| Dear
Maria Diener,
Welcome to "DS Art Talk," a monthly publication from Daniel
Smith, Inc. featuring practical information on a wide variety
of artist topics. This month, Sharon Yamanaka shares her knowledge
of archival matting and framing. We hope you enjoy and are
able to use this information.
| The Benefits of Archival Matting and
Framing
by Sharon Yamanaka |
Whether
you’re a professional artist or a collector looking towards
the future, archival-quality framing is the best way to preserve
and display your artwork. Archival framing uses only acid-free
materials and takes potential problems into consideration,
correcting for them before they occur. It is often just as
easily done as conventional framing.
What exactly constitutes archival-quality artwork?
For the framing itself, it means that anything done to the
artwork doesn’t harm it in any way, and is fully reversible.
As far as archival artmaking techniques, that’s a different
story. A lot more things such as time, effort, cost, and forethought
(often at the expense of spontaneity) go into both the before:
making the art, and the after: displaying the art, than into
the actual framing. With that in mind, here is a brief description
of the steps involved in archival framing and display.
Gathering the Materials.
Archival framing begins by using
acid-free materials, acid being one of the primary culprits
contributing to the breakdown of paper as well as the fading
of pigments. There are two types of acceptable archival papers:
acid-free and 100% rag acid-free, with the latter, made from
cotton or linen "rags," being the highest quality.
Set
up your Workspace.
Work in a well lit area, preferably daylight. Have all your
supplies ready, and have a large clean and sturdy surface
to work on. Otherwise you may find that the mat cut is incorrect
or uneven, the glass may crack or chip, dust may become trapped
in the finished piece—all making the frustration level rise.
Archival Matting
Step-by-Step
Archival
matting should be strictly functional—no doubled, colored
or contrasting mats—just a simple, neutral color that provides
a border around your artwork and sets it off, both literally
and figuratively, from the outside world. If you want your
artwork more ornate, instead of playing up the matting, concentrate
on the frame.
Use 100%
rag, acid-free mat board such as museum
board. (Some mat boards are archival quality only on the
side touching the artwork. These aren’t considered as reliable
as the ones made out of 100% rag throughout.) If anything
else is used in the matting—for example a fabric such as watered
silk—linen or other acid-free barrier is placed between the
fabric and the artwork.
The
Standard Hinged Mat.
The
hinged mat is used for pictures with margins, bleed images
(these go to the ends of the paper), or papers with deckle
edges you want exposed.
The artwork
is attached to the backing board with hinges made of paper
tape or handmade Japanese paper, which is thin, flexible and
has long sturdy fibers. Two rules should be considered when
making the hinges. First, use as few hinges as possible, while
still providing good support for the artwork. Second, the
hinge should always be weaker than the paper to which it is
applied, so that under stress the hinge will give way instead
of the art.
Never tape
artwork directly to a mat or backing board. Even the group
of tapes labeled archival are too strong and inflexible to
be used directly on artwork. Although the adhesives on these
tapes are initially water soluble, they become insoluble over
time, requiring the use of a stronger solvent to remove them.
Making The Hinges.
The classic hinge is made with two Japanese
paper rectangles, typically torn from Mulberry
paper or similar lightweight paper and adhered with wheat
paste. Lineco’s Hayaku
Gummed Japanese Hinging Paper greatly simplifies the process.
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1. Position the artwork as desired behind the window
of a prepared, closed mat. Then open the mat window
and make light pencil marks on the backing board
around the two upper corners of the art work.
2. For a V-Hinge, invert the art work on its upper edge,
face down, so the two upper corners rest just above
the pencil marks.
3. Place the hinge pieces on a clean blotter and moisten
the adhesive thoroughly. Wait for the adhesive to
absorb water and get sticky.
4. Attach 1/4" of the hinge to the back of the art work
and the remainder to the backing board, following
either the T-Hinge or V-Hinge diagram.
5. Place the reinforcing strips on a blotter and moisten
the adhesive. Carefully center a strip over the
portion of the hinge which is attached to the backing
board. The hinges should not be visible when the
mat window is closed.
6. Check the fit, then let hinges dry before closing
the mat window.
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Use standard
foam board behind the backing board to support the matted
work in the frame. Or hinge your artwork directly to acid-free
foam board which works as both backing board and filler.
Mounting Strips or Corners.
