The Cambridge Arts conservation crew cleaning sculptor James Tyler's"Tower of East Cambridge Faces."
Uram knows this piece well because he’s the city’s director of art conservation. He explained how a dusting of pollen, along with spider webs and a year’s worth of urban grime, had formed a dirty veil. Watery detritus streamed down the sculpture as the team gently scrubbed with soft brushes to avoid damaging the bronze patina.
“Graffiti is always an issue,” Uram said. Also, “birds and other animals, damage from the weather, from pollutants, insects, gum, food.” They’ve even dealt with freaky accidents, like in 2021 when a utility truck ran into “Thunderhead,” a stainless steel bench created by Vivian Beer. “Not a lot of people think about the art as they're walking by,” the recent MassArt graduate said. “But it is cool to actually get in and see who did this piece, this is why it was made, this is who commissioned it. And being part of the process that keeps them alive is really satisfying.”
“My favorite one is over here because it's a bigger bug,” he said. But when he crouched down to inspect the creature, Uram discovered one of its legs had broken off. “I’ll have to sculpt that and have it re-soldered or welded on.” " at Cambridge Arts, the government agency that oversees the program. In the gallery outside the nonprofit’s office, executive director Jason Weeks said there’s a reason why there’s so much public art here. In 1979, the city enacted an ordinance that dedicates 1% of funds from every municipal capital and construction project to create site-specific works.