3 Super Interesting Preservation and Restoration Projects Stopping Flaking Paint on Murals I blogged in January about two murals that we worked on that had a special social message to tell. One is on the Army base in El Paso, Texas and the other is in Houston. The only thing that really connected them to me was their problem of flaking.
The worst flaking I’ve ever seen on a work of art.
In El Paso, Texas you can clearly see Juarez, Mexico on the other side of the freeway... besides the drama of the wall, Juarez’s reputation for lack of law and order are famous and its very interesting to imagine all that goes on over and around that border. Adding to that “vibe” we were feeling was the purpose of our work in El Paso; our mural on the Army Base, Fort Bliss, by World War II prisoner of war, Austrian Crpl Rudolph von Ripper in 1943 entitled “One Nation Indivisible With Liberty and Justice For All” an ideal to be held in the heart of every generation. His perspective was, in part, a product of his hate for the Nazis who had forced him into military service (and his gratitude to be a POW). Interestingly, the cause of the flaking was magnified significantly by the fact that the mural, at some point about 50 years ago, had a wall built in front of it sealing it in, in order to preserve it against being painted out or...? Then, un heated/un airconditioned the encasing of the mural resulted in extreme elevated microclimate swings in temperature and humidity when the building was not in use by the military.