Preparation and set up of exhibition at Blankspace 10/5/13

Below I have used different coloured circles to explain what metal brackets/joints I have used to connect the frame in the order I did it.

   

Green Circles: I decided to add a mending plate to attach to the darker wooden outer frame to the canvas frame, even though the outer frame had been built around the canvas it still needed to be secured so I angled the hinge so it allowed a screw on each of the frames, as shown in the image below I was unable to insert 4 screws because the holes were too close together and would have split the wood. These mending plates are attached to the middle of the length of wood to allow an even support with the frame and canvas, I originally attached all four metal joints to each four sides however the complicated is explained when I write about the yellow circles.                               

Yellow circles: I reattached these mending plates  after realising that I hadn't attached the mirror plates on and I wanted the mirror plates to be in the middle of the side of the frame. So I then decided to put them either side of where the mirror frames would go, however I attached the left side above the mirror frame and the right side below the mirror frame, I did this to keep the support on the frame even.

Blue Circles: I attached the mirror frames purposefully in the middle of the length of wood on the side of the frame as I thought not only would it give more support to the canvas and frame, it would also look better as I don't think it would look right if the mirror plates were too high or too low in supporting the frame. The mirror plates were used to hang the paintings instead of D-rings for a security attachment so public cannot walk into the gallery and take the paintings straight off the wall and walk off with it.

Red Circles: Because I made the frames as a 'butt joint' to create a boxed effect rather than a frame, I found that the nails connecting the joint kept the frame sturdy but I was worried that it may not be strong enough to stay in that position when hung on a wall for a long period of time. So I decided to add on a metal angle plate to support the corners of the frame to ensure that the butt joints don't come appart. I only screwed in three screws because of where one of the holes on each of the metal angle plates was in line with the edge of the wood and would have split it. But three screws was supportive enough.

The good point about making this frame is that not only is it now very supportive but if it is sold and the buyer doesn't want to have the frame with it, the frame is very easy to take apart. The frame has a real rustic look that really works with my art work, I purposefully chose this after looking at B&Q at plywood to build a box style frame and found that even though the wood would be sufficient to make a box around my canvas, it colour and sharp cut lines didn't work well with my paintings because of the strained canvas and cracks, there would be too much of a contrast in material. So I then looked at some old unused wood that had been at my parents farm, the wood was scuffed, darkened, slightly bowed and beginning to show signs of moss growing on it. The fact that the wood had been discarded, unwanted and left alone worked with the concept of the paintings as well as the colour and texture of it. The slight warp to the wood also stopped the wood sitting too tightly to the canvas allowing a slight gap which I found stopped the resemblance of a frame, this then created an unstraight painting which worked really well with the cracks and the concept of the painting, I found that it also really brought the image together as it picked out the burnt umber shades in my paintings. The wooden frame also made the paintings stand out more which is what I wanted as my paintings context is something that I think needs to be enlightened even if nobody realises what goes on behind closed doors.

Once the outer frame has been securely screwed and fastened to the canvas I then had to look at how to put my paintings up within the exhibition space. I had been allocated spaces by the curators and I had the choice of putting all of the paintings together in a line, which even though they do work well together as a group I didn't want it too seem like my own mini exhibition and I wanted them to work well throughout the exhibition mingling with other artist's work. I think this will work well because it will not only give a variety of different artist's work through out Blankspace, it will also spread out my own work so it isn't one focal point of similar work. So I was allocated two spaces in the large room upstairs as well as a small wall in the corridor  The two spaces in the large room was on brick wall and the corridor space was on a fake wall which would be easier screw in nails to hang my paintings where as on the brick wall I would need a masonry 

drill to allow holes to be made because of the strength of the wall and the wall plugs to allow grip for the screws. In the fake wall it was easier because the screws could be manually screwed in to hang the painting

Because I had two paintings in one room and one in the corridor I had to decide what paintings worked better  being displayed together in the same room and which was best to be displayed on their own. After a lot of arranging of the paintings I came to the decision that 'Yellow Wallpaper' and 'Discharged from the avery' were both darker paintings and similar in colour to be displayed in the same room together, so this meant that 'Girl with clipped wings' would defiantly be one of the paintings in the larger room. I then had the choice of which painting to put in the same room, I decided that 'Discharged from the avery' would be the best because not only was it the same sizing in canvas size it also had the link with the birds and the two paintings are the opposite meaning of each other which worked better. 'Yellow wallpaper' was to be displayed in the corridor which also worked better as it was a smaller wall and with the canvas size being smaller than the other two, it suited this wall space better as the larger walls in the bigger room may have created more view of the wall rather than the painting.

Yellow wallpaper

Displayed in the corridor in Blankspace

I decided to paint the mirror plates white to blend in with the walls because I felt that I didn't like the mirror plates standing out, I found that when viewing them from a distance that the painted mirror plates seemed to blend in and disappear as part of the wall.

I think that 'Yellow wallpaper' works well in this space because of it's smaller size and also in context of where we will be serving food from Jamie's Italian, because when deciding where to put the paintings my initial choice was to put 'Discharged from the avery' in the corridor, however I thought that the imagery of dead birds wouldn't work too well with the public and food. The smoothness of the wall works well with 'Yellow wallpaper' because there is not rural or interesting aspect about the wall and will allow the viewer to focus on the background of the painting.

Girl with clipped wings

This painting is displayed on a brick wall, which works well with the rural effect of the frame, but also because the background in this painting and 'Discharged from avery' have a less detailed background than 'Yellow wallpaper', I think that the brick wall works a lot better. When drilling holes into the brick walls I had have the mirror plates in-line with the cement because if I drilled through a brick it may have cracked the wall. 

Because of the heater below the painting I felt I had to make the painting in the centre of the wall which I felt worked better because of the square shape of the wall. Originally the paintings in this room were hung up in the dark, but I found that this didn't work well with my paintings, as it was difficult to see the fine detail of the birds on her head and asked if I could have the light coming through the windows.

I found when the natural light was coming through they paintings looked so much better.

Discharged from the avery

Again this painting worked better with the brick wall because of its less detailed background. I also find that I preferred displaying them on the brick walls rather than on a smoothed wall because it adds more character to it and works well with the rural effect. I had to hang this painting slightly higher than the other painting in the room because of the cement spacing and also because I wanted to display the painting in the middle of the two windows the painting was inbetween.  

I think the slight different heights of the paintings works really well because I think even though it is obvious that the paintings are done by the same artist, the slight different heights gives the paintings an individuality because the paintings's are in their own space and height that works well with their format and wall display. I love it, it works so well with my concept unintentionally as the spirit of 'Girl with clipped wings' is of lower spirit and life and 'Discharged from the avery' is of higher spirit and life as this woman is finally free.

When hanging all of the paintings, I did not use a spirit level, I used my own eye judgement because of the un-level shape of the frames the spirit level may have actually made the paintings at an angle only in-line with the wood at the top of the frame.