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NOVA Series To Examine
Sistine Chapel Restoration
When the Vatican began in 1980 their
12-year project to clean and restore
Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine
Chapel, they uncovered something quite
unexpected. Underneath centuries of ac
cumulated dirt and grime were bright,
vibrant colors, casting the Renaissance
master and his most famous paintings in a
new light.
But some critics of the project contend
that the restoration may be going too far,
removing layers of paint which belong to
Michelangelo’s own work.
NOVA, the award-winning weekly
science documentary series, looks at the
controversial project and the techniques
used by the Vatican to restore one of the
world’s most revered masterpieces. “Can
the Vatican Save the Sistine Chapel?” will
air Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 8 p.m. on PBS,
WGTV, Channel 8.
Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel, the pope’s private chapel,
between 1508 and 1512. But within a decade
after he finished, Vatican experts believe,
smoke from candles and oil lamps ac
cumulated on the frescoes. The Vatican
found that earlier restorers, in their at
tempts to enhance and protect the paint
ings, applied a glue-varnish, and in some
places repainted the surface. The Vatican
theorizes that as the glue-varnish aged it
darkened, giving the paintings their
familiar somber quality. As part of the
restoration, this glue-varnish is being
removed because the Vatican believes it is
causing damage to Michelangelo’s
original paintings.
After months of negotiations NOVA
cameras were allowed to observe the
techniques being employed by the
Vatican’s team of restorers in this am
bitious undertaking. Taking viewers
within inches of the celebrated frescoes —
the technique of painting on fresh plaster
used by Michelangelo — NOVA shows how
restorers are applying scientific tech
niques to evaluate and preserve the fragile
artwork.
Before each panel is cleaned, the
restorers typically spend one month taking
samples — often no larger than the size of
the head of a pin — from the surface of the
paintings. NOVA observes as the Vatican’s
Conservation Laboratory uses ultraviolet
light and chemical analysis in an effort to
distinguish Michelangelo’s brushstrokes
from the repairs made by earlier
restorers.
As restorers proceeded to clean the sur
face, vivid colors began to emerge —
blues, greens, yellows, reds — colors that
had never before been associated with
Michelangelo’s work. “Nobody expected
those colors,” said Dr. Walter Persegati,
secretary general of the Vatican
Museums. “We knew that there must have
been good colors there but not to such an
extent.”
Excited by the results, the Vatican
began releasing photos comparing the
uncleaned and the cleaned frescoes, spark
ing a controversial response from a few
prominent members of the art community.
“It disturbed me,” said New York art
dealer Ronald Feldman. It was “too
bright, too cartoon-like.”
Feldman initiated a petition signed by a
group of American artists calling for a
pause in the restoration until more
research could be done.
But the Vatican stood by its approach.
Microscopic analysis of tiny cross-sections
of the ceiling showed that almost
everything above the initial layer of
plaster and pigment was applied long after
the frescoes were completed, and hence
presumably not by Michelangelo.
Ironically, the glue-varnish layer now
being removed by restorers may have
served as a protective layer, keeping
moisture and pollutants from attacking
the frescoes directly. To prevent damage
to the now-exposed surfaces, the Vatican is
taking measures to ensure their safety, in
cluding the installation of a special air con
ditioning and filtration system.
Cold War Origins, Prospects
Focus Of New PBS Series
BY HENRY HERX
NEW YORK (NC) - The origins,
development and prospects of the Cold
War conflict between U.S. and Soviet
governments in their struggle for world
leadership is the subject of a new four-part
series, “Global Rivals.”
The premier program, “Beyond the Cold
War,” airs Tuesday, Sept. 20, 10-11 p.m.
EDT on PBS, WPBA, Channel 30.
The first half of the program centers on
the history of the Cold War which began,
according to spokesmen from both the
United States and the Soviet Union,
because of the suspicion and mistrust of
the former World War II allies.
Documentary footage highlights the
growing standoff between the two super
powers whose growing nuclear ar
maments increased the chance of mutual
catastrophic annihilation. The possibilities
for detente were crippled by the
ideological differences undermining com
mon sense considerations.
The second half of the program centers
on the economic problems of the Soviets
which have forced them to concentrate on
internal reforms rather than military ex
pansionism. Party chief Mikhail Gor
bachev has his hands full trying to rectify
the errors of dictatorial Soviet leadership
that began with Stalin.
