Charlotte Observer, The (NC)
August 6, 1988
Section: LIVING
Edition: ONE-SIX
Page: 1B
WRESTLING WITH THE SPIRIT
THE SECOND SECTION OF HIS CHARLOTTE FRESCO, PAINTED IN THE SEARING
JULY HEAT, POSED PROBLEMS FOR ARTIST BEN LONG.<
RICHARD MASCHAL, Art Writer
On Thursday, a muggy and gray morning, artist Ben Long put the finishing
strokes on the green robe of a small figure in his fresco painting at St.
Peter`s Catholic Church.
He was one day shy of ending a 40-day siege.
After arriving from his Paris studio in late June, Long and his five-member team had worked night and day on the Pentecost, the second of three parts of
the painting behind the altar at the South Tryon Street church in Charlotte.
The figure in the green robe was one of the last painted. He is part of a
group depicted at the back door of the room where the apostles are visited by the Holy Spirit.
The figure is a cripple, leaning on a crutch, his head low and his tongue
hanging out.
It`s a self-portrait. The cripple`s bent body reflects Long`s strained
spirit as this portion of the project was ending.
``It`s been a real trial by fire,`` said Long, 43. ``Some pieces went well. Others were pure hell.``
The problem had been the heat, the enemy not just of farmers this summer
but of fresco painters, too.
Temperatures of 100 degrees heated the bricks in the 35- by 44-foot wall to 140 degrees, plasterer Hoyle Brawley estimates.
At night, the wall didn`t cool down.
That`s bad for the fresco process, where a thin coat of fresh plaster is
put on the wall and the paint applied while the plaster is wet.
With the wall so hot, the plaster dried too quickly and unevenly.
In some spots, the paint faded.
When that happened, the frustrated fresco team scraped out a completed
portion, the plaster falling at their feet, and started over.
The feet of St. Peter were redone three times.
Hoping to finish Thursday, Long found the portion of the wall where he was
painting a billowing red cloak was too dry to absorb pigment. He had to scrape it out - a day`s work shot - and start over Friday morning.
Long will have to do considerable retouching on the Pentecost, more than on the Agony in the Garden on the left side, completed in March.
In January, Long and his team will reassemble in Charlotte to complete the
middle portion of the fresco, the Resurrection, and later retouch the other
portions.
Most likely, their energy level will again be high.
On Wednesday, Long did a one-legged jig as he painted to singer Tracy
Chapman`s voice socking through the church`s sound system.
He felt good about what he`d done.
``I think it pulls together,`` he said.
Illustration:PHOTO-4
Staff Photos By MARK B. SLUDER 1.Long lavished time on the hands
of St. Peter, using such details to convey the excitement and
joy of the Pentecost.
2&3.With the Agony in the Garden (top) complete on the left side of the wall
and the Pentecost done at St. Peter`s Catholic Church in Charlotte, artist Ben Long`s thoughts turn to the waiting middle section, a figure of the
resurrected Christ. Finishing the Pentecost section (center), Long paints a
group of people looking into the room where the disciples feel the Holy Spirit ``like a great wind.`` The two figures behind the larger-than-life St.
Peter are based on Long`s assistant with the beard and Joshua Rosen.
Copyright (c) 1988 The Charlotte Observer
Joshua Rosen Projects: Founder and CEO at iLeonardo.com.
