[Feature: University Museums] Connecting University Collections: Initiatives of the Keio University Art Management and Operations Committee

2021/04/05

Universities accumulate many cultural properties and works of art. Works are brought in through various connections, including portraits and statues of successive professors, as well as donations from alumni and associated artists. However, because a university is not a facility like an art museum or museum that is predicated on storage, preservation, and exhibition, the locus of responsibility for who manages the works and how they are managed tends to become ambiguous. As a result, tragedies occasionally occur where works are not recognized as such and continue to sleep in warehouses, or their value is overlooked and they are discarded.

Even at Keio University, where numerous works have accumulated since its founding, for a long time there was no response beyond property management by the property department, and they were managed in a decentralized manner at each facility. Gradually, problems with the management system came to be recognized, and the "Art Management and Operations Committee" (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee") was established in 2002. This article introduces the initiatives of this Committee, which can be considered a rare example for a comprehensive university.

The Committee was established in 2002 following the launch of the "Keio University Collection Art Management Project" in 1999. The secretariat is served by the Office of Facilities and Property Management and the Keio University Art Center (KUAC), and the committee members consist of faculty and staff from various departments such as the Media Center, the Office of Communications and Public Relations, the Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko), and the Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies, as well as the affiliated schools, making it a university-wide organization. Since works are stored in various locations ranging from affiliated schools to various university facilities, it is not easy to keep track of all of them, but by selecting committee members from each location, progress is being made in identifying the works. The Committee holds regular meetings twice a year, functioning as a forum for sharing information on works, consulting on preservation and restoration, and considering donated works. A budget for preservation and restoration is also secured every year. Since its establishment in 2002, many works have been discovered by the Committee, and care by experts has been carried out through the Keio University Art Center (KUAC). Examples in which the Committee is deeply involved are described below.

Keio University possesses "Tekona" by Shikai Kitamura, a pioneer of marble sculpture in Japan. Several works by Shikai Kitamura, who has deep ties to Keio University, are in the collection, but among them, "Tekona" is a life-sized statue and the largest-scale marble work in modern Japan. This work was exhibited at the 3rd Bunten (Ministry of Education Art Exhibition) in 1909. After the exhibition, it was donated as a gift to celebrate the construction of the library (now the Old University Library) through the mediation of Keio University alumni, and was installed in the library entrance hall in April 1912 after completion. However, this work was damaged in the Great Tokyo Air Raid of 1945, suffering major damage such as breaking into two pieces and losing both arms. It was subsequently stored in an underground warehouse and kept out of public sight for about 50 years.

In 1999, it was rediscovered by Mr. Yasuhiro Yanai, who was a curator at the Keio University Art Center (KUAC) at the time, during a warehouse cleanup, and recommendations were made regarding restoration and re-exhibition based on an investigation by a restorer. Subsequently, with the establishment of the Committee, discussions on restoration began in earnest, and it was decided to restore and re-exhibit this work, which is a precious extant work by Shikai. Discussions were held through the advice of restorers and research into related materials regarding how far to restore and how much to leave untouched. As a result, the basic policy was to respect the changes suffered throughout history as part of the work's originality, and it was decided not to perform restorative aesthetic repairs. In other words, it was decided to present the damage the work suffered from the fire caused by the air raid as a "record" of sharing the history and fate of Keio University.

However, the part that had been broken into two was joined so that it could be exhibited standing. In addition, the degree to which dirt should be removed was decided through consultation between the person in charge of restoration and the person in charge at the Keio University Art Center (KUAC). After restoration, this work was exhibited and made public for the first time in about 60 years at the Keio University 150th Anniversary Exhibition "Yukichi Fukuzawa and the Future" (2009, Tokyo National Museum, etc.). Subsequently, it was placed on permanent display in the entrance hall of the Old University Library, its original exhibition location, where the work can still be seen today. Regarding this work, it can be said that the Art Management and Operations Committee worked effectively in that it was able to spend time thinking about and sharing ideas on how the work should exist.

Next, I will introduce the maintenance that the Committee secures a budget for and carries out regularly. At Keio University, many outdoor sculptures are installed on each university campus and on the grounds of affiliated schools. Among them are masterpieces such as Fumio Asakura's "Peace Comes" and Kazuo Kikuchi's "Youth," which led the sculpture world from the Meiji to Showa eras. However, due to long-term exposure to wind and rain, dirt had accumulated on the surfaces of these sculptures, and rust and streaks had formed.

