Start-Up In WHITE HORSE YEAR /ЦАГААН МОРИН ЖИЛИЙН ГАРАА
Mosaic Conservation Project is proudly supported by / Мозайк Хамгаалах Төслийн дэмжигч
Bodhi Dharma Foundation / Бодь Дарма Сан
December 10-20 2019
Abstract: The practice of mosaic conservation is being restored in Mongolia. Today the mosaics are approached as isolated objects, without context, and interventions are not taken adequately. There are limited options for conservation strategies because of the new private urbanization (detachment was the main option available); the workforce consists mainly of artisans, craftspersons, or carpenters; and materials were limited to sacks, protective linen, and adhesives. And the race against the time, the team will have to compromise the traditional conservational procedures. This paper reviews the philosophy and practice of mosaic conservation, leading to the current state of the art.
THE INTERVENTION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF THE MOSAIC
Conservation of mosaic in-situ does not reflect the intention of the property owners project, in order for possible emergency conservation we invited other auxiliary parties of invitees from the governing entities who showed little interest on possible interventions. Notice of demolition shifted us to adopt new methods of emergency detachment within a week. Weather also did not allow us practice proper routines of conservation in situ.
Conservation of mosaic in-situ does not reflect the intention of the property owners project, in order for possible emergency conservation we invited other auxiliary parties of invitees from the governing entities who showed little interest on possible interventions. Notice of demolition shifted us to adopt new methods of emergency detachment within a week. Weather also did not allow us practice proper routines of conservation in situ.
November 6 2019, advertisement screen has been removed for the documentation
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November 22 2019, Integrity of the structure has been removed between the floors.
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INTRODUCTION
The building number 61 .
Founded in 1945, becoming the capital's one of first communal apartments, housing all the administrative and social advocates of the period. The building is located in front of the central post office which is on the southwest side of the central square. The southern wall of the apartment building attracted many advertisements and banners of socialist propaganda over the years of existence until in 1990 after the democratic revolution, the Union of Mongolia’s Artists called open competition to build a monument to commemorate the newly established reform and democracy in the country.
Galsandorj.E's project sketch won the competition and the mosaic monument titled "Start-Up In WHITE HORSE YEAR /ЦАГААН МОРИН ЖИЛИЙН ГАРАА/" blending traditional Mongol zurag techniques with archaic and religious motifs have come to realize. And the designated space to fit new 135 square meters of the mosaic monument was at the southern wall of the building number 61. It was early 90’s and the country was in deficit, most of the government affiliates lost their capacity to fund anything. The only possible materials for the mosaic mural on such a scale were to use cost-efficient material which was a tile, produced for the decorative facade and interior purposes of the prefab constructions of soviet-era. Most of the mosaics that were made in the previous decades also used similar available materials. In September 2019 the whole building was owned by an individual for a re-development plan, the deadline to detach and conserve the mosaics were set on November 20th 2019.
The building number 61 .
Founded in 1945, becoming the capital's one of first communal apartments, housing all the administrative and social advocates of the period. The building is located in front of the central post office which is on the southwest side of the central square. The southern wall of the apartment building attracted many advertisements and banners of socialist propaganda over the years of existence until in 1990 after the democratic revolution, the Union of Mongolia’s Artists called open competition to build a monument to commemorate the newly established reform and democracy in the country.
Galsandorj.E's project sketch won the competition and the mosaic monument titled "Start-Up In WHITE HORSE YEAR /ЦАГААН МОРИН ЖИЛИЙН ГАРАА/" blending traditional Mongol zurag techniques with archaic and religious motifs have come to realize. And the designated space to fit new 135 square meters of the mosaic monument was at the southern wall of the building number 61. It was early 90’s and the country was in deficit, most of the government affiliates lost their capacity to fund anything. The only possible materials for the mosaic mural on such a scale were to use cost-efficient material which was a tile, produced for the decorative facade and interior purposes of the prefab constructions of soviet-era. Most of the mosaics that were made in the previous decades also used similar available materials. In September 2019 the whole building was owned by an individual for a re-development plan, the deadline to detach and conserve the mosaics were set on November 20th 2019.
THE PLAN
The plan compromised section described the principle theories and methods of the initiation ( on-site detachment, use of traditional materials and techniques, admittance of the public, full documentation of the work as carried out and distribution of information ). It followed by the section analyses of each part of the mosaic. The visual documentation of the state of conservation, details of the work to be carried out, estimated time and full financial costs were determined in this part. Using the plan client can make a financial and technical evaluation of the offer, contract documentation and required authorization from the superintendent was obtained.
From the technical point of view, the plan allows us to allocate resources, write up the work schedule, organize the purchase of materials and equipment. To do this, we drew up tables to be filled in daily, showing the date, floor number, technical operations, conservator's name, hours of work. The data thus collected became instrumental in drawing up new plans. They can be distributed and will enrich the files needed to plan the conservation and maintenance of other mosaics. Conservation team paid a visit to the site on November 13, after careful inspection of the mosaic, the team officials agreed it would be impossible to preserve it fully in this cold climate, as well as the high cost of implementing and managing them afterward. We had limited options because the main support structures of the building number 61 have already been demolished from inside, making the mosaic wall in a vulnerable state of collapse at any given time.
The plan compromised section described the principle theories and methods of the initiation ( on-site detachment, use of traditional materials and techniques, admittance of the public, full documentation of the work as carried out and distribution of information ). It followed by the section analyses of each part of the mosaic. The visual documentation of the state of conservation, details of the work to be carried out, estimated time and full financial costs were determined in this part. Using the plan client can make a financial and technical evaluation of the offer, contract documentation and required authorization from the superintendent was obtained.
