Saving The Poet’s Beard
UPDATE: After decades of weathering taking a toll on Ben Shahn’s mosaic, “The Poet’s Beard”, we are thrilled to announce a successful restoration!
Russian mosaicist Vladimir Aituganov and his son Alexei conducted a painstaking process to inspect and tend to the areas of concern. It took a thorough cleaning followed by the replacement of deteriorated adhesive with appropriate mortar and the damaged, discolored or missing tesserae with new ones. To complete the revival, we crafted a fresh wooden frame (previously gnawed at by squirrels and carpenter bees), remodeled the landscaping to avoid back-splashing, and redesigned the drip edge to better protect and preserve the mosaic in the future.
Vladimir Aituganov and Mira Nakashima
Vladmir & Alexei making careful repairs
Vladimir & Alexei Aituganov mid-process in front of “The Poet’s Beard”
Rust from installation screws has damaged the mortar.
Changes in humidity and the porous nature of regular cement mortar has also contributed to fallen tiles.
The wood frame has begun to rot in several areas.
Mildew from the rot wood has migrated to nearby tesserae.
Fallen tesserae were re-attached with industrial caulk of poor adhesive quality.
Acid has stained tesserae re-attached with contaminated industrial caulk.
In the mid 60s noted American artist and social realist, Ben Shahn, became captivated by a uniquely canted exterior wall of George Nakashima’s Arts Building while witnessing its construction.
Moved by the beauty of the architecture and the inherent protection from the elements that this particular cant offered, Shahn would go on to design an enduring mosaic to grace his friend’s building — a mark of beauty that remains a prominent feature to this day.
After Shahn’s passing in 1969, George and his son, Kevin, entrusted the maquette to the Atelier of Gabriel Loire in Chartres, France where the concept was realized in memoriam. The atelier had a strong understanding of Shahn’s line treatment, color, and tile preference after constructing several of his earlier mosaics.
The piece was crafted from small bits of marble and glass (also known as tessera) in 1971, and installed the same year. It consists of eight panels — each 84 ¼ “ high and 35” long — for a total length of about 23’ 4” that is surrounded by a wooden frame.
Now, the striking gift of quietude is informally known as “The Poet’s Beard”, as Shahn’s illustrative inspiration came from the beard of a figure in his earlier lithograph, “The Poet.” The mosaic’s seemingly abstract design makes it a rather unique work in his oeuvre.
Thanks to the deep study of the Penn Praxis Architectural Conservation Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania, we issued a conservation and management plan for the Arts Building and Cloister in 2017. This work was funded by a 2015 Getty Foundation “Keeping It Modern” preservation grant.