Therefore, the Keio University Art Center (KUAC) began working on preservation and cleaning treatments for sculptures in fiscal 2001, and since the establishment of the Committee, this has been carried out once every two years, and is now one of the regular tasks. During maintenance, experts observe the condition of the work and clean surface dirt. For bronze works, after cleaning, a protective wax is applied to the surface to maintain good water repellency, and finally the gloss is adjusted. Through this series of operations, the charm of the sculpture is revived. Well-cared-for outdoor sculptures are an important element in creating a beautiful campus landscape. Furthermore, in recent years, there have been cases where students from affiliated schools participate in sculpture cleaning, providing a good learning opportunity to participate in preservation activities while actually touching the sculptures.

The Committee's activities also include the care of the "Ex Noguchi Room," an architectural cultural property on campus, and maintenance is also carried out regularly here. The "Noguchi Room," which was once on the Mita Campus, was a faculty lounge with a garden and sculptures on the first floor of the Second Graduate School Building, created in 1951 through the collaboration of architect Yoshiro Taniguchi and sculptor Isamu Noguchi. This architectural space was dismantled in 2003 due to the construction of the South School Building, and was partially relocated in a different form to a completely different location, the roof terrace on the third floor of the South School Building. The current relocated space is called the "Ex Noguchi Room." This architectural space is equipped with furniture such as desks and chairs by Isamu Noguchi, and in 2007, taking the opportunity of a loan to the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum in New York, a comprehensive restoration was carried out, including not only the furniture but also the floor surface.

In addition to such restoration, we request a restorer to perform annual maintenance so that the furniture and the entire interior space can be maintained in good condition. During maintenance, the condition of the work is observed, and after cleaning the floor and furniture, protective wax is reapplied and emergency measures are taken as necessary. This regular condition survey plays an important role in the preservation of the work. For example, several years after the relocation, it was confirmed that the rate of deterioration of the furniture was accelerating due to the influence of sunlight. Many natural materials such as wood and rattan are used in the Ex Noguchi Room, but due to the change in environment caused by the relocation, these materials became exposed to more sunlight. As a countermeasure, a transparent ultraviolet protection film was applied to the openings where light enters, and dedicated light-shielding covers were created to match the shape of each piece of furniture. By using the covers when not in use, the condition of the works improved significantly.

In addition to deterioration due to environmental changes, man-made damage that likely occurred during the use of the Ex Noguchi Room was also confirmed. Therefore, with the hope that people will use it while paying attention to the method of use, the Keio University FutureLearn and the Keio University Art Center (KUAC) produced and released an online course, "Invitation to the Ex Noguchi Room: Preservation and Utilization of Cultural Property in the University," which introduces precautions for use and examples of restoration along with the history of the Noguchi Room (currently open as of April 2021). In the future, we will encourage its use in university classes as well.

As described above, regular maintenance by the Committee leads not only to symptomatic restoration but also to a review of daily preservation and management methods. Furthermore, detailed restoration records are created each time restoration is performed and are accumulated at the Keio University Art Center (KUAC) as materials related to the works.

A university is a large organization where people from various fields gather. Therefore, it is not enough for only some people to recognize the value of the works on campus. Therefore, as an effort to increase the literacy of students, faculty, and staff regarding campus artworks and architecture, we hold an event called "Architecture Promenade" every year, providing opportunities to see the interiors of buildings that are usually closed to the public, such as the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall) and the Ex Noguchi Room. This event was also born out of dialogue within the Committee, and is a voluntary participation type where participants can stroll at their leisure with a map showing the artworks and architecture on campus. We hope that such opportunities will serve as a catalyst for people to become aware of the works around them that they usually overlook.

While this article has focused on introducing cases within the Mita Campus, many restorations of works have also been carried out at other campuses and affiliated schools, and exchanges between various parts of the university are being created through the works. The Committee can be said to be a bridge, so to speak, that always moves back and forth between works and people, connecting works and people, and people and people. In order to pass down the rich collections of the university and schools, we intend to continue to collaborate within the university and accumulate activities that contribute to the preservation and utilization of works.