The passage of two decades and the ravages of nature have clouded a window into the daily life of turn-of-the-millennium St. Albert.
A time capsule housed in the pedestal of the Saint Albert the Great statue, which was stolen from downtown in March, has largely been destroyed, the city said.
Dana Murray, a city public art associate and registrar, told the citizen-based Arts Development Advisory Committee (ADAC) last week although the time capsule and its contents were recovered on the day of the theft, the capsule itself was insufficiently protected from the elements over the past 20 years, and nearly all of the items are extremely damaged.
The ADAC also heard there have been no developments in the search for the stolen statue, which depicted Albertus Magnus, Saint Albert the Great, as a teenager holding an injured bird.
The time capsule was put together by statue artist Al Henderson and family, members of the Continuous Learning Community, (now St. Albert Further Education) and staff from the Art Gallery of St. Albert (known as Profiles Gallery at the time).
Items recovered from the plastic time capsule included a Barbie doll in its original packaging, newspaper excerpts, an undated elementary school class photograph, photographs of Henderson's family, City of St. Albert pamphlets and pins celebrating the turn of the century, a pottery tool, a CD with the Profiles Gallery label, promotional items for the International Children's Festival in 2000, St. Albert Further Education programs, a magazine, a hand-drawn sketch by Henderson depicting Saint Albert the Great, and a papier-mache-like bird hand-painted by Henderson.
“A lot of things were actually destroyed or just in very, very poor condition,” Murray said. At some point over the past 20 years the plastic time capsule cracked, leaving the contents exposed to the elements.
“We also found in the very bottom of the (capsule) a pin, one of those little buttons that you can make yourself, and they're apparently notorious for corroding very quickly and it essentially stained a lot of the other items,” she said.
The ADAC heard items kept in plastic freezer bags fared best. These items mainly include the city pamphlets, St. Albert Further Education programs, Children's Festival promotional items, the magazine, and Henderson's sketch.
Ruined items include the newspaper excerpts, the photographs, the CD, and the Barbie doll, which is mouldy, Murray said.
Preservation options
Although the recovered items have been partially assessed for damages, the ADAC heard it would cost about $90 per item to have professional conservators do assessments and provide estimates for preserving the items, if possible.
“It seems to me that the photographs and the time taken to do the descriptions of these is in itself representing how this whole project was honoured,” ADAC member Lynn King said during the May 24 meeting, referring to a document put together by City staff featuring photos and descriptions of the recovered time capsule items.
“I would not see a need to restore any of these items,” she said. “What you've done is in itself a piece of art.”
Other committee members, including Coun. Shelley Biermanski who sits on the ADAC as a non-voting member, said they felt the paper bird, which is still recognizable although slightly damaged, as well as Henderon's sketch, would be good items to preserve and add to the city's art collection.
“It's kind of a symbol of survival, right?” Biermanski said. “Most of it is advertising and such that can be replicated, or viewed throughout other means of history, and something like the bird cannot be replicated.”
No committee members objected to having a conservator do an assessment on the bird.
Prior to the ADAC concluding the May 24 meeting, Dani Rice, the city's arts collection manager and a visual arts coordinator, asked the committee if anybody had thought more about whether the city should replace the stolen statue, either through replication or by commissioning a new piece.
“We have $17,000 from insurance that can go towards the replication or a new work. It does not have to be the same thing, but obviously prices have gone up in 20 years,” Rice said. The committee heard Henderson estimated $54,300 would cover the creation of replicated statue. The price includes installation, GST, and a contingency percentage.
The committee had a brief round-table discussion before agreeing to decide on next steps in the next meeting, scheduled for June 28.
