moving into new space 0

[Klevelandk]

moving into new space

I just finished building a garage and i have an 11.5x27.5 space above as an office/library. 1 window, 1 door so lots of wall.  i'm looking for any tips for organizing/displaying my art, many pages but hoping to have 12-15 in rotation, on the walls at any time.  from best framing (any reasonable cost wise?) to wall colors, to lighting, to storage/display of the rest of the collection, any advise would be welcome.  right now everything is simply stored in itoya portfolios. thanks

[tada_nori]

The majority of OA i see framed is done so poorly. Here's how I generally frame mine:

Float the art on a white/off white matte (one that compliments the hue of the OA paper, but doesn't necessarily blend in perfectly). Floating is always ideal for artwork where there may be lines to the edge, margin notes, cut corners, etc. that all add to the piece and might be cutoff by a window matte. 

Black mattes are a terrible idea (unless the piece itself is on black paper). Aside from being high contrast and overpowering, black is the most light absorbent, and therefor the most reflective (not to mention potentially damaging). You will be looking at more of yourself than your art. 

UV glass. This is more expensive, but in theory will protect your art from light. If you don't have windows in the space, not a huge deal in the short term. 

Spacers. Never let the glass touch the art. Use 1/2" to 1" inch spacers so that the art is sitting behind the glass in a shadow box style. Looks classier, and is better for the art. This is what museums and galleries do. 

Frame wise, I am of the mind that less is more. I prefer depth to width when it comes to frame profile. Example attached.

[Sooners151]

There is also an "art behind glass" topic a few pages back that has hundreds of examples of framing as well.

[Drewsky]

Honestly, get a high quality copy made, frame that and keep the original in a portfolio. Light kills inks, and your white page will tan if you don't do all the expensive stuff. Also, Never put art on an exterior wall if you live in shifting climates. The change temp could worpe the page or cause moisture damage. It's your piece, but putting an original out is a risk imo.

[Flambit]

1 hour ago, Drewsky said:

Honestly, get a high quality copy made, frame that and keep the original in a portfolio. Light kills inks, and your white page will tan if you don't do all the expensive stuff. Also, Never put art on an exterior wall if you live in shifting climates. The change temp could worpe the page or cause moisture damage. It's your piece, but putting an original out is a risk imo.

Exactly what I plan to do.  Why risk damage to pages worth $$$ when I can get a high resolution scan and frame it cheap?

[tada_nori]

If handled and framed properly, there is no reason not to display art. No Ditko ASM page is worth more (culturally or financially) than Picasso's Guernica, and that tours the world on display! 

Seriously though, i'd rather have my art safely behind museum glass than rubbing up on some polypropylene plastic sleeve. That's not how fine art is archived.

[vksince82]

3 hours ago, Drewsky said:

Honestly, get a high quality copy made, frame that and keep the original in a portfolio. Light kills inks, and your white page will tan if you don't do all the expensive stuff. Also, Never put art on an exterior wall if you live in shifting climates. The change temp could worpe the page or cause moisture damage. It's your piece, but putting an original out is a risk imo.

Dumb question...when you say high quality copy you mean a Scan/Photocopy, not a recreation. Where could I go and get a high quality photocopy of my art, Kinkos?

Edited April 12, 2017 by vksince82

[Drewsky]

Yes, any place that has a machine that can handle the size, should be able to get you a nice printout.

[Drewsky]

Don't leave the art unattended at the copy place. Watch and wait.

[*paull*]

23 hours ago, johnwhitlock said:

If handled and framed properly, there is no reason not to display art. No Ditko ASM page is worth more (culturally or financially) than Picasso's Guernica, and that tours the world on display! 

Seriously though, i'd rather have my art safely behind museum glass than rubbing up on some polypropylene plastic sleeve. That's not how fine art is archived.

Instead of inert mylar, you're ok with mattes touching the front and back of the page in the frame?  Are you positive about the acid content of the mattes?  How about the mounts that are used to hold the page in place?  As far as I know, UV resistant glass doesn't block 100% of the UV spectrum.

 

[tada_nori]

6 minutes ago, *paull* said:

Instead of inert mylar, you're ok with mattes touching the front and back of the page in the frame?  Are you positive about the acid content of the mattes?  How about the mounts that are used to hold the page in place?  As far as I know, UV resistant glass doesn't block 100% of the UV spectrum.

 

yes.

archival, acid free matte board, as well as acid free art hinges are used in museum collections and archives of works that are hundreds of years old. store your art however you like though!

[*paull*]

1 hour ago, johnwhitlock said:

yes.

archival, acid free matte board, as well as acid free art hinges are used in museum collections and archives of works that are hundreds of years old. store your art however you like though!

Have you tested the UV glass and your acid-free mattes?  And have you tested it after time passes?  Museums do.

I don't care how you store art that you own.  However, materials stated to be acid-free or packaging states that museums use it doesn't make it so.

[tada_nori]

7 minutes ago, *paull* said:

Have you tested the UV glass and your acid-free mattes?  And have you tested it after time passes?  Museums do.

I don't care how you store art that you own.  However, materials stated to be acid-free or packaging states that museums use it doesn't make it so.

Right. And i have Mylars and top loaders on 20 year old comics that are yellowed and warped. OP asked about framing, not about not-framing. 

take care

[DeadpoolJr.]

Here's some info that talks about  Acid-Free and UV protection, and how its not always true.

