Technical Studies
The Conservation department participates in Whitney programs as well as various other projects that include symposia, interviews, publications, lectures, and interdisciplinary research. The intent is to share technical information gleaned from the museum’s collection with colleagues, private collectors, and the general public.
lectures
“The Ultimate Painting”
September 13, 2009 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Panel co-moderated by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro as part of the symposium, “Imageless: The Scientific Analysis and Experimental Treatment of an Ad Reinhardt Black Painting”
Artist’s Voice: History’s Claim Read more
January 24–16, 2008 at the Getty Center in Los Angeles
Panel moderated by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro as part of “The Object in Transition: A Cross-Disciplinary Conference on the Preservation and Study of Modern and Contemporary Art”
encountering newman Read more
January 24–16, 2008 at the Getty Center in Los Angeles
Lecture presented by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro and Yve-Alain Bois as part of “The Object in Transition: A Cross-Disciplinary Conference on the Preservation and Study of Modern and Contemporary Art”
Modern Paints Uncovered Symposium Read more
May 16–19, 2006 at the Tate Modern in London
Narayan Khandekar presented research done by a team of Whitney conservators and Harvard scientists on the Whitney’s Donald Judd Untitled, 1965.
artist interviews
The Artist Documentation Program founded in 1990 at The Menil Collection, Houston, and supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, continues in partnership at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Harvard Art Museum. As of 2009, there have been thirty-three interviews with artists recorded including filmed conversations with many artists who have had focused exhibitions at the Whitney. A full list of interviews and a link to the Artist Documentation Program webpage at The Menil Collection will be forthcoming.
publications
“Calder’s Once and Future Circus: A Conservator’s Perspective”
By Eleonora Nagy and Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Alexander Calder: The Paris Years, 1926–1933, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, 2008).
“The Rothko Chapel Paintings: A personal account”
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Image of the Not-Seen: Search for Understanding, The Rothko Chapel Art Series, The Rothko Chapel (Houston, 2007).
“Marden’s Materiality: The Monochromes”
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Plane Image: A Brice Marden Retrospective, The Museum of Modern Art (New York, 2006).
“Material and Method"
By Narayan Khandekar, Eleonora Nagy, Julian Miller, Pia Gottschaller, and Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in "Modern Art: A Collaborative Challenge” in Scientific Examination of Art: Modern Techniques in Conservation and Analysis, National Academy of Sciences (Washington, D.C. 2005).
“In Search of Permanence: Oscar Bluemner’s Materials and Techniques”
Ulrich Birkmaier, in Oscar Bluemner: A Passion for Color, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, 2005).
“The Paintings of Barnett Newman: ‘Involved Intuition on the Highest Level’”
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Barnett Newman: A Catalogue Raisonné, The Barnett Newman Foundation and Yale University Press (New York, 2004).
“Embracing Humility in the Shadow of the Artist”
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Personal Viewpoints: Thoughts on Painting Conservation, The Getty Conservation Institute (Los Angeles, 2003).
“Time and Change: A Discussion about the Conservation of Modern and Contemporary Art”
By Carol Mancusi-Ungaro, Jim Coddington, and Kurt Varnedoe, moderated by Jeffrey Levin in Conservation: The Getty Conservation Institute Newsletter. Volume 17, Number 3 (Los Angeles, 2002).
“Jackson Pollock: Response as Dialogue”
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro in Jackson Pollock: New Approaches, edited by Kirk Varnedoe and Pepe Karmel, Museum of Modern Art (New York, 1999).
“Material and Immaterial Surface: The Paintings of Rothko”
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Mark Rothko, National Gallery of Art (Washington DC, 1998).
“Nuances of Surface in the Rothko Chapel Paintings”
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Mark Rothko: The Chapel Commission, The Menil Collection (Houston, 1996).
