Narayan Khandekar, director of the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies and senior conservation scientist, and Angela Chang, assistant director and conservator of objects and sculpture, discuss the various issues that arise in conserving contemporary art. In particular, they focus on how Doris Salcedo, as evidenced in her works in the current special exhibition "Doris Salcedo: The Materiality of Mourning," takes a seemingly impossible idea and makes it a reality. The presentation concludes with a detailed examination of Salcedo’s "A Flor de Piel"—which is comprised of rose petals and thread—and a discussion of the challenges involved in maintaining the work. The lecture took place at the Harvard Art Museums, in Menschel Hall, on February 22, 2017. Modern and contemporary art programs at the Harvard Art Museums are made possible in part by generous support from the Emily Rauh Pulitzer and Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., Fund for Modern and Contemporary Art. Co-presented by the Harvard Art Museums and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS). The exhibition has been made possible by the Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family, the Charles O. Wood III and Miriam M. Wood Foundation, Marguerite Steed Hoffman and Thomas W. Lentz, Catherine Marcus Rose and William Rose, Bridgitt and Bruce Evans, Mark N. Diker and Deborah A. Colson, and Elaine Levin. In addition, the following endowed funds have provided crucial support: the Agnes Gund Fund for Modern and Contemporary Art; the Alexander S., Robert L., and Bruce A. Beal Exhibition Fund; and the Harvard Art Museums Mellon Publication Funds, including the Henry P. McIlhenny Fund. http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/visit/exhibitions/5201/doris-salcedo-the-materiality-of-mourning