Preserve our Cities, Preserve our Culture

I just started working part-time at the Andy Warhol Museum as a gallery attendant. My job is to look at the people who are looking at art. Although I’ve only been working a few short days, I’ve already noticed a trend in many of the guests. Many of the visitors don’t even really look at the artwork that is displayed. They seem to just enjoy breezing through the seven floors, soaking in the museum atmosphere of wide, open emptiness with a sprinkling of culture and color, while of course, holding hands with their date.

Visitors will stop and read descriptions of intriguing pieces of art to learn some background and many of them are shocked by “Oxidation Painting” (a painting Warhol made by urinating on a copper-coated canvas), but it seems that many people just come to the museum for the atmosphere, to be surrounded by culture.

I’m sharing this because I believe that the cities and towns that we live in are comparable to a museum. When you visit a historic town, you feel the atmosphere change. You are suddenly a part of the history that town has seen. Walking through old streets in the ancient city of Aachen, Germany, you are reminded of the Roman Empire that once ruled the world. These feelings can’t be mimicked in brand new developments and high-rises. They are the stories in the walls of houses that have seen wars, peace and change. The sensation of being in a place that remembers things is something that must be preserved.

Like a museum, we must tend to our property and take care of it, as not to disturb this ambiance. Otherwise we will stop and look around one day and nothing will catch our eye or intrigue us about our culture, because all we might see are Walmarts and condominiums.

—Meghan Leinbach, YPA Intern & student at the University of Pittsburgh

Preservation as a Tool

In my observation/opinion, when most people think about the term preservation, they think about it in the context of preserving something physical in a theoretical sense. For example, we should save a certain historical building or structure, a famous or old house, etc… The act of preserving gets lost in the mix, not because people don’t want to protect said building or structure, but because most people do not know how to actually preserve them.

I guess I am a case in point in that my background is in archeology, a field that fundamentally destroys areas (we like to call this excavation) in order to preserve the historical and/or natural integrity of an area. My technical knowledge in archeology has allowed for expertise in excavation, however it lacks in the restoration aspect of preservation.

You are all probably wondering where I am going with this. Well in my short experience with archeology and preservation, what I see that is lacking is preservation techniques being taught and exposed to the masses. Even as someone who has specialized in a field that involves preservation throughout school, I still have no concrete knowledge of how to preserve a standing building or structure myself.

I think it would be useful for people, especially the younger generation, to learn the basics of how to preserve a building or structure so that they have the necessary tools to preserve in the future. As every home or building has a history, old or new, preservation of that structure will need to be addressed at some point in time… so why not address it early.

Posted by Ashley Noia, YPA Intern, July 2, 2010