Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/916056
A. Still from MARIE ANTOINETTE, 1938. Norma Shearer in front of the tapestry backing. B. Tapestry for MARIE ANTOINETTE. Designed by Cedric Gibbons. 13-feet x 12-feet. C. Backdrop from THE SHOES OF THE FISHERMAN, 1968. Sistine Chapel set. Designed by Edward C. Carfagno and George W. Davis. 47-feet x 24-feet. Though most of the largest backings are folded, the majority of the 207 canvases are attached to wooden battens, varying in size from 4 feet to 40 feet in length. During the recovery phase, all of these backings were transferred to Sony's Stage 23, where they were individually hung on a 60-foot long truss held by three chain motors to facilitate a quick raising and lowering of each backing. Sony's grip and electric department provided all of the rigging as well as twelve Kinoflo Image-80 light units that provided an even and neutral lighting environment for the capturing of high-resolution digital photographs. Importantly, each backing was shot both in full scale and in detail to chronicle the 'hand' of the artist and preserve the process by which these monumental illusions were created. Metadata was collected about each backing's condition, dimensions, genre, origins, paint medium, surface and show titles. For the purpose of verifying a backing's origination, we were aided by the paint department's original collection of black-and-white 8x10 backing stills, as well as the Motion Picture Academy's Herrick Library, which provided us with a list of MGM production show title numbers. These numbers were cross-referenced with each backing's existing paint department number, thereby, allowing us to determine each backing's actual show title, age, and the names of the associated Art Directors or the Production Designer. A B C