When an artwork is loaned out, it is usually carefully crated and transported, only to return months later. Some works are relatively easy to install—a painting, for example—while others come with detailed instructions from our conservators or specific guidelines from the artist.
In the case of Hammons’ Chasing the Blue Train, things are slightly different.
The installation—composed of imposing grand pianos, a heap of coal, and a blue miniature train winding its way through this extraordinary landscape to the sounds of African-American jazz by John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk—is a meticulous process that takes several days. This is why S.M.A.K. conservator-restorer Claudia travelled along (by train, of course) to guide and support the team in Siegen during the installation of the work.
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