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Last Days of Summer September Newsletter |
| Greetings!
 Summer is slowly drawing towards a close and the return of autumn; school is back in session, vacations have become memories and photos freshly added to the family albums.
The rush and bustle will soon slow down and it will be a great opportunity to take stock of the events this summer brought, and decide how best to display and preserve them for the years to come. Regardless of what sort of summer you had, FrameStore has been helping southern Californians take care of their photos, artwork, and mementos correctly for over 35 years.
Stop by one of our stores this week to have one of our Art and Design experts help you to turn those precious memories that will only come once into lasting and lovely art that will bring joy for decades.
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The Definition : Giclee (zhee-klay) - The French word "giclée" is a feminine noun that means a spray or a spurt of liquid. The word may have been derived from the French verb "gicler" meaning "to squirt".
The Term : The term "giclee print" connotes an elevation in printmaking technology. Images are generated from high resolution digital scans and printed with archival quality inks onto various substrates including canvas, fine art, and photo-base paper. The giclee printing process provides better color accuracy than other means of reproduction.
The Process : Giclee prints are created typically using professional 8-Color to 12-Color ink-jet printers. Among the manufacturers of these printers are vanguards such as Epson, MacDermid Colorspan, & Hewlett-Packard. These modern technology printers are capable of producing incredibly detailed prints for both the fine art and photographic markets. Giclee prints are sometimes mistakenly referred to as Iris prints, which are 4-Color ink-jet prints from a printer pioneered in the late 1970s by Iris Graphics.
The Advantages : Giclee prints are advantageous to artists who do not find it feasible to mass produce their work, but want to reproduce their art as needed, or on-demand. Once an image is digitally archived, additional reproductions can be made with minimal effort and reasonable cost. The prohibitive up-front cost of mass production for an edition is eliminated. Archived files will not deteriorate in quality as negatives and film inherently do. Another tremendous advantage of giclee printing is that digital images can be reproduced to almost any size and onto various media, giving the artist the ability to customize prints for a specific client.
The Quality : The quality of the giclee print rivals traditional silver-halide and gelatin printing processes and is commonly found in museums, art galleries, and photographic galleries.
The Market : Numerous examples of giclee prints can be found in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Chelsea Galleries. Recent auctions of giclee prints have fetched $10,800 for Annie Leibovitz, $9,600 for Chuck Close, and $22,800 for Wolfgang Tillmans (April 23/24 2004, Photographs, New York, Phillips de Pury & Company.)
©1997-2010 Giclée Print Net, Inc. |
Santa Barbara
Museum of Art: 
Chaotic Harmony: Contemporary Korean Photography
McCormick and Davidson Galleries
July 3 - September 19, 2010
About
The first major exhibition in the United States of photographs made by contemporary Korean artists presently living in Korea, Chaotic Harmony: Contemporary Korean Photography opens a window to the dynamic photographic scene in the Republic of Korea, known in the West as South Korea. Bringing together work by 40 contemporary photographers, this presentation of 42 large-scale images surveys the range of contemporary issues through the themes of land and sea; urbanization and globalization; family, friends, and memory; identity: cultural and personal; and anxiety.
Within the exhibition, two distinct generations of Korean artists are represented: those born in the mid-1950s and 1960s, during a succession of military dictatorships when the country was still largely agrarian, and those born in the 1970s, predominantly in urban areas and who came into maturity in the new democratic era which began in 1987.
Co-organized by Karen Sinsheimer, Curator of Photography at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and Anne Wilkes Tucker, The Gus and Lyndall Wortham Curator of Photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, this groundbreaking exhibition is not a presentation on "Koreanness," although issues of cultural and personal identity are strong components. Rather, it is an attempt to identify Korea as a source of complex and stimulating visual ideas expressed through the medium of photography. |
Santa Monica
Museum of Art:
Combustione:
Alberto Burri and America September 11 - December 18, 2010
About
Alberto Burri (1915-1995) was a seminal artistic figure of the 20th Century, a forebear to many artists and artistic movements-from Pop Art to Arte Povera-both in Italy and the United States. Burri's fame is great in his native Italy, but he remains relatively unknown in the United States, despite the fact that for over 25 years he would winter in his home in the Hollywood Hills, where he produced more than 60 major works of art. Combustione: Alberto Burri and America-a tightly focused exhibition featuring 36 major works from 1951 to 1990-pays particular attention to both his reception and his production in the United States.
Burri's biography links him closely with the United States. While a doctor in the Italian army during WWII, Burri was taken captive in Tunisia by U.S. troops and detained at Camp Howze, a prisoner-of-war facility in Hereford, Texas. At some point during his captivity, Burri began drawing and painting. This happenstance initiated his five-decade-long career.
