In the News Cleveland – Downtown’s PNC George Rickey Returns after Sculpture Conservation
Emmett Lodge of McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory guides the placement of an upper component into its new bearing
Sculpture Conservation, George Rickey Conservation
Our return of George Rickey’s moving sculpture TRIPLE L, EXCENTRIC, GYRATORY, GYRATORY III for PNC Bank in Cleveland was well received.
In July, 2017, McKay Lodge Art Conservation Laboratory reinstalled the George Rickey sculpture on the PNC Bank plaza in downtown Cleveland from where it was removed by us to our facilities for complete sculpture conservation rehabilitation.
The Sound of Applause is an Emmy award-winning locally produced TV show that celebrates artists and cultural groups around Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. We are grateful for their interested and expert coverage of this project.
1. Emmett Lodge (left) and Tom Podnar (right) ready a section to be hoisted.2. The sections are made from welded stainless steel, and quite thin in areas for weight reduction to assure easy movement. Tom and Emmett know precisely where to attach the slings. Sling attachment points were predetermined at the McKay Lodge Conservation facilities by repeatedly hoisting with the company’s crane till the best, safe balance and position were found, then marked.
3. Emmett Lodge guides the crane for placement of our newly turned stainless steel shaft into the re-machined socket in the lower section. George Rickey sculpture bearings need periodic greasing or they will fail and have to be replaced. McKay Lodge Conservation’s George Rickey experts Tom Podnar and Jim Gwinner have replaced many bearings in George Rickey’s sculptures from Cleveland to Hawaii.4. Emmett Lodge (in lift), Tom Podnar (right) and conservation assistant Curtis McCartney (left) work to get that new shaft of this center section into its socket.
5. The fit of the new shaft into its socket has to be precise with no play so alignment for insertion is critical. All assembly before the final Cleveland installation was tried first at the McKay Lodge Conservation facilities to assure a problem-free early Sunday morning install.
6. The formidable Mr. Tom Podnar, Senior Sculpture Conservator and lead George Rickey sculpture expert on the site at the PNC Bank plaza installation in Cleveland, Ohio. Tom is a lifelong and still current resident of Cleveland, Ohio.
7. The simple wooden cradle, pre-built and tested at the McKay Lodge Conservation facilities is re-installed on-site to assure the two swinging upper sections stay aligned and do not dangerously move and upset balance during installation.
8. The lightweight stainless steel skins of these two upper sections were replaced at the McKay Lodge Conservation facility’s welding shop using George Rickey’s original French ARO spot welder. The work was performed under the guidance and training of George Rickey’s surviving studio assistant, Steven Day. Skin replacements were necessary due to damage caused by branches of a nearby tree.
9. This bracing and hoisting procedure was performed in mock-up pre-assembly at the McKay Lodge Conservation facilities to assure a problem-free installation on the Cleveland site. In addition, all counter weighting of the elements of the kinetic sculpture were adjusted for balance and tested at the McKay Lodge Conservation facilities for a speedy actual installation and immediately successful operation10. Emmett Lodge in the aerial lift has released the two moving upper elements from their wooden bracing and the two “L” sections begin to gracefully move in a light breeze. Success and completed in four hours!
