‘Mural’ traveling around country after restoration

By Dave DeWitte

IOWA CITY – Jackson Pollock’s “Mural,” the crown jewel of the University Of Iowa Museum Of Art’s collection, may be 70 years old this year, but it’s getting a fresh look in the art world.

Displaced from the university’s art museum by the flood of 2008, the abstract expressionist icon has been on the road a lot for a painting nearly 20 feet wide. “Mural”’s biggest exposure has been at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, where it underwent an extensive conservation process before going on exhibit March 11.

The extensive conservation work on “Mural” unearthed new knowledge about how Mr. Pollock created the work, now valued in excess of $150 million. The chance to see one of America’s most famous abstract expressionist works restored to its original vividness proved an irresistible attraction to many art lovers.

“It is currently one of the most popular shows they’ve ever had at the Getty,” said University of Iowa Museum of Art Director Sean O’Harrow. With about 500,000 admitted to the exhibit, it has a shot at shattering an all-time exhibit record for the Getty by the time it closes on June 1, Mr. O’Harrow said.

The conservation was performed on the mammoth painting without cost to the UI, added Mr. O’Harrow. The unveiling of the freshly-restored work was an art world event that was front page news in the Los Angeles Times and attracted journalists from about 30 media outlets.

The Getty produced a book about the painting incorporating discoveries from the restoration:  Jackson Pollock’s Mural:  The Transitional Moment,” and posted videos on its web site elaborating on the findings during the conservation of “Mural.”

Before being moved to The Getty, “Mural” was on exhibit at the Figge Museum of Art in Davenport, where it was viewed by about 250,000 people, Mr. O’Harrow said.

A large contingent of UI leaders and staff were also invited to ceremonies surrounding the opening of the “Mural” exhibition at the Getty in March, including UI President Sally Mason.

Wallace Chappell, retired director of Hancher Auditorium and a longtime Pollock enthusiast, was among the Iowans invited to the opening. After years of studying “Mural” and Mr. Pollock’s other work, Mr. Chappell was fascinated to learn that among the expensive oil paints Mr. Pollock used on the canvas was also a common white house paint. He also learned more about the painting’s journey.

To Mr. Wallace’s amazement, “Mural” was not considered a work of considerable value in 1959 at the time it was donated to the UI by Peggy Guggenheim, the highly respected art collector and dealer. He said the painting was allowed to remain in storage at Yale University for a long time as UI officials contemplated the expense of insuring and transporting the huge work to Iowa City.

“Here it is today, worth $150 million or more,” Mr. Chappell mused aloud.

Mr. Chappell also learned that Ms. Guggenheim’s appreciation for “Mural” may have grown over the years. At one point, he said, she offered to make a trade for it, offering a cubist painting in exchange.

Mr. O’Harrow and Mr. Chappell both find irony in the fact that many art scholars consider the abstract expressionist movement a reaction to the social realism exemplified by Thomas Hart Benton, one of Mr. Pollock’s teachers, and Grant Wood, the most famous Iowa artist.  The freedom from realistic forms of abstract expressionism was even considered to have serious political ramifications in the ideological struggles between capitalism and socialism, Mr. O’Harrow said.

With all the attention “Mural” was getting, it seemed appropriate that the UI Museum of Art make it the centerpiece of the museum’s annual fundraising gala in April.

Mr. Chappell, who emceed the event, described it as a kind of “Project Runway” production, with artists producing “Mural”-inspired fashions and gala participants voting on their favorites after seeing them modeled.

Prizes were awarded, and a dozen installations of ‘Wearable Art’ inspired by “Mural” were on exhibit in an equal number of downtown Iowa City retail establishments for the last two weeks of April.

Artist Emily Bacatan of Iowa City said it wasn’t hard to capture inspiration from “Mural.” She said working with the vivid colors and playful shapes of Mr. Pollock’s work to make a playful, yet tasteful, dress gave her a peaceful feeling.

The fundraising gala “was really fun for the audience,” said Mr. Chappell, who is now a consultant. “Many of them knew a lot about the Pollock and are supporters of the art museum.”

“Mural”’s travels are not over. With its newly brightened colors, “Mural” will be traveling to the Sioux City Museum of Art after its run at The Getty concludes June 1.

“It will be in Sioux City from July to April 2015, and then on an international tour,” said Mr. O’Harrow, explaining the UI’s new museum won’t be finished until 2017.

“Mural” is likely to figure prominently in events and fundraising surrounding the reopening of the museum, Mr. O’Harrow said.

In the interim, Mr. O’Harrow said the fresh wave of interest in Pollock’s “Mural” continues to bring Iowa and the university favorable attention in the art world.