Hosted by journalist Bernard Kalb and
assisted by Columbia University professor
Serewyn Bialer, the program scores both
as history and primer for present
developments. In repudiating the past,
Gorbachev is shown to be battling a long-
entrenched hierarchy of Soviet
bureaucrats. The program suggests that
his chances of success are limited.
According to the program, however,
change in the Soviet Union is inevitable
because the system isn’t working. The
series will help the American public
understand how these momentous changes
affect the world.
*****
Thursday, Sept. 22, 9-11 p.m. EDT (CBS)
WAGA, Channel 5 “Kidis Like These.”
Rebroadcast of the Christopher Award
winning drama about the family of a child
with Down syndrome. 'Tyne Daly (“Cag
ney and Lacey”) plays the child’s mother,
a woman who, determined to meet the
challenge of rearing the child, has a hard
time accepting his limitations. This fine
drama also features Richard Crenna and
Martin Balsam. '
THE NEXT GENERATION — The High Museum of Art will present
a film tribute to new and emerging directors of outstanding foreign
films this fall beginning Oct. 7. The seven-part series includes director
Mark Lewis’“Cane toads: An Unnatural History,” a portrait of the
ecologically disastrous cane toad that is overrunning Australia. The
film will be shown at 8 p.m., Fri., Oct. 21 in the Rich Auditorium of the
Woodruff Arts Center.
— The Georgia Bulletin, September 15,1988
PAGE 9
"Tucker" Lacks Dimension
“TUCKER: THE MAN
AND HIS DREAM”
(PARAMOUNT)
NEW YORK (NC) -
Dramatized portrait of the
maverick inventor (Jeff
Bridges) who bucked the
top three car manufac
turers of his time (postwar
1940s) to create a visionary
automobile that featured
innovative design, speed
and safety factors that
threatened the lackluster
products of his com
petitors. Director Francis
Ford Coppola has a hard
time blending the docu
mentary and dramatic
aspects of his scenario and
ends up portraying his sub
ject too one-dimensionally.
Moral issues (good guys vs.
bad guys) evoked in black
and white terms as well.
Mild rough language. The
U.S. Catholic Conference
classification is A-II —
adults and adolescents.
The Motion Picture Associ
ation of America rating is
PG — parental guidance
suggested.
“HOT TO TROT”
(WARNER BROS.)
Upon the death of his
mother, a loony young man
(Bob Goldthwait) inherits
a talking horse named Don
(with the voice of John
Candy) and half of his
family’s brokerage firm.
The horse provides some
hair-raising moments, but
also some stock tips and a
winning racing form that
get his dimwitted owner
out of hot water. A knuckle
headed insult to Mr. Ed
fans, this unfunny comedy
directed by Michael Dinner
features some embarrass
ing performances by good
actors (Dabney Coleman,
Virginia Madsen and Cindy
Pickett) and much rough
language laced with sexual
vulgarities. The U.S. Cath
olic Conference classifica
tion is A-III — adults. The
Motion Picture Association
of America rating is PG —
parental guidance sug
gested.
“STEALING HOME”
(WARNER BROS.)
Flashbacks detail a
washed-up baseball play
er’s (Mark Harmon) life
long infatuation with an
older family friend (Jodie
Foster) who served as his
babysitter and life and love
adviser. Upon her suicide,
he returns home to bury
her ashes and ultimately
put the pieces of his life
back together with the help
of his boyhood friend
(Harold Ramis) and
mother (Blair Brown).
Writer-directors Steven
Kampmann and Will Aldis
get distracted and fail to
develop the girl’s charac
ter beyond that of an unat
tainable fantasy figure.
Brief nudity and several in
cidents of explicit sexual
promiscuity, one including
a minor and an adult. The
U.S. Catholic Conference
classification is A-III —
adults. The Motion Picture
Association of America rat
ing is PG-13 — parents
strongly cautioned that
some material may be in
appropriate for children
under 13.
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Mass Televised
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
THE CATHOLIC MASS — The Mass will be tele
vised at the following times:
8:30 a.m. on WOR-TV (Channel 14 on Prime Cable).
9 a.m. on WGN-TV (Channel 15 on Prime Cable).
10 a.m. on WVEU-TV (Channel 69).
The Mass for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time will
be celebrated by Father Larry Carroll. The program
is produced by Passionist Communications. To
receive a missalette for the Mass, write Passionist
Communications, Inc., The Sunday Mass, P.O. Box
440, Pelham, N.Y. 10803.
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