In celebration of Chinati’s inclusion on the 2014 World Monuments Watch list, and as part of its ongoing Chinati Presents series, the Chinati Foundation will host a Watch Day on Saturday, August 2, 2014 to raise awareness of the museum’s preservation efforts. Chinati’s nomination to the World Monuments Watch list recognizes the museum as an architectural and cultural site of significance and highlights the need for innovative approaches to our conservation work.  On August 2nd we will honor this distinction with a sunrise viewing of Donald Judd’s 100 works in mill aluminum and a panel discussion on the history, installation, and ongoing conservation efforts of the artillery sheds. All events are free and open to the public.

Chinati’s Watch Day will begin at daybreak with free admission to a special viewing of one of the museum’s most iconic works. From 7 to 9am visitors will be able to explore the historic artillery sheds, housing Judd’s 100 works in mill aluminum, at their own pace.

At 3:30 pm, Chinati will host a discussion at the Crowley Theater in downtown Marfa. A panel of six experts will examine the past, present, and future of Judd’s 100 works in mill aluminum and the artillery sheds, which are among the museum’s highest priorities for preservation.

Panelists will include local Marfa historian and former Smithsonian curator, Lonn Taylor, providing expertise on the history of the artillery sheds as they were originally used at Fort D.A. Russell between the time they were built, 1936 – 1938, and the time the Fort was decommissioned in 1949. Chinati Executive Director Jenny Moore and Associate Director Rob Weiner will discuss the re-use of the artillery sheds by Donald Judd, analyzing his transformation of the two flat-roofed U.S. Army buildings into structures that would not only house his artwork but also become an integral part of the artwork itself. Moore and Weiner will talk about Judd’s changes to the buildings and explain his vision for what has become one of his most important works.

Bettina Landgrebe, Chinati’s Director of Conservation; James Parker, Senior Principal and Structural Engineer of Simpson, Gumpertz and Heger; and John Fidler, Preservation Architect and President of John Fidler Preservation Technology, will present plans to preserve the artillery sheds and Judd’s 100 works in mill aluminum. They will provide information on the challenges the buildings present in terms of the condition of the art works, water infiltration, modern building materials, and climate control.

Frank Sanchis, Director of the World Monuments Fund United States Program, will open the discussion with a review of the 2014 Watch sites.

The discussion will be streamed on the Chinati website, live from the Crowley Theater, beginning at 3:30 PM Central Standard Time on Saturday, August 2.

Sanchis will appear with Jenny Moore on Marfa Public Radio’s Talk at Ten on Friday, August 1 at 10:30 AM CDT. Tune in at 93.5 FM in the Big Bend area or on line at Marfa Public Radio.

World Monuments Fund is the leading independent organization devoted to saving the world’s treasured places. For nearly fifty years, in one hundred countries, WMF has worked to preserve the world’s architectural and cultural heritage represented by great buildings and sites that define a particular period of artistic expression or that symbolize a cultural era. The 2014 Watch features sixty-seven sites in forty-one countries and territories on five continents. The Chinati Foundation is one of only six sites chosen in the United States.

Chinati Presents is an ongoing series of lectures, performances, and presentations launched in 2013 that continues Donald Judd’s tradition of hosting contemporary artists, writers, and musicians in Marfa.For more information please contact Chinati at 432 729 4362 or information@chinati.org.