When graffiti is found in places like Red Rock Canyon (as it was earlier this year), restoring the area is a time consuming and laborious process. Mix in the existence of ancient petroglyphs and pictographs, and the task of removing the graffiti can even be considered an art in itself.
Fortunately, a team comprised of Bureau of Land Management employees, a large number of volunteers from the Friends of Red Rock Canyon group, and a leading rock art restoration expert have been working for the last six months to remove the tags, thought to be made by local gang members. It’s taken them a long time to get where they are today, but they are still weeks away from completing the task.
The process of removing the spray paint from the rock surface would be much simpler if harsh solvents could be used. However, the goal of this project is to remove the graffiti without damaging the ancient markings that are on the surface of the rocks. Jannie Laubser, a South African archaeologist who specializes in rock art spoke about the process, which requires patience and an eye for detail. The process uses three ways to remove the spray paint: first, a dry method, then the addition of native water, and finally, denatured alcohol. The dry method is not always successful at removing the paint, so a combination of the other two techniques are usually more successful.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has put together a slideshow that shows the restoration process volunteers are using in Red Rock Canyon. Common tools like cotton swabs, toothbrushes, dental picks, and toothpicks are used to painstakingly remove the graffiti in small amounts. The good news is that the process hasn’t hit any snags, and it is expected that they will be able to remove all of the graffiti. While it is not able to return the defaced area to it’s original condition, those working in Red Rock Canyon will be able to restore it to a state that is as close as possible to original.
Read more in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Thank goodness their our people who care about our BLM Lands. Was at Red Rock several years ago. Thought the pictographs were beautiful. Thanks to all who worked to restore this treasure.
I’m not advocating graffiti in any way, but even those ancient drawings were once new and defaced the canyon. In what way are we to judge which art is worth saving? A thousand years from now those tags would have been a valuable reminder to humanity of a group of people that existed.