Rigging Basics for Conservation Professionals - LA

Luke Boehnke is the principal of Wolf Magritte LLC, located in Missoula Montana. Wolf Magrittespecializes in design, fabrication, and rigging for difficult and/or large scale art and artifactinstallations. Luke Boehnke received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, andhas extensive background in sculpture, architecture, and art history. He has taught metal fabricationstudio courses for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and art rigging courses for the CampbellCenter, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Luke’s problemsolving experience base is highly comprehensive, and he has worked with numerous institutions andclients in more than thirty states and multiple countries. 

Julia Commander (she/her) is the Alice and Herbert Sachs Conservator of Egyptian Collections at the Penn Museum, currently focusing on treatment and reinstallation of monumental stone architecture. Julia earned her MS from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation in 2017, specializing in objects conservation and preventive care. Experience at the American Museum of Natural History and the Gordion Excavations in Turkey supported a specific interest in archaeological materials, which was further developed through post-graduate training at the J. Paul Getty Museum Antiquities Department and a research fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Julia Latané is Head of Art Preparation and Installation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). She was Head Preparator at The Broad from 2014 - 2018. For over 20 years, Ms. Latané has built and installed exhibitions in museums and galleries, including the Autry Museum, Gagosian Gallery, and the Santa Monica Museum of Art. She founded the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson in 1997, served as President of the Board, and curated the inaugural exhibitions. Before working in museums Julia worked in construction and studied sculpture. Julia strives to live by her ideals, taking care of the planet, and empowering people to be their best selves. She regularly speaks at conferences and workshops on creating equitable and inclusive workplaces and on the technical aspects of being an art handler.

Kevin Marshall retired as the Head of the Preparation Department for the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center and the Getty Villa in July 2021. He served as the Head of the Preparation Department between 2010-2021 with a staff of 23. From 2005 - 2010 he was the Lead Preparator at the Getty Villa where he managed the collection move and oversaw installation of the permanent collection of Antiquities and special exhibitions. From 1995 - 2005 Kevin was the Lead Preparator for the pack and move of the permanent collections to the Getty Center and collection installation as well as special exhibitions. Prior to joining the Getty, Kevin was a Special Services Supervisor for Fine Arts Express in Fort Worth Texas from 1985 - 1995. Prior to that he was a Driver/Art Handler with Direct Art Delivery in New York, NY. 1984 - 1985; and Preparator at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas 1983 – 1984.

Erik Risser is an Associate Conservator of Antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum and has an on-going interest in the conservation of large-scale stone and bronze sculpture. He has undertaken and directed conservation activities and architectural anastylosis projects on archaeological sites in Italy, France, and Turkey. In addition to working with the permanent collection he has carried out several long-term collaborative initiatives with various national and international institutions, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Museo Paolo Orsi (Syracuse, Italy), the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (Naples, Italy), the Pergamon Museum (Berlin, Germany), Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dreden (Dresden, Germany) and the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (Vienna, Austria).