By Rebecca Wallace
About this blog: I grew up in Menlo Park and have long been involved with both local journalism and local theater. After starting my career as an editorial intern with The Almanac, I was a staff reporter for the Almanac and the San Mateo County Ti...
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About this blog: I grew up in Menlo Park and have long been involved with both local journalism and local theater. After starting my career as an editorial intern with The Almanac, I was a staff reporter for the Almanac and the San Mateo County Times, covering local government, cops, health/science and many other beats. In 2005 I made the move to the arts desk at the Palo Alto Weekly. A&E is close to my heart because of my experience in the performing arts. I've been acting and singing in Bay Area theater productions for years, and have played everything from a sassy French boy to a Texas cheerleader. In Ad Libs, I blog about the exhibitions I see, the artists I meet and the intriguing new projects and trends I see in the arts world.
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Outdoor art needs special treatment, even when it's made out of trees. Stanford's two totem poles carved and painted by Pacific Northwest artists recently got respectful facelifts by two fellow artists trying to preserve the original spirit.
Art Thompson's "Boo-Qwilla," which has stood in Dohrmann Grove since 1995, and Don Yeomans' "The Stanford Legacy," near Crown Quad since 2002, both needed cleaning and repainting. Enter the Cantor Arts Center, which detailed the project on its "Cross-Sections" website.
The Cantor's Elizabeth Saetta cleaned the towering artworks and added preservatives to keep insects away. Then came artists and husband-and-wife team John Livingston and Maxine Matilpi. Livingston was a longtime friend of the late artist Thompson, and he and his wife clearly have great respect for the art of the totem pole. The pair were careful to use only paint that matched the originals.
Above are before-and-after photos of "The Stanford Legacy," a totem pole that incorporates figures representing the Leland Stanford family. What do you think of the results? To read more, check out this
Stanford Report article.
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