Use mounting
strips or corners instead of hinges if you don’t want to attach
anything to the artwork itself. Strips or corners can only
be used on images with fairly wide margins—not on bleed images—otherwise
the corners or strips will show through the mat window.
To use
Lineco See-Thru Mounting Strips, position your artwork on
your mat, then peel the release paper on the acid-free Bristol
strips to expose the pressure-sensitive adhesive. Press into
place just outside the edges of the artwork and burnish for
a secure grip. Mylar tabs hold the artwork.
Corners
must be big enough to support the print, but small enough
to not show through the window. Use Lineco corners, or fold
your own from neutral pH paper like Rives
Lightweight. Position your artwork on the mat, lightly
trace the corners, remove the artwork, affix the corners and
burnish well. Slip the artwork into the corners and close
the mat window to make sure the corners do not show. Adjust,
if necessary.
The
Matless Mount.
If you want to frame artwork without a window mat, consider
using Econospace
plastic tubing which creates space between the mounted
artwork and the glazing material.
Archival framing
Step-by-step
If the materials used in your chosen frame aren’t acid-free
(such as aluminum), then those areas touching the artwork
need to be lined. (This is called rabbet sealing).
Use acrylic paint, metallic frame sealing tape or wax on the
inside surfaces of wooden frames to protect the artwork. Again,
the idea is to keep anything touching the artwork at a neutral
pH.
Glazing. Acrylic, which is both lighter than glass and shatterproof, is
preferable for the majority of artwork. An exception is
pastels, since acrylic’s static charge can attract fine
chalk particles from the artwork. In this case, glass is often
substituted. Glass or acrylic glazing should be treated with
a special coating to keep out damaging ultraviolet (UV) light.
Backing. Use acid-free, archival-quality museum board or foam board for
the backing. Even oil paintings are often backed to protect
the canvas, with triangles cut out at the corners of the backing
to let air circulate around the reverse side of the painting.
Decide on the size of the mat board and frame. A
minimum two-inch width for the mat is recommended, with the
lowest side slightly wider to give more "weight" to the bottom
of the picture. The height and width of the mat is also the
size for the glazing and backing. Figure the size of the frame
from there, remembering corner overlap if it is an acrylic
or oil piece on canvas. Do not include the lip or rabbet in
your calculations, instead measure from the inside of the
rabbet.
Measure Twice!...The secret to successfully framing
art work lies in correctly calculating the measurements. The
effect you want to achieve will determine what frame profile
you can use and what combination of materials will fit in
that profile. Knowing the rabbet depth of the frame profile
is essential. This inner dimension must hold the glass or
glazing material, the window mat(s), the backboard and filler
board, and still leave room for the clips or points to secure
everything. (Fig. 1)
Cut the pieces. Perfect measurements and angles
are crucial! If your measurements are correct down to an eighth
of an inch, then cutting has to be correct to the sixteenth
of an inch.
Assemble. Attach the artwork to the backing using lightweight, acid-free paper
hinges and archival adhesive such as wheat paste, rice paste,
methylcellulose or white UHU glue stick. Assemble the outer
frame. Place the glazing, mat, artwork, and backing into the
frame and secure. For certain types of artwork seal the frame
to keep out dust particles, for others leave aeration "holes"
or triangles in the corners of the backing to prevent mildew.
Finally add the hanging wire and felt cushions for wall protection.
Is archival framing and careful display worth the hassle?
Ask Benny
Alba, a painter-printmaker whose work has been featured in
previous Daniel Smith catalogs. Alba comes from a long line
of artists, including her mother whose work has been collected
by museums. As a political statement about the astronomical
increases in future value of artwork that often did not benefit
the artist, her mother chose to work in a non-archival fashion.
Alba now sees personally cherished and valuable pieces of
her mother’s artwork deteriorate.
One episode
occurred when Alba’s studio flooded when she was unexpectedly
out of town. Alba had laid out many of her mother’s studies
and some finished works on the floor, expecting to return
the next day but returning a month later instead. Because
these pieces were not on archivally sound materials (some
were collages), they were not only water damaged but also
cross-contaminated by foxing. Foxing—a type of acid
visible as reddish-brown spots that eventually eat through
the paper—can start on a non-archival source and then gradually
spread throughout an entire room’s art. Because of this, Alba
carefully isolated these damaged works as well as dipping
some in a special bath to neutralize the acid. Unfortunately,
collages using magazine images are not easily dipped. Alba
has opted to allow these works to age instead.