From the technical point of view, the plan allows us to allocate resources, write up the work schedule, organize the purchase of materials and equipment. To do this, we drew up tables to be filled in daily, showing the date, floor number, technical operations, conservator's name, hours of work. The data thus collected became instrumental in drawing up new plans. They can be distributed and will enrich the files needed to plan the conservation and maintenance of other mosaics. Conservation team paid a visit to the site on November 13, after careful inspection of the mosaic, the team officials agreed it would be impossible to preserve it fully in this cold climate, as well as the high cost of implementing and managing them afterward. We had limited options because the main support structures of the building number 61 have already been demolished from inside, making the mosaic wall in a vulnerable state of collapse at any given time.
DOCUMENTATION
Documentation is the first operation carried out on-site: each mark on the mosaic's surface is classified and represented graphically on specific, pre-arranged drawings. The process starts by entering the state of conservation (the type of decay) of the mosaic, de-tails of the original techniques of making the mosaic, in addition, the historic life of the building (uses, restorations, collapse). Documentation continues throughout the intervention, entering the operations carried out when removing the frames of the advertisement.
The list of the items observed during the documentation.
Carbonate deposits
Decohesion of tesserae
Deformations
Detachment in depth
Detachment of tesserae
Erosion between tesserae
Fractures
Scratches
Tesserae of glass paste
To obtain clear pictorial documentation, digital photographs were used as a base. During the first campaign, the information was entered after operations. The sunlight was mirroring opposite building windows reflecting all the glass tesserae at the site made it difficult if not impossible to make good images. Screened though it was, the sunlight and cold weather made reading the monitor extremely difficult, leading to a lack of precision in entering data adding consequent stress for the photographer. The second campaign saw us back to the traditional method of climbing and approach to the work which enabled us to document it in close detail. It is important to insist that documentation is not simply a registration of data: it is, first of all, an instrument for the study and understanding of the mechanisms of decay and damages, essential to the successful corrective measures to be carried out in preventive conservation.
Documentation is the first operation carried out on-site: each mark on the mosaic's surface is classified and represented graphically on specific, pre-arranged drawings. The process starts by entering the state of conservation (the type of decay) of the mosaic, de-tails of the original techniques of making the mosaic, in addition, the historic life of the building (uses, restorations, collapse). Documentation continues throughout the intervention, entering the operations carried out when removing the frames of the advertisement.
The list of the items observed during the documentation.
Carbonate deposits
Decohesion of tesserae
Deformations
Detachment in depth
Detachment of tesserae
Erosion between tesserae
Fractures
Scratches
Tesserae of glass paste
To obtain clear pictorial documentation, digital photographs were used as a base. During the first campaign, the information was entered after operations. The sunlight was mirroring opposite building windows reflecting all the glass tesserae at the site made it difficult if not impossible to make good images. Screened though it was, the sunlight and cold weather made reading the monitor extremely difficult, leading to a lack of precision in entering data adding consequent stress for the photographer. The second campaign saw us back to the traditional method of climbing and approach to the work which enabled us to document it in close detail. It is important to insist that documentation is not simply a registration of data: it is, first of all, an instrument for the study and understanding of the mechanisms of decay and damages, essential to the successful corrective measures to be carried out in preventive conservation.
Documentation of the mosaic
PREPARATION OF THE WORKSITE
The concentration of delicate walls, their high level of fragility and cold weather, aliened us to take preventive measures of applying protective textile and other alternative methods on the surface of the mosaic for the pre-detachment procedure.
The worksite was organized with marked paths; systems were set to supply electricity directly to the operators. On the Start-Up In WHITE HORSE YEAR mosaic, we built a structure holding four stories of movable bridges in metal and wood panels, spanning the width and height of the building. They were held by support based on the foundations of two opposite windows on the first and third floors of the building. This allowed two different teams to work simultaneously on different areas of the mosaic. These bridges were exposed to the public to view the mosaic and the conservator's scheduled works. This construction added one week to the planned work period, but it was created to ensure the protection of the mosaic, the safe carrying out of the work and the correct development of subsequent activities.
CUTTING THE INDIVIDUAL PANELS
The concentration of delicate walls, their high level of fragility and cold weather, aliened us to take preventive measures of applying protective textile and other alternative methods on the surface of the mosaic for the pre-detachment procedure.
The worksite was organized with marked paths; systems were set to supply electricity directly to the operators. On the Start-Up In WHITE HORSE YEAR mosaic, we built a structure holding four stories of movable bridges in metal and wood panels, spanning the width and height of the building. They were held by support based on the foundations of two opposite windows on the first and third floors of the building. This allowed two different teams to work simultaneously on different areas of the mosaic. These bridges were exposed to the public to view the mosaic and the conservator's scheduled works. This construction added one week to the planned work period, but it was created to ensure the protection of the mosaic, the safe carrying out of the work and the correct development of subsequent activities.
CUTTING THE INDIVIDUAL PANELS
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Cutting 170 individual mosaic panels using the original lines.
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DETACHMENT
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Detachment process using custom made steel nails to penetrate between mosaic and the wall.
The inner and outer edges of each section of a mosaic that has been cut, lifted, re-laid on a registered crates for transportation and storage. The cutting lines may follow the mosaic’s decorative design (bottom photo), or they may not (top photo). The joints between the panels are generally filled with materials such as mortar (top photo) or tesserae to restore the continuity of the mosaic surface. The section of the mosaic surface that has been detached from the rest of the mosaic and removed from its place of origin (bottom photo) to be kept in a storage. |
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Sorting and temporary storage.
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Mosaic Project abstract in Mongolian Language / МОЗАЙК ХАМГААЛАЛТ ТӨСЛИЙН ТОВЧ ҮР ДҮН МОНГОЛ ХЭЛ |
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