After the war, Burri completely rejected his medical training, and with no formal instruction embarked on a career as an artist. Though he began as a painter, he soon abandoned traditional materials in favor of the creative reuse of mundane objects. The appearance of his Sacchi series in the early 1950s, which incorporated burlap material from military and Marshall Plan supply sacks, represented a radical shift in modernist art-making. Burri innovatively used the discarded debris of everyday life and utilitarian materials such as tar, sheet metal, plastic, and wood which he completely transformed through the actions of tearing, stitching, burning, and collaging.
Interestingly, Burri's first success as an artist was in America, predating widespread notoriety in his homeland by several years. Starting in the early 1950s, concurrent with the development of his first burlap paintings, Burri had contact with several influential American artists, dealers, and curators who supported his work. The art historian James Johnson Sweeney, then director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, visited Burri in 1953 and became an enthusiastic promoter of his work. Several New York and Chicago art dealers came to view his work at this time and subsequently gave Burri gallery shows in the United States. Despite these auspicious beginnings, Burri remains relatively unknown in the United States.
Burri purchased a home at 7423 Woodrow Wilson Blvd. in the Hollywood Hills in 1963-a location selected for the dry weather climate and its proximity to his wife's family. He spent each winter there until 1989, and the remainder of the year between Rome and his hometown of Città di Castello. He often titled pieces simply according to their material or series, and titled many artworks produced in Los Angeles with either the prefix or suffix "L.A."
Combustione highlights projects that occupied Burri in the twenty-five-year period during which he worked in L.A. This landmark exhibition of Burri's work defines Burri's importance as an artist for a new generation of Americans.
Major support for the exhibition is generously provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Isabella del Frate Rayburn and Maurice Kanbar, Randi Malkin Steinberger and Harlan Steinberger.
Additional support is provided by Istituto Italiano di Cultura (IIC), Los Angeles, Pasadena Art Alliance, Manfred and Jennifer Simchowitz, Robert Lehman Foundation, Cindy and Howard Rachofsky, and Pierpaolo Barzan. |
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Guidelines for Conservation :
Mounting and Framing Works of Art on Paper
What is conservation framing?
A mount and frame should always be selected to protect as well as enhance a picture. Unfortunately, some mounting and framing techniques not only fail to protect, but are potentially damaging to works of art. 'Conservation framing' is a term used to describe the use of materials and techniques which provide protection to framed works of art on paper. There are different levels according to the quality and specification of the materials used.
Why do works of art on paper need protection?
Paper is sensitive to its surroundings: it can be adversely affected by damp, changes in temperature and humidity, restriction of movement and exposure to light. Paper will also react to the materials with which it is in contact such as acidic support boards and self adhesive tapes. Evidence of damage caused by adverse conditions can be seen in pictures with mount burns, foxing (small brown spots), fading of pigments or darkening and increasing brittleness of the paper.
Preparing a picture for framing
If the picture is damaged, foxed, stained or stuck down onto an acidic card backing, a paper conservator can advise on preservation and conservation options. In some cases, preservation may mean leaving well alone and simply ensuring that the picture is well protected through conservation framing; in other cases conservation treatment may be essential to protect the picture long-term.
Practices to be avoided as they may significantly reduce the value of the picture are:
Trimming or folding the picture to fit a frame; marking a picture or margin with notation or sight sizes
Flattening by means of dry-mounting or sticking down onto a rigid back board
Use of commercial self adhesive tapes to repair or support a picture or document: (Sellotape, Masking tape).
The frame
The framing of a work of art may involve making a choice between re-using an existing frame and selecting a new one. Illustration 1 shows a frame package in cross-section with the individual elements of the frame package identified. Whether an old or new frame, the following considerations apply:
The rebate should be deep enough to hold the glass, thick window mount or fillets, object, thick undermount and back board.
The moulding must be both strong enough and deep enough to support the whole package. An old frame will sometimes need to be modified to meet these criteria.
 Re-using old frames
If an old frame is to be re-used, it should be carefully cleaned and repaired, preserving all inscriptions and framing labels. The frame, mount and glass may be of historical significance. Old decorative mounts such as Victorian gilt mounts can sometimes be re-used with an internal lining. Fixings need to be secured and weakened cord or wire should be replaced.
The conservation mount comprises a window mount and undermount (sometimes also referred to as a back mount). To provide adequate physical and environmental protection both boards should be at least 1.3 millimetres thick, (4-6 sheet). The boards should be hinged along one edge using either a conservation gummed white paper tape or linen tape, (never pressure sensitive tapes).
 Illustration 2. Mount package
Illustration 3. Pendant hinge ('T-bar')
The Mount
Because the picture is in direct contact with the mount, the choice of mount board is crucial to protecting framed works of art on paper. As a guide, there are three main categories of mount board and framing.
