Talk:Stephanie and Spy

Documentation and Condition Information
A documentation project was undertaken in the Fall of 2009 of "Stephanie and Spy" by students in the course "Digital Imaging and Documentation for Art and Archaeology" (CAEM M215) offered by the | UCLA-Getty Conservation Program. As part of this project students tried out different photographic techniques, such as diffuse light photography, Ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence and reflectance photography, and Infrared (IR) photography to see if these imaging techniques could be applied to metal sculptures outdoors to reveal any information about the condition of the sculpture, the patination or coatings/surface treatments applied as part of the conservation or maintenance of the sculpture. The following information is taken from an unpublished report written by students Tessa de Alarcon (UCLA/Getty Conservation Program), Sadie Menchen (Education and Information Studies), and Robin O'Hern (UCLA/Getty Conservation Program).

Condition Notes
Changes to the surface of the sculpture "Stephanie and Spy" can be observed by examining photos of the sculpture taken at different times since it was created.

1980-81
Images on the Robert Graham Studio website of Stephanie and Spy in the catalog of works from the 80's shows the sculptures have a surface patina that is a golden brown color. An image of the sculpture was published on the cover of magazine in 1983 showing a similar surface to that seen in on the Studio's website.

Late 1990's
Images found on a website documenting public art in Los Angeles has a picture of the sculpture taken in the late 1990's after it was installed in the Rolfe Hall Courtyard at UCLA. In this image the surface patina of the sculpture appears to have changed when compared to the images taken in the 80's. Spy appears to be covered with a light green surface patina, while the surface of the sculpture of Stephanie appears to have darkened.

October 2009
Starting in the fall of 2009, a project was undertaken by graduate students at UCLA to document this sculpture. Images of Stephanie and Spy taken in October show the surface patina had changed again from the images taken in the 1990's, especially the patina on Spy. Both sculptures now have a similar surface patina consisting of a dark green-brown color. The patina on Stephanie appears to be somewhat consistent but there are areas on Spy where a lighter green color can be observed.

Other notes were made by the group conducted the photodocumentation project :
 * Overall the statues are in good condition.
 * The sculptures are covered in a layer of fine dust and some spider webs were visible.
 * There are areas of red corrosion, possibly cuprite, on the base at the feet of the woman and the proper left front hoof of the horse.
 * There is also a blueish irregular oval shaped area of discoloration on the proper right center of the base of the horse.
 * As part of the ongoing maintenance of the sculptures, they were cleaned and coated with wax in September 2009.