DIY Gone Wrong

[Aerojoe]

Today the news are telling that the poor old lady is in bed having some kind of nervous breakdown or anxiety attack. It is the whole planet against her :eusa_doh:

 

[Stanley Doble]

Isn't a fresco supposed to last for hundreds of years if done properly? It looks to me like the original artist either did not know what he was doing, or pulled a fast one and did a cheap picture that lasted just long enough for the check to clear.

From the look of the original it appears it started peeling not long after the last brush stroke dried.

 

[Espee]

I was just about that bad in high school art class. For pastel chalk portraits, a girl student was the model. My attempt was embarrassing-- cheeks seemed to have five o'clock shadow, and the forehead/ eyebrow area looked anything but feminine.
On an impulse (and before the teacher could come back around my way) I added a bandana and an eye patch. "It's a pirate guy!"
For one thing, I didn't want the model to see my original attempt. (I had problems with that teacher all along, and I'm sure this incident didn't help.)

 

[Espee]

Good thing she didn't mess up an image of Mohammed! Oh wait, there aren't any...

 

[Fletch]

Badly Taxidermied Lion approves of this development.

 

[Undertow]

Badly Taxidermied Lion approves of this development.

Hahaha! lol
:eusa_clap Bravo, sir!

 

[Flicka]

Badly Taxidermied Lion approves of this development.

I've seen that lion in person many times and I always laugh myself silly. Poor Swedish 17th century taxidermist had never seen a lion.

 

[Chasseur]

Badly Taxidermied Lion approves of this development.

Oh this had my laughing so much today I was crying...

 

[Aerojoe]

Now, the restored painting has become one of the main tourist attractions of Spain :eusa_doh: You have to queue for hours to enter this church;

 

[BigFitz]

Espee, your description of art class made me think of this.

 

[Juliet]

Oh, boy, this snowballed fast

At least the church is seeing a tourist flow. Praised be the Internet.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Badly Taxidermied Lion approves of this development.

The world's first Muppet.

 

[Mojito]

Aerojoe, I'm so, so sorry to hear about this lady - I've been rather desperately hoping that she wasn't aware that this had gone viral and was the subject of so much laughter. Yes, it was terribly botched - but the poor lady was obviously distressed at seeing a piece of art she loved so apparently neglected. I don't condone unskilled restoration, however well intentioned, but there's an elderly and vulnerable human being in the middle of this, and thinking that people around the globe are laughing at you is a horrible thought. I hope that if her error can't be rectified and the painting restored, then some kind-hearted artist can reproduce the original.

 

[sheeplady]

Aerojoe, I'm so, so sorry to hear about this lady - I've been rather desperately hoping that she wasn't aware that this had gone viral and was the subject of so much laughter. Yes, it was terribly botched - but the poor lady was obviously distressed at seeing a piece of art she loved so apparently neglected. I don't condone unskilled restoration, however well intentioned, but there's an elderly and vulnerable human being in the middle of this, and thinking that people around the globe are laughing at you is a horrible thought. I hope that if her error can't be rectified and the painting restored, then some kind-hearted artist can reproduce the original.

I'm betting that they might be able to strip away the paint depending upon what they used and the solvents available.

As far as the lady, I think it's a shame. I'm not terribly sure she was alright to begin with (to take on such a big job that she had little apparent/ current skill in) and it's sad to think that she is devastated about the reaction to it. But, I think much of the blame for how things spiraled out of control goes to the media, who not only has given pictures of the poor restoration (as they should), but chosen really loaded language to describe it and done very little to actually investigate who knew what and what is going to happen now. I would still like to know if the priest actually knew, as the woman says. It's apparent she was given permission to restore the tunic according to several sources.

I was reading an article today that suggested she might be brought up on charges of vandalism. It looks like numerous people were aware she was working on at least some part of the painting (according to these people themselves)- I can't help but feel it's unfair to charge her for vandalism if she was asked to restore part of it. It sounds more like a miscommunication than anything else.

 

[Espee]

This has taken some of the heat off of Really Bad National Anthem Singers.

 

[Aerojoe]

Aerojoe, I'm so, so sorry to hear about this lady - I've been rather desperately hoping that she wasn't aware that this had gone viral and was the subject of so much laughter.

Yes, I think she should have been somehow protected from the media but nowadays, this seems impossible.

I would still like to know if the priest actually knew, as the woman says. It's apparent she was given permission to restore the tunic according to several sources.

The problem is that the whole happening is quite strange. This woman had already worked on the very same painting several times before. However, she only had restored the robes of the figure, not the face.

Therefore, it was common for the priest and for the neighbors to watch this woman working on the church or painting in other places of the town.

What I think is that the woman totally lost her mind at some point and nobody noticed it until the damage was done.

I was reading an article today that suggested she might be brought up on charges of vandalism. It looks like numerous people were aware she was working on at least some part of the painting (according to these people themselves)- I can't help but feel it's unfair to charge her for vandalism if she was asked to restore part of it. It sounds more like a miscommunication than anything else.

Yes, what I understand so far is that the painting is responsibility of the town hall and they are considering charging the woman. It is not clear it will happen though.

From one point of view, it can't be tolerated that anybody can go to a church or museum and destroy artworks and cultural heritage. In Spain there is a church like this one in almost every town.

However, they'll have to take in consideration the age of this lady, her mental health and all the further damage that can be caused to her. Besides, she has a disabled 60 years old son on her charge. :eusa_doh:

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Ok. Now I see how this could happen! (LOL)

-dixon cannon

 

[BigFitz]

More DIY gone wrong. We have a bell from the City of Warren's Victorian fire station on display in front of the current station. The base was in need of replacement, so while the new one was being built, the bell sat on the garage floor on some timbers. One of our guys decided the patina was unsightly so it had to go. Armed with a grinder with a buffing wheel inplace and a couple cans of Brasso, he proceeded to buff away.

And the results:

Needless to say, I was disgusted at his ham fisted attempt to "restore" the bell. If you don't have the patience or know how to do things "right" why attempt them at all? Unfortunatley nobody seemed to care enough to stop him before it was too late.

 

[Aerojoe]

Last news about the Ecce Homo The old woman that restored the painting and her family, hired some lawyers and now she's claiming royalties for her work.

On Sept, 15th, the church where the painting is, the Borja Sanctuary, started to collect 1€ from each visitor. The owners of the church, a foundation called "Hospital Santi Spiritus", made 2000€ in 4 days.

The old woman, still self-locked at her home and probably encouraged by her family, considered this unfair and asked for her part.

So far, Borja Sanctuary has received around 30.000 visitors since the restoration job. Besides, a low-cost airline, Ryanair, is offering 12€ flies from any airport the company operates from.

Beware with this company though, because it's like flying with "stairway to hell airlines" :eusa_doh:

 

[vintageTink]

It could be worse.

*giggles uncontrollably*