Katie Uehling is the 2009 David J. Toman Scholarship Award Recipient

Each year, the David J. Toman award is presented to an outstanding senior Art Conservation student who has best demonstrated a commitment to the importance and value of the preservation of cultural property through internship, volunteer service, and academic activities. Judith and Gary Toman established the David John Toman Foundation in memory of their son, David J. Toman, an Art Conservation major, who was tragically killed in a bicycle accident in 1996. As a conservation student, David was particularly interested in objects conservation, especially the conservation of outdoor sculpture. David’s spirit for conservation can be summarized in his own words, “The past is stored and recorded in its cultural objects. It is our job as conservators and curators to preserve these materials for the enjoyment and education of future generations. The extremely temporal outlook of this throwaway society must not be influence enough to neglect the care given to cultural property.” David is remembered by family and friends as having an infectious sense of happiness and positive attitude.

This year’s recipient of the Toman Award is Katie Uehling, a graduating Art Conservation senior at the University of Delaware. Katie is an honors student with minors in American Material Culture Studies, Clarinet, and German. This year she completed work on a senior thesis that has mirrored David Toman’s spirit in a number of ways.

Her thesis work began as a project to analyze the rapid deterioration of a sculpture near the UD campus, on Cleveland Avenue. This monument in front of the Elk’s Lodge was a donation by the University of Delaware to celebrate Newark’s African American history. In Newark in decades past, the line separating blacks from whites began near Cleveland Avenue. This monument was constructed along that now invisible racial barrier. Today, though the sculpture is still young, it is suffering from significant losses due to its inherent vice, or the instability of its components. When Katie first took on this thesis idea, as a suggestion from Dr. Vicki Cassman (Assistant Professor, Art Conservation), she was investigating the extent of the damage and how the sculpture could be preserved. After analyzing the sculpture herself and calling upon the help of professional art conservators, it was decided that conservation of the sculpture would be futile. The sculpture was not produced with materials and combinations of materials that would withstand outdoor exposure. Once conserved, the sculpture would need continuous maintenance at too steep a price to make it feasible. At this point, Katie’s thesis moved away from an emphasis on conservation of the statue and towards other ways to commemorate this African American community history on behalf of the University.

Uehling, with the help of Dr. Bernie Herman (Art Historian, now at the University of North Carolina), applied for historic markers from the Delaware State Registry to post at various sites which were, and still are, important throughout the African American community near the University of Delaware’s campus. Also, the community has asked her to produce pamphlets for a walking tour that explains the history of African Americans in Newark and at UD (to be available at Morris Library, Mechanical Hall Art Gallery and various other well-visited buildings across UD). In addition, she is working on an oral history project in which people from this community are asked to recount the stories of their neighborhood. This collection of oral histories will be housed within Special Collections at Morris Library on the UD campus.

According to Uehling, “they are a very passionate, close-knit community. If I had enough money, I’d build them a monument of gold.” While a golden monument might not be within the university’s budget, Katie’s thesis work will result in the promotion of this wonderful community and will provide additional historical markers to call attention to a rich history. Katie is honored to receive the David Toman award!

by Hannah Mancill