On a grander
scale are the steps taken by art museums to preserve their
collections. Alba says, "curators must choose between works
when they deteriorate. Limited budgets have made expensive
restoration choices more difficult than ever before." She
is adamant in warning artists, "Choose to work archivally
or not, with an awareness of the consequences. From what I
hear, art schools are not giving that information as much
as they could."
In conclusion,
it may be closer to a pound than an ounce, but protection
and preservation at the outset of a project will save your
work for future enjoyment. Damaged artwork is never the same
no matter how well restored. What was that saying? Art is
long . . . and even longer if you make the effort!
Some Hints from Benny Alba
• Not all
mat board and foam core materials are archivally sound. If
it isn’t labeled "archival" then it probably isn’t. If you
don’t know, ask. One of the best things about Daniel Smith’s
staff is that they’ll tell you the truth and if they don’t
know, they’ll investigate the matter thoroughly.
• Wooden
flat files are not archival — they’re untreated wood. Archival
papers placed in them, even with the use of liners, are not
protected from the acid in the wood. I prefer metal files.
You buy them once and then forget your worries.
• "Don’t
mix archival with non-archival sheets of papers as the damage-causing
acids ‘travel.’ Store each type separately with some distance
between the two. And remember, whole libraries have been changed
over long periods of time by just one book. So just be a bit
more careful for your relatively short term storage."
Displaying Artwork
Even if
your artwork is archivally framed, placement will also affect
its longevity. That tempting spot on the mantel above the
fireplace is a poor place to hang artwork as it is subject
to extremes in heat and possibly smoke and soot. Ideally,
artwork should be hung on an interior wall with no direct
sunlight or doors, and subject to as little variations in
temperature and humidity as possible.
Below is
a list of the more common causes of damage to artwork:
Light
Damage—Fading due to irregular or too much exposure to
light
Acid
Damage—Embrittlement/discoloration
Breakage—Accidents in transportation or poor placement
Fingerprints—Oils from handling can eventually show up on
the artwork and matboard.
Mildew—Mini
"greenhouse" effect caused by poor framing can allow mildew
to form.
Issues with Light
While most of the problems have been discussed and can be
eliminated or minimized, light is a completely different challenge.
You need it to view the artwork, but it also causes slow,
steady deterioration. Any given piece of art has some total
number of hours of light at a given intensity that will be
the life of the piece. Some media are more light sensitive
than others are, with watercolors being the most vulnerable.
By limiting the amount of light your artwork will be subject
to, you can increase its lifespan, hopefully for many generations
to come. But in order to do that, you HAVE to have UV protection
against natural ultraviolet light as well as artificial lighting
(fluorescent lighting is worse than incandescent). To minimize
light exposure, think about keeping pictures in rooms with
low-level lighting and framing them with UV-treated acrylic
glazing. Close curtains and shades when the room isn’t in
use. •
How to Order Frames
at Daniel Smith
Our
frames are priced in pairs and ordered in the overall, four
sided dimension of your frame.
1.
Calculating Frame Dimensions: Order your frames the size
of the outer edge of your artwork or glass to the nearest
1/8." We cut frames 1/8" larger than specified for ease of
assembly.
2.
Placing Your Order: Please give your salesperson the overall dimensions of your
frame,
(i.e.: 18" x 24").
3.
Wood Frame Cuts: Each frame is custom-cut and the corners of both pairs are routed
as a unit. This ensures precisely mitered corners, equal and
matching routed grooves, and a close match of color stock.
4. Frame Hardware: Our
metal frames come with all the necessary hardware except picture
wire. Wood frames come with the Thumbnail® corner system.
You’ll need wood glue to bond the corner joint, a method of
securing your artwork in the frame, frame hangers, and picture
wire.
5.
Frame Sizes:
Due to the nature of our cutting equipment, the minimum frame
length we cut is 6". We will cut frames up to 96".
6.
For artwork on stretched canvas or linen—measure the overall height
and width from the outside edges. You must include the size
added by the stretched canvas wrapped onto the sides of your
stretcher bars. Pay special attention to the canvas folded
at the corners. Make sure the profile you select is deep enough
to fully cover the sides of the artwork.
7.
Frame orders
require 72 hours or more for completion prior to shipping.
NOTE: If
you'd like to print this Inksmith article, we recommend that
you download our Adobe Acrobat
version here. This download requires the free Adobe Acrobat
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