Description
Book SynopsisThis unique volume aims to promote new models of sustainable management in the field of contemporary mural art. Cultural heritage has become an essential tool for society, stressing the necessity to properly conserve cultural resources in order to maintain a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable development.
In this book, the mural "Allegory to Work" by the artist Felipe Seade, located in Uruguay, is used as a case study. The work of Felipe Seade, a prominent political mural artist of the twentieth century, reflects the influence of Mexican heritage and the socio-political themes of that time, which were commonly used by the Social Realism art movement. The authors look at the mural—and its restoration—through the lens of tourism, globalization, and new interest in cultural heritage. The book demonstrates that the restoration should be aware that the perspective of the protagonists must be incorporated in the intervention process.
This first-of-its-kind volume brings together historical, ethnographic, tourism, and scientific research that leads to a sustainable project, from the point of view of identity, economy, politics, and society. This volume, with over 50 color illustrations and many black and white photos, will be valuable for college and research libraries, undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and professors in the field of cultural heritage and art as well as those involved in community-based research.
Trade Review"Presents the point of view of the conservation and restoration of cultural assets, through the eyes of multiple disciplines: ethnography, art, science, and culture. It is a great work that clearly shows how to address the conservation of artworks in the society in which we live. The book provides the scientific method that professionals of the conservation of cultural heritage may apply to other cases. . . . Easy to read and well written, it has a coherent structure, where an accurate method is proposed, where all the links of the chain of protection of contemporary mural painting are linked, from research and study that includes its evaluation as works of art, up to its study as assets of social interest, combining the strategies and techniques of preventive conservation and museography, deepening in the contributions of science to reach its diffusion. It is a book that unites art and science, theory and practice, linking past and present but looking to the future."
—María Dolores Ruiz de Lacanal Ruiz-Mateos, Professor, Department of Culture and History of Visual Arts, Seville University, Spain
Table of ContentsIntroduction. Contemporary Uruguayan Mural Painting. Tradition and Relevance. Social Realism in Contemporary Mural Painting. Felipe Seade as the Main Figure of the Uruguayan Social Realism. The Contemporary Mural Painting "Allegory to Work". "On the Face of It": Wall-to-Wall Home Ethnography. Participatory Action Research (PAR) in Contemporary Community Art. Physical Identification and Digital Record of Painting. Colorimetric Characterization. Study of the Chemical Composition through Cross Sections: Optical Microscopy; Scanning Electron Microscopy: X-Ray Microanalysis. Technical Documentation Sheet of Painting. Scientific Cataloguing. State of Conservation. Restoration Process. The Use and Social Enjoyment of Murals: ‘The People’s Art’, Its Publics and Cultural Heritage. Preventive Conservation Policies. Guidelines to Stimulate Use and Social Enjoyment. Conclusions: Management, Touristic Promotion and Social Enjoyment of Contemporary Mural Painting.
