The Fine Art of Renovation

The famed Orgozco murals in Baker Library are in the midst of a demolition derby. But fear not—a seismograph has been installed, ensuring that fine art and hard hats can coexist peacefully.

Hood Museum registrar Kellen Haak '79 installed the seismograph to monitor vibrations in the monumental murals of renowned Mexican artist Jose Clemente Orozco during the ongoing renovation of the building.

In the reserve corridor, Orozco's TheEpic of American Civilization spans 3,200 square feet and 24 individual scenes in the history of North American peoples from the Aztecs to the Industrial Revolution. Just around the corner, jackhammer operators are razing two levels of bookstacks to revert that space into a courtyard, as it was in the early 19405.

The workers have sprayed the word "murals" in red paint on the back of the corridor wall to help prevent'an errant drill from going through Orozco's work. Haak has taken a few more proactive steps to ensure that demolition stays on the proper side of the wall.

"One of the areas of most intense demolition is in the [northwest] corner of the room, near the corridor that leads to Carpenter Hall, and where Orozco had his test panel," Haak says. "The construction workers put up a plexiglass barrier to protect it from mechanical damage such as bumps or stuff flying around, and we mounted a seismograph on that wall to ensure that the vibration acceleration doesn't reach critical levels. We set two thresholds, one at.008 inches per second squared and the other at .012 inches per second squared. At the higher threshold, a red light and an audible alarm go off until the vibrations stop."

To give you an idea how slight those damaging vibrations can be, you could press your hand against the wall and not feel the slight motion that is detrimental to the mural. Something as trivial as a saw hitting a metal beam connected to the room might set this alarm off. Haak says a long, sustaining vibration of that measure would cause the plaster to crumble from the wall.

So far, although the alarm sounds an average of 25 times a day, no real damage has been done to the murals during the nearby renovations of the past six months. The project is scheduled to be completed in February

"My feeling at this point is that we're doing pretty well," Haak says. "It's just a matter of vigilance and keeping an eye on things. The alarm has worked like a charm."

No Bad Vibes Keller) Haak's job is tokeep Orozco's murals from cracking.