c

My conjecture here is that once again we have an example of conservators
not having a clue what they are talking about.

Though I consider Simon more alert than Bud. Either they do not
understand business, or logistics, or often their own professed
'materials science.' Bud wants to go w/ his database, that is, by the
book which indicates to me that he has no practical perspective on
masonry cleaning. The effect of 1,500 psi pressure wash on granite from
guys hanging from ropes is going to be nano-miniscule to the point that
worrying about it is a perversion.

The crux is that what happens in practice is not what happens in
laboratory or theoretical environments and that those who actually do
masonry cleaning rarely want to tell the pundits what the hell it was
that was done. Case in point a recent exchange where a mechanic of 30
yrs. experience was talking with a conservator of 2 months experience
and conveyed a masonry cleaning technique that they had picked up from
an unattributed architect of 20+ yrs experience (and a damned solid
practitioner at that), a technique not-by-the-book, and the conservator
looked at the mechanic as if they were Dracula incarnate. This caused
the mechanic to react with a suspicion that they were talking to an
idiot and subsequently in the relationship it shut down all further
opportunity of an educational exchange.

Bud should spend his time considering if the original carving techniques
may have created micro-fracture lines in the stone that would eventually
result in nose loss.

As Mt. Rushmore is a visual experience... not too many people get to
hang out on it and get a feely touchy -- my assumption is that the
lichen removal is more of an aesthetic and political issue driven by
tourism & national symbolism than one of conservation. I find that
conservators tend to disdain political motivations until the check
arrives. This causes me a bit of ethical pangs of regret as a portion of
our business is to enable them.

With recent mass-transit experiences re: terrorism & knapsack searches I
am beginning to believe that the world will never be the same.

][<

>
> >I do believe we may lose chunks of our one-of-a-kind mountain
> >sculpture Mt. Rushmore to an unsafe "cleaning" operation.

--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
<http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>