Rangefinder Magazine
May 2006

Digital Photography at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art by Linda L. May
 

Empty temple—this shows the wall painting within the temple.

Detail—Angel heads. Detail of 12th century egg tempera alter panel

Imagine photographing a priceless vase from the Ming Dynasty or capturing a Claude Monet painting up close. Photographing such rare art objects is part of everyday life for museum photographer Louis Meluso, who manages the Photography Department at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. His job is never boring, because the studio is constantly undertaking new and challenging photographic projects involving some of the rarest and most precious art pieces in the world.

Louis and his staff have the unique privilege and heavy responsibility of photographing them without breakage or damage, since most are irreplaceable. When Louis first came to work at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in 2001, photography was still being done the traditional way, using film. The daunting task of switching over to a totally digital system— from choosing, purchasing and setting up the new equipment to training the staff—fell upon Louis’ shoulders. Now, after four years, operations are running smoothly and the image quality is even better than before.

Modern shuttlecock sculpture on museum’s south lawn	“Chairman Mao” by Andy Warhol

Chinese Temple ceiling detail	Roman carving detail

“The physical aspects of making the digital transition with hardware and software were not particularly difficult,” Louis says. “However, the most challenging part was educating the staff and getting everybody up to speed on using digital images. Our Information Technology Department, as our technical partners, was instrumental in helping with the transition. At first, people who were not accustomed to digital imaging were a bit fearful of this new technology. Once we demonstrated the many digital advantages, with successful outcomes, we began to win converts.

The digital results look better than film in every case, so making the switch was definitely a plus. Ours is digital imaging at its highest level. There is no room for compromise in our imagery. Accuracy is the key to our success and digital gives us that accuracy. We’re technically minded photographers, but we have to have one foot in the art world as well.”

Chinese painted wall, final stitched image

Photographing the 49(w)x23(h)-foot Chinese wall painting, “Paradise of Tejaprabha Buddha,” from the 14th Century Yuan Dynasty, was the first digital project on which Louis worked. The mural was photographed for a group of museum conservators who were surveying its condition for the first time since its installation in 1933. Without digital imaging capabilities it could never have been done, and it was still challenging.

Louis explains, “The objectives of the photodocumentation project were twofold. One, provide conservators detailed views of the painted surface for their survey, and two, show the entire painting in one continuous image. Conservators, curators and scholars will use this information to study the painting and monitor possible future deterioration.

The first objective seemed quite achievable via conventional methods. However, the second objective presented a more difficult challenge. The wall has never in its history at the museum been photographed in its entirety.

The physical size of the painting, its edge-to-edge position in the temple where it’s installed, and the temple’s architectural structures, columns and a top alcove, which obscured large parts of the painting, ruled out a conventional photographic approach.

Assistant in a lift measuring light output from Broncolor Pico strobes; side view.	Assistant in a lift measuring light output from Broncolor Pico strobes; front view	Camera rig. This is the RB67 with 50mm lens and Imacon 4040 digital back. The laser bevel is used on top to keep the camera in alignment.

So, we used digital imaging to meet both objectives. “We used a dolly track to set up a moving platform with a scaffolding to hold the camera and lights,” says Louis. “A three-beam laser level attached to the camera and referencing points on the floor and wall assured accurate, repeatable camera positioning across the painting. We moved back and forth in front of the mural, building up the scaffolding as we went upward, capturing 88 separate shots, which we later stitched together in Photoshop. We photographed normal and raking light images at the same time, so the two images maintained perfect registration. The Broncolor Pico strobe lights and the camera rig were fixed in the same position on the moving platform for the entire shoot, so the individual images matched from section to section. The images were captured using a Mamiya RZ67 camera body, with a Mamiya ULD 50mm f/4.5 lens and an Imacon Flexframe 4040 digital back. Optical geometries were calculated to allow visualization of the wall area that lay behind the columns. The large, high-bit, 95MB image files were captured into a Macintosh PowerBook G4 computer with 1GB of RAM. We made an enormous display print that still hangs in the museum today. Everybody is pleased with the results.”

