area generally. The problem specifically is that the 800 year old artwork is being covered with dust stirred up from the commercial oil/gas trucks driving through the area.
The local county's solution to the concern about the dust? Yes, you guessed. They sent a crew out to wash the panel. With soap and water, you guess? No. Try guessing "a pressure washer".
I wonder if they'd have been allowed to wash The Last Supper with a pressure washer because it was starting to look a little soiled? Heck, it's a newer piece of art by at least 300 years; it can stand it.
I didn't know you had a blog, Sue. You should have told me, darn it. I'd have been over here sooner.
ReplyDeleteThis one had me shaking my head. A power washer? Ever see how abraided your skin looks if you happen to get hit with one? The mind boggles. Mind you the pigments and such have lasted a long time but power washers can flake the whole piece.
Hi Sia. I'm so glad you were able to stop by. I posted my blog on FB & Twitter a couple of times, but with your upcoming surgery, I imagine you had a lot on your mind.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, most of the panels (and this one included) are petroglyphs (pecked into the stone) rather than pigment application. However, the local rock art enthusiast / preservationist didn't say if there were more than one parts of the work cleaned, as this is probably one of THE most important panels in the entire region. If the pressure wash had occurred on pictographs, I'm sure they would have been destroyed utterly. It's really quite a shame this happened.