Tom Lloyd, Narokan (1965)

Aluminum, white particle board, light bulbs, plastic laminate, digital control box, analog control box

This treatment project was done in 2021 as part of an Individualized Instruction course in the Conservation of Modern & Contemporary Materials with Reinhard Bek at Bek & Frohnert conservation studio. The artwork is a wall-mounted light sculpture with blinking blue, yellow-orange, green, and red lights under clear plastic fresnel lenses.

The light sequence was originally controlled with an analog, mechanically-actuated ‘program’ made with notched discs on a shaft rotated by a motor, which turned micro switches on and off. A digital control box was created in 2012, which mimicked the original sequence using EEPROM 8-bit microcontrollers to run the program. A wish to refurbish the analog controller was expressed by the original owners, who knew Lloyd and had the work installed in their home, as well as The Studio Museum in Harlem, where the work had been donated.

The 2021 conservation project involved writing a condition report, cleaning the work of surface dust and debris after exhibition at Tate, creating documentation of the internal wiring for light program control and power, treating minor damages to the digital control box, and restoring the analog controller. It was decided to keep the digital control box in working condition as a backup in case the analog controller fails.

I created wiring diagrams for the light bulbs’ power and for control signal wiring by annotating photographs of the sculpture’s interior. The corresponding switches on the analog control box were also mapped with an annotated photograph of its components.

The analog controller’s motor was not functional, and a contemporary equivalent that could fit inside the box and properly attach to the notched disc shaft was sourced by Bek & Frohnert. The micro switches were cleaned and mechanical alignment issues with the notched discs were resolved. One micro switch was broken and needed replacement.

The full project extended beyond my course, and Bek & Frohnert completed the treatments to the analog controller and digital control box.

Visit the work in The Studio Museum’s collection