Frost raising money to conserve a sculpture

Alfredo Aparicio/Staff Writer

Alfredo Aparicio/The Beacon

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum is launching an S.O.S campaign to save “Journey’s End, 1985:” a sculpture by New York-based artist Ilan Averbuch. The piece has been at the University for 16 years since being donated by the Miami-based art collector, Martin Z. Margulies, in 1997.

The piece, made from the granite of demolished New York City buildings, draws inspiration from the city of New York itself and brings to mind the idea of death as the ship symbolizes the human rib cage as well as a coffin.

The campaign, entitled “Save Our Sculpture,” came about after an assessment in 2009 by an art conserver who indicated that the sculpture was in need of conservation. The piece’s condition has only worsened, suffering from decay and falling timber because of its exposure to South Florida’s unforgiving elements.

“When Alexander [Garcia] heard the work was damaged, he became aware of the fact that we could fix it,” said Carol Damian, the director and chief curator at the Frost.

It was then that the Frost decided to take action by starting a fundraising and awareness campaign that could raise the 60,000 dollars needed to conserve the sculpture.
“It has always been a priority,” said Digital Archivist Alexander Garcia, who has led the campaign from its inception. “When the timber fell a month before Art Basel, that’s when we took the initiative to raise awareness and do something immediately because it became a public safety issue. People visiting the sculpture could be injured if a piece were to fall on them.”
The fundraising campaign will take place during the Frost’s revamped after hours program, De-Frost After Hours, which came about after Target’s sponsorship became unavailable this year.
The idea sprung from various meetings between staff members at the Frost as they searched for an event that would be educational and attractive to the student body, as well as the faculty and staff.
“We don’t have the funds to conserve it ourselves so it seemed like an opportunity that would benefit all those involved,” Damian said.

For Garcia, the event’s networking opportunities will serve as a big incentive for students attending the event. “We are going to have the strong, professional presence of the staff and as a junior or senior, about to graduate, it will be a chance to meet people and to see how those who work in the University got to where they were or are.”

Throughout the event, guided tours to “Journey’s End” will be available for those in attendance, where the history of the sculpture will be talked about, as well as it’s need for conservation and a few fun facts.

“I wanted the event to be linked back to our University community,” Garcia said. “We should do our best to conserve and care about it.”

The event will also feature music from Radiate FM, food from A&G Burger Joint, who reached out to the University after their recent opening, as well as Beck’s brand beer and wine, an aspect of the event that draws inspiration from other social events at museums around South Florida, like HistoryMiami’s “Wine Down Wednesdays” and the Lowe Museum’s “LoweDown Happy Hour.”

“We never served alcohol in Target Wednesdays, but it’s an existing formula around the city and we are trying to give the FIU community the same experience,” said Garcia. “For students it will be a chance to learn how to have a drink and hold a conversation. A lot of events for young professionals have a liquor aspect so it’s about learning how to not go overboard and just have one drink the whole night while networking.”

Besides being a pun on the Frost’s name, the title of the event–De-Frost After Hours– makes it approachable for those who have never been to a fundraising event before or a museum.

“It’s a fresh, new and exciting title but, after thinking about it, it shows the event is something casual and accessible for those who’ve never been to a museum or if they have, it will offer a new way to enjoy the experience,” Garcia said.

-alfredo.aparicio@fiusm.com