Museum level
For framing valued original works on paper
Cotton museum mount board
This is usually solid core, made from 100% cotton fibre - a traditional paper making material, proven stable over hundreds of years. It can be un-buffered (neutral pH) or buffered with an alkali deposit which prolongs the stability of the board and provides some extra protection.
Conservation Level
For framing original works on paper
Conservation mount board
This refers to board made from chemically purified wood pulp and then alkaline buffered. Like Cotton Museum board, the core and facings must meet certain criteria such as light fastness, pH ranges and quality of lamination adhesives.
Mounting photographs - photographs are a special case because some types may be affected by alkalinity: they should not therefore come into contact with an alkaline buffered board.
A pure, unbuffered cotton museum board is now commercially available.
MicroChamberTM board - MicroChamberTM technology is the trade name given to products which contain molecular sieves (zeolites) which 'trap' pollutants commonly found in the environment and may be generated internally within the frame package. This proactive protection will 'trap' by-products harmful to paper such as acetic acid, aldehydes, and sulphur dioxide. Cotton Museum board and Conservation board are available with these fillers and this should be clearly declared in the product specification.
Standard level
Not recommended for conservation framing
Standard mount board
This is made from unpurified wood pulp. Unpurified wood pulp will gradually break down and release acidity, thereby damaging the picture. Although many wood pulp boards are now buffered with an alkali and described as 'acid-free', this is misleading and is no longer a viable marketing term for any mount board.
The hinges
The picture should never be 'drummed' or stuck down to a backing card. Restriction of movement can be detrimental. Hinges should allow the picture to hang safely; they should be applied to the top edge and adhered to the undermount (see illustrations 2 and 3).
Adhesives used must be easy to remove at a future date, and must neither stain nor darken with age. The ideal adhesive is freshly made wheat or rice starch paste. Conservators like to use Japanese paper hinges as they are thin pliable and strong.
Pressure sensitive tapes, such as SellotapeTM and masking tape have no place in conservation framing. They cause permanent damage to the picture by staining and become difficult or even impossible to remove.
Water-soluble conservation gummed white paper mounting tape is acceptable but pressure sensitive archival conservation tapes are not recommended for use directly on the picture.
Glazing
Works on paper need to be mounted clearly away from the glass to allow for air circulation and movement. Pastels and chalk drawings should be held at least 5-6mm from the glass, using either double or triple mounts. If the picture is to be 'close framed' (without a window mount) it should be held away from the glass with a small slip, card or fillets (4-6mm deep) tucked under the rebate. (See illustration 1.) There is a range of glazing materials with different optical properties. Where appropriate historic glass should be reused.
Reducing light exposure
Museum level framing must use UV filtering glass and it should be strongly considered for conservation level. Light exposure has a pronounced effect on paper condition and pigments.
The harmful effects of light can be reduced by using ultra violet filtering glass or UVA Acrylics . Ideally the glass should have the least amount of radiation below 400nm (invisible UV radiation) and the maximum amount of visible light transmission.
PerspexTM and PlexiglassTM can be useful because they are lighter and unlikely to break on impact. However, these materials do scratch more easily and because of static, they should never be used to glaze pastels, chalks or any other friable materials.
The mounted picture/glass sandwich can be sealed around the edges with gummed paper to prevent thunder flies or pollution from penetrating the frame.
The back board and final assembly
The back board should be made of a stable, rigid material, such as pH neutral conservation backing board.
Further protection from migrating acidity can be provided by the insertion of a sheet of MelinexTM (polyester film) or cooking foil between the back mount and back board.
It should be secured into the frame with sufficient non-rusting nails or fixings.
The air gap should be sealed with a good quality gummed paper tape only. Pressure sensitive tapes fail and leave a sticky residue.
The fittings for hanging
All hanging fittings should be strong and secure. The tension of the cord or wire should be checked to ensure that there is no strain on the frame when it is hanging.
Riveted D-rings which go into the back board should be avoided: they may cause pressure against the art or admit dust if not well sealed.
Screw-eyes, hanging plates or rings should be attached to the frame itself and must be of sufficient strength to carry the weight involved.
© Icon, the Institute of Conservation 2006.
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Wishing you all a happy, wonderful California summer, full of memories, art, color and fun!
Sincerely,
Chuck Mitchell
FrameStore |
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We at FrameStore are proud to introduce our new EcoCare Collection from Nurre Caxton. This line of moulding is both
beautiful and kind to the planet. The wood to make these mouldings is harvested from managed forests that are carefully monitored. For every tree used one is replaced.
The rich colors are achieved with organic water-based stains. No oils or chemical solvents are used so that they have very low impact on our environment.
The new EcoCare gives you, our customer, and us a choice we can feel good about making.
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