Photographer Jamison Miller processing an image

Digital infrared photography is also used at the Nelson-Atkins Museum studio to obtain a different perspective on certain art pieces. The Better Light Super 8K-2 digital scanning back on a Sinar P3 camera has an infrared blocking filter that is removable. So, Louis exchanges it for a Kodak 87C filter, which blocks white light and only allows infrared light to pass through. Now Louis gains a whole new perspective on the condition of the various art objects.

For example, he tells about a sculpture that had been buried for centuries and was badly darkened. First he shot a normal photograph of the piece; then he captured one in infrared, which exposed all the drawings and esoteric elements the normal image did not show. Louis devised and created a mobile digital station to solve the issue of matching the photography exactly to the actual artwork. In this business, accuracy is vital.

“When we undertook the Retrospective Scanning Project to evaluate the film in our archives and make high-quality scans, we realized that the scans did not always match up with the original artwork, for whatever reason. One reason was we were looking at one generation removed: an Ektachrome palette instead of the real object.

Mobile imaging cart in motion in Impressionist Gallery

When doing direct capture, the object is in the studio with proper illumination, so we can correct our image to match it. But when scanning film, we don’t have an opportunity to compare it directly with the artwork. The mobile digital station solves this problem. It allows us to have the proper ISO 3660 environment with a mobile calibrated computer station all in one rolling unit with its own independent power source. We can take this unit into the gallery, the storeroom or to a donor’s home and check any image against the original object. Recently we’ve used this system for a complete cataloging of the museum’s American Paintings collection.

That collection has more than 300 different paintings, and we checked every one in the museum,” Louis says. Louis Meluso has the perfect background for this demanding job because he spent 12 years as museum photographer at the prestigious Getty Museum of Art in Los Angeles. While working there, in 1992, Louis earned his Master of Science degree in photography from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California. Louis also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in scientific/industrial photography from Brooks.

Wall segment map—this shows how the wall was divided for photography. The red outlines indicate the temple elements that obstruct the painting.

His competent staff is just as dedicated as Louis is, and helps him operate the studio smoothly and efficiently. These employees include: Jamison Miller, who is the lead photographer, John Lamberton, who is the digital imaging specialist, photo coordinator Lori Byers (who schedules all the jobs for the studio), and Stacey Sherman, who is the rights and reproduction coordinator and handles all the photo needs for outside publications. Louis also has a list of freelancers that he calls upon for special projects on an as-needed basis.

“Our first and foremost concern and policy is ‘safety first!’ A photo studio is an inherently dangerous place for precious artwork. Simply moving some objects puts them at risk. This level of safety is not so common in the photo industry as a whole.

“Madonna and Child,” wood panel painting by Petrus Christus in normal light

Shooting tabletop images of commercial products does not require the level of care needed when photographing icons of cultural heritage. Most commercial products can easily be replaced if damage occurs on set. However, in the museum world, these art objects are one-of-a-kind and cannot be replaced. We must make sure none are damaged or broken during the photography process, which adds extra pressure,” Louis says.

The future for Louis and his staff looks busy for the next several months because the museum is adding on a new section to their building that will be completed in 2007. This new structure will house the brand new, state-of-the-art photographic studios, imaging labs and administrative offices. Louis gets to design and equip the new studios from the ground up.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art opened its doors to the public in 1933, and is now one of the most distinguished art institutions in this country. The museum has extensive collections of European and American paintings and sculpture, plus 19th and 20th century American, African, Ancient Greek and Roman, Native American, Southeast Asian and Japanese, and modern art. It holds one of the most important Chinese art collections in the nation. Recently, the museum received a donation of 6500 fine photographs from the Hallmark Photography Collection, which spans the entire history of photography and represents one of the largest privately held collections in the world. The Kansas City Sculpture Park on the museum grounds is home to the largest collection in the United States of monumental bronzes by British sculptor Henry Moore.

Inside, the museum boasts the largest public collection of works by Missouri native Thomas Hart Benton.

Readers may contact Louis Meluso at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art via email at: lmeluso@nelson-atkins.org; or view their website at: www.nelson-atkins.org.

Linda L. May is a freelance writer and photographer based in the Midwest.