 

Quote

UV Filtering

UV Filtering Misconception

People believe that UV Filtering means 100% protection from Ultraviolet radiation (UVR), period. Most do not know or understand that UVR is a segment on the Electromagnetic spectrum i.e, a range of electromagnetic waves. Maximum Filtration should occur across the entire UV spectrum, not a single point.

The True Meaning of UV Filtration

UV Filtration at its core is the amount of UVR filtered — However it is essential to note that UV filtering as a concept in preservation framing is comprised of 2 components. In this regard we must look at UV filtering as both:

• its wavelength measured in nanometers (nm);
• the amount of radiation (light) blocked at any given point across the UV spectrum.

Referring to UV filtration, it is imperative to know at what point in the spectrum 99% filtration occurs and where it begins to drop off. The best filtration is where 99% filtration occurs as close as possible to the visible light spectrum which starts at 400nm.

For example, Acrylite OP3 acrylic as used in all Gorilla Frames preservation frames, blocks 99.9% @380nm, then drops to 99.5% @ 390nm and so on. The goal is to achieve maximum filtration up to the edge of the visible light spectrum — filter above 400nm and you begin to filter out visible colors — begin filtration too low and you let UVR through to your artwork.

To put things into perspective, 99% UV filtration at 200nm will do little to protect your artwork, as 100% of UVR in the 200nm – 400nm range will endlessly bombard and damage your artwork.

The Problem

The combination of deception and ignorance, from framers and manufacturers affects you in two ways:

• Overpaying for little or no protection under false pretences.
• Relentless damage to your framed piece for the foreseeable future.

Quote

Acid Free

Acid Free Misconception

Framers and others in the art industry use the term "acid-free" loosely without knowing its true meaning; or in an attempt to sell you inferior products that will destroy your framed items to make more profit. Framers and framing companies are notorious in selling and using inferior products because they know that most will not know the materials and/or will never open their frame to see what is inside.

The True Meaning

Acid free means no acid, the absence of acid i.e. A pH level of 7 (may be slightly higher (alkaline) for preservation framing applications). Examples of some acid free materials are:

• 100% cotton rag matting
• polypropylene polyflute
• Mylar®

The Problem

Over time, light, heat, and other environmental factors will react with the acid in the framing materials causing deterioration and decay. Once this happens, it is virtually impossible to reverse the damage — even by a professional conservator.

 

In fairness they're a framing shop that advocates another method, but do seem to have an impressive client list.

https://gorillaframes.com/

Edited April 13, 2017 by DeadpoolJr.

[*paull*]

58 minutes ago, johnwhitlock said:

Right. And i have Mylars and top loaders on 20 year old comics that are yellowed and warped. OP asked about framing, not about not-framing. 

take care

We are discussing framing... and about assumptions regarding framing materials.

[tada_nori]

23 minutes ago, *paull* said:

We are discussing framing... and about assumptions regarding framing materials.

Quote

Instead of inert mylar, you're ok with mattes touching the front and back of the page in the frame? 

Haha... you're the one the brought up Mylars!!
Look, there's nothing that's impervious to aging to some degree. If you handle with care, and choose materials wisely, things will be fine.
I personally prefer to look at actual art over a digital or offset print... if there's layering in the paper (such as stats) I want to see the shadows. If there are scratch techniques in the inking, I want to see the textures. If others prefer to look at a flattened copy, that's their thing and totally fine.

[*paull*]

1 hour ago, johnwhitlock said:

Haha... you're the one the brought up Mylars!!

You stated, "Seriously though, i'd rather have my art safely behind museum glass than rubbing up on some polypropylene plastic sleeve. That's not how fine art is archived."

[rrichards]

I think that all of these ideas are great but one suggestion I might offer is a toned matte as opposed to white . The biggest mistake I made and I have about 50 pieces framed on my wall,is that I started with white mattes. Since I collect mostly silver age art more and more of it has tanned or yellowed and the white accentuates that in contrast. Had I had it to do over I would have chosen a toned matte such as a light grey with a warm slightly brown hue. The bluer cooler grays also accentuate the mostly warm yellow brown aging of the paper ,less so with the warmer gray mattes. 

I do my own framing and spend a lot of time running around to better art supply stores trying to find off -white matte board. Places like Michaels (get a coupon) usually only carry Black ,White or grey unless you special order. 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2017 by rrichards

[Drewsky]

I really don't want to rail on framing because it is your choice, but you are putting the art at risk and the chance for damage goes way up. I have been collecting for 12 years and have owned well over a hundred pages 1959 to current. In that time I have bought 4 or 5 pages that were brown, one as brown as cardboard. How do you suppose they got that way? The bad part is that every single one was photographed to look white and sold to me with no mention of the tanning. Then it's up to me to hold the grudge against the piece and take the hit when/if I resell it and mention the damage caused by some other person who just wanted to see the real art. You must consider this and make the choice.

[comicwiz]

Exposure to light, direct or indirect, is more likely to introduce issues of ink fading. I'm an advocate of using archival materials, but art/illo board is just as prone to yellowing pertaining to the extent and presence of adhesives used for paste-ups on a page. I'm also an advocate of leaving art as is, but am congnisant to the possibility that there will come a time where some pages won't be holding up to age very well.  At such time, the only practical conservationist means to eliminate factors such as the presence of adhesives causing paper degradation would be migrating all paste-ups to an overlay.