ABSTRACT
Watts Towers is a National Historic Landmark located in South Central Los Angeles and is widely considered one of the finest examples of outsider art in the United States. It is an assemblage of interconnected sculptures fabricated from reinforced masonry including three tall towers, two of which measure over 30.5 m in height. In this case study, the authors discuss recent efforts by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to conserve the towers with an emphasis on how various environmental factors impact the structures and inform the selection of materials and techniques used in their repair. The impact of past conservation campaigns and the loss of original material is also discussed in terms of how best to interpret and document the alterations the towers have undergone over the years.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the following individuals for their contribution to the conservation of Watts Towers: Jeffrey Herr, Rosie Lee Hooks, Daniel Tarica, Blanka Kielb, Cynthia Eastright, Emma Guerard, Bianca Martinez, Jennifer Porter, Marie Laibinis, Kiernan Graves, Traci Lucero, Sylvia Dorsch, Christina Fisher, Naomi Ruiz, Austin Anderson, Mariana Ruiz, and Coleen Boye.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Materials
Dowsil™ 790 Silicone Building Sealant. Dow Chemical Company. Accessed March 25, 2021. https://www.dow.com/content/dam/dcc/documents/en-us/productdatasheet/62/62-21/62-2147-01-dowsil-790-silicone-building-sealant-europe.pdf?iframe=true.
Dowsil™ 3145 RTV Mil-A-46146 Adhesive/Sealant. Dow Chemical Company. Accessed March 25, 2021. https://www.dow.com/en-us/documentviewer.html?ramdomVar=8489515103602591102&docPath=/content/dam/dcc/documents/en-us/productdatasheet/11/11-32/11-3215-01-dowsil-3145-rtv-mil-a-46146-adhesive.pdf.
Dowsil™ 795 Silicone Building Sealant. Dow Chemical Company. Accessed March 25, 2021. https://www.dow.com/content/dam/dcc/documents/en-us/productdatasheet/61/61-885-dowsil-795-silicone-building-sealant.pdf.
Edison Custom System 45. Edison Coatings, Inc. Accessed March 25, 2021. http://www.edisoncoatings.com/45.pdf.
HXTAL® Adhesive. http://www.s-w HXTAL Adhesive, LLC. 2001. “Technical Data Sheet HXTAL NYL-1.” Accessed March 25, 2021. https://www.hxtal.com..co.il/_Uploads/dbsAttachedFiles/WunderFixx.pdf.
KEIM Mineral Paint. KEIM USA Inc. Accessed March 25, 2021. https://www.keim-usa.com/Product-Categories/Mineral-Silicate-Paint.
MasterEmaco® ADH327. BASF Corporation. Accessed March 25, 2021. https://assets.master-builders-solutions.com/en-us/masteremaco-adh-327-tds.pdf.
MasterEmaco® N400. BASF Corporation. Accessed March 25, 2021. https://assets.master-builders-solutions.com/en-us/masteremaco-n-400-tds.pdf.
Paraloid® B-72. Rohm and Haas Company. 2007. Accessed March 25, 2021. http://www-eng.lbl.gov/~shuman/NEXT/MATERIALS&COMPONENTS/WLS_materials/paraloid_b-72_data.pdf.
Rapid Set® Wunderfixx®. CTS Cement. Accessed March 25, 2021. http://www.s-w.co.il/Uploads/dbsAttachedFiles/Wunderfixx.pdf.
SS-6604. Silicone Solutions. Accessed March 25, 2021. https://siliconesolutions.com/media/pdf/SS-6004TDS.pdf.
SS-6601. Silicone Solutions. Accessed March 25, 2021. https://siliconesolutions.com/media/pdf/SS-6001TTDS.pdf.
Suhner ROTOset. Suhner Industrial Products LLC. Accessed March 25, 2021. https://www.suhner-abrasive.com/en/products/flexible-drive-machines/.