AIC's 53rd Annual Meeting

Since the mid-1980s, American artist Robert Gober (b. 1954) has been at the forefront of revitalizing representational sculpture. Gober’s works explore themes of childhood, domesticity, sexuality, religion, and politics through familiar objects such as doors and sinks, questioning how they contribute to our psyche. His unusual lexicon of meticulously hand-crafted common household objects are marked with surrealist twists or mutations such as X-shaped cribs, doors turning in on themselves, and legs protruding from walls. This phantasmagorical theme is also found in his wax sculptures of human body parts merged with domestic items in bizarre variations.

Throughout his career, Gober combined these elements to create complex installations, as seen in the untitled work at the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) —fondly called “the suitcase”. An imposing black, open suitcase with a grate inserted in its base that sits on the gallery floor. Peering into the suitcase reveals a subterranean world through a brick shaft in the floor. Below is the “Gober Room”, housing a large pool of water with a set of wax adult male legs and baby - an allusion to baptism. A motor and fan create gentle lapping of the water, which swirls around the legs, and causes the seaweed to sway. Like much of Gober's work, this installation explores the dynamic between the immediately apparent conscious world and the subconscious lurking beneath.

Since its 1999 acquisition the various sculptural and mechanical elements of Untitled have shown wear, and biological growth bloomed in the pool—drastically changing Gober’s intended experience of the artwork. Tackling this herculean endeavor and addressing the various, complex elements of this installation required many hands. For more than two years, the conservation team at MAM collaborated with other museum experts and allied professions to perform the most comprehensive treatment of this work to date in order to accomplish the ultimate goal of recapturing the artist’s original intent—to immerse viewers in an animated, watery scene.

This project started with conservator Christian Scheidemann, an expert in Gober installations, treating the pool and legs and fabricating new seaweed. The next step was to address the hot and humid environment in the “Gober room” to slow biological growth. A lighting technician replaced the hot lights with theater-style LEDs that mimic daylight, as specified by the artist’s studio. MAM’s Facilities crew added ventilation to increase airflow and control the temperature of the space. Regaining the subtle sound of the sculpture has been the more dramatic transformation of the treatment. The original motor drowned out the sound produced by the water’s soft lapping. A new, quieter motor was designed and constructed by a local engineer and the ambient noise was reduced. Working with a flooring expert, visually distracting flooring around the suitcase was also corrected.

The final step was to treat the suitcase and drain. This required consultation with the artist’s studio and the Schaulager Museum to determine the scope of treatment and acceptable level of change while maintaining the artist’s original intent and integrity of the artwork as it ages and technologies change.