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On a Mission: Preserving the Missions of San Antonio (September 19, 2003, Two)

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Program Summary

Remember the Alamo! Mission San Antonio de Valero, better known as the Alamo, is the most famous of the Texas missions built nearly 300 years ago by Catholic monks. Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie died defending it against the Mexican army during Texas’ attempt to become independent from Mexico. The Alamo and its sister missions are an integral part of the San Antonio community, serving as active parishes even now. But they are showing signs of their considerable age: Frescoes (paintings done on wet plaster) are peeling off, facades are crumbling, and walls are severely water-damaged. They need a facelift, and today’s show discusses the ongoing efforts to save these cultural icons before they are too far gone.

The plight of the missions is not unique. All over the world, monuments, buildings, and art are threatened constantly by weather, war, natural disasters, and even tourists, who can cause terrible, unwitting damage simply by visiting. The caves at Lescoux, France, for example, are closed now because the constant flow of people through them raised the humidity level inside, leading to the growth of mold over the delicate, prehistoric wall paintings. The jungle rips apart stone Mayan temples in Guatemala, acid rain eats away at the Acropolis in Greece, the rising sea threatens the entire city of Venice, an earthquake destroyed part of San Juan Capistrano in California (the mission south of Los Angeles that is famous for the return of the swallows each year on or about the same day).

Restoration projects in the past have sometimes done more harm than good, such as protective varnishes applied over the Sistine Chapel frescoes that darkened with age. Today’s conservators have at their disposal the latest scientific methods drawn from chemistry, physics, and computer science, enabling them to preserve our priceless treasures safely for future generations.

Guests

Felix Almaraz, Jr., professor of history at University of Texas at San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas

Carolyn Peterson, fellow at the American Institute of Architects; vice-president, director of historic preservation, and director of design at Ford, Powell and Carson in San Antonio, Texas

David Vekasy, facility manager for the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park , National Park Service , in San Antonio, Texas
Mary Canales Jary, Restoration Associates in San Antonio, Texas

Related Links and Resources

Ford Powell and Carson: Alamo Restoration and Master Plan

National Park Service Map of Missions Locations, San Jose Mission Diagram
MySanAntonio.com, August 12, 2003: “Fundraising Campaign for Mission Repairs Kicked Off”
MySanAntonio.com, August 31, 2003: “Mission Espada, A Focus of Life for Generations”
Restoration Associates: Mission Conception Fresco, Mission San Jose, San Jose Plaster Restore

San Antonio Business Journal, October 15, 2003: “Parks Manager is on a Mission”
Strategic Plan for San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
Truefresco.com: “Frescoes in the Alamo (There's More There Than John Wayne)

For Discussion:

• What forces of nature and man endanger historic structures and art?
• How does acid rain damage surfaces? What does sun exposure do?
• Are there historic structures in your area? Have they needed restoration? If so, what was done and why?
• What modern technologies are conservators using in their work? How are they used?

Activities

What goes up sometimes comes down. Discoveryschool.com uses the collapses of three bridges as physics lessons in Stable and Unstable Structures. Students learn how weather conditions, traffic, and human error must all be considered when designing a structure. In Constructing Earthquake-Proof Buildings, students construct an earthquake simulation machine to view the effect of an event on a skyscraper.

Science to the rescue. Riverdeep’s The Science of Art Conservation is a fascinating overview of restoring masterpiece paintings with science. Conservators discuss their work and philosophy in video clips, and students can tour an interactive exhibit that shows how infrared photography is used to look beneath the surface of a painting without damaging it. In Science Updates: Art Algorithms (ScienceNetlinks) they’ll learn about a new computer program that cuts the time-consuming restoration process way down by virtually filling in missing and damaged areas, giving the conservator an idea of what the finished piece should look like.

Building for the future. For a short summary of the physical threats to historic structures, visit The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.

It’s all Greek to me. Acropolis Restoration, a British site about saving the Acropolis in Greece (Greece Now Project 2001), can be a bit difficult to wade through, but the pictures of the restorations are terrific, as are the descriptions of the causes of damage. It gives student a good visual sense of what is involved in saving an historic site, especially one that’s thousands of years old. Other pages to visit are Causes of Intervention: Damage and Deterioration, and The Acropolis Restoration Project.

The burden is on us. Borobudur: Pathway to Enlightenment is an episode from the PBS series “Treasures of the World.” Weather, erosion, and human interaction contributed to the deterioration of this Buddhist monument in Java. The program documents the successful efforts of an international team of historians and scientists to save it. The lesson plan poses provocative discussion questions and links to sites about conservation.

Do or don’t. Not everyone thinks art restoration is a good idea. Restoring Michelangelo's David, broadcast on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition,” outlines some conservators’ objections to cleaning Michaelangelo’s famous statue. They claim that the method chosen for the cleaning may actually damage it. Have students research the restoration efforts of Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” (mentioned in the radio piece), the Sistine Chapel ceiling, or other work of art or architecture that is considered to have actually damaged the artwork. What should the conservators have done differently?

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

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