[HN Gopher] Untergunther - Restoration of the Pantheon clock (2007)
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       Untergunther - Restoration of the Pantheon clock (2007)
        
       Author : louismerlin
       Score  : 70 points
       Date   : 2024-04-10 05:10 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (urban-resources.net)
 (TXT) w3m dump (urban-resources.net)
        
       | lb1lf wrote:
       | Stories like this restores my faith in humanity.
       | 
       | Using skill and irreverence for the common good, making the
       | restoration basically a piece of performance art in itself.
       | 
       | I'd buy the UnterGunthers a beer.
        
         | IncreasePosts wrote:
         | Lacking historical pizzazz, but you might enjoy this:
         | https://thelandmag.com/richard-ankrom-guerrilla-public-servi...
         | 
         | A man created a "fake" highway sign in LA because he saw how
         | confused the lack of signage made motorists, and it took a long
         | time for anyone to tell it wasn't actually real.
        
       | seabass-labrax wrote:
       | I think it's wonderful that people are restoring public objects
       | of historical value, but nowhere does the article explain why
       | this has to be clandestine.
       | 
       | The article says that Monum's leadership didn't want to publicise
       | the repair, but why would they? It would be a tacit admission
       | that illegal entry into protected historical sites is justifiable
       | for the purpose of 'guerilla restoration' - wherever such a
       | position is valid or not, endorsing it would indeed compromise
       | Monum and similar organisations. Monsieur Jeannot was surely
       | right in this regard.
       | 
       | That leaves me wondering why simply asking wasn't an option. Are
       | Monum really so resistant to offers of restoration that a few
       | phone calls and a press release couldn't have done the job,
       | saving both sides a lawsuit?
        
         | lb1lf wrote:
         | I believe it is a fair assumption that 'simply asking' would
         | entail all sorts of red tape the UnterGunthers simply weren't
         | interested in; after all, Monum would want all sorts of
         | assurances that the restorers wouldn't mess up things,
         | insurance would have to be organized, assessments made &c
         | (Which, don't get me wrong, are all not just reasonable
         | demands, but really what any responsible authority SHOULD do in
         | such cases.
         | 
         | I suspect that would simply take all the fun out of it. So,
         | Monum's stance is definitely valid, as is, in this particular
         | case, at least, UnterGunther's.
         | 
         | And the less is spoken of the guerilla gorilla Jesus [0], the
         | better.
         | 
         | [0] https://news.artnet.com/art-world/botched-restoration-of-
         | jes...
        
           | blkhawk wrote:
           | I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it would take the fun
           | out of it even tho thats undoubtedly true. I think they had
           | no reasonable chance of matching any requirements on paper
           | and it would just end up keep getting neglected. Its a
           | situation without good outcomes as long as you stay inside
           | the guiderails.
           | 
           | And as for that Botched restauration I think the less
           | politically correct term for it was "monkey with down
           | syndrome" at the time. :)
        
             | addaon wrote:
             | > I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it would take the
             | fun out of it even tho thats undoubtedly true.
             | 
             | It's hard to think of a more justifiable situation in which
             | to jump to a conclusion than one in which the conclusion is
             | undoubtedly true.
        
         | scintill76 wrote:
         | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecce_Homo_(Garc%C3%ADa_Mart%...
         | comes to mind as a reason to deny offers of free restoration
         | from small groups.
        
       | basementcat wrote:
       | 2012 Wired magazine article about the group.
       | https://www.wired.com/story/the-new-french-underground/
        
       | rawling wrote:
       | Presumably related: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39976483
        
         | codezero wrote:
         | Caltrain officials built those for personal benefit. The
         | article here is about a restoration for public good.
        
         | hunter2_ wrote:
         | Indeed, a comment on that submission yesterday contains the
         | same link as this submission:
         | 
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39977574
         | 
         | Quite likely that OP found it, and decided to submit it, based
         | on that comment.
        
       | DontBreakAlex wrote:
       | The leadership of the monument changed in 2018 and they hired the
       | guy to finish the restoration:
       | https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/12-ans-apres-sa-res...
       | (In French)
        
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       (page generated 2024-04-11 23:01 UTC)