Friday 25 July 2014

Tangent Gallery Installation


During semester one, the Printmedia department held a silent auction to raise funds for the Grad Show at the end of the year. We called the exhibition, 'By the End of the Day', because none of us submitted an exhibition title in time. As a class we had three hours to prepare the Tangent Gallery and install an artwork from each person. 


To prepare for the exhibition, we had to clean the space of all hanging marks and any smudges on the walls that would detract from our work, such as the one below. 


Some of us used erasers to remove the graphite lines before another student (me) came along with the undiluted gesso to cover any remnants. 


Butcher's paper was rolled along the gallery aisle on each side for a few reasons: it protected the carpet from any gesso drips and protected our artworks while they were on the floor from any dirt. We systematically trialed our installation by laying all of the artworks on the floor, so we could see the arrangement before it was stuck to the wall. This method also let us move the pieces with a minimal risk of bending or fingerprint/oil damage. 




 There's no point in putting down butcher's paper if you don't wear your socks! With all of our shoes removed, not a single person in class had odd socks. 

How strange. 


The tutors in the print department were well stocked with hanging equipment. We had just about every means of hanging available from screws and drills, tapes, nails, hammers, removable tabs, velcro, gel spots and Magnart  hanging magnets. Blu tack is no go - it stains your artwork and the walls and can tear the paper fibre. 

I used Magnart magnets because they were discreet, but also strong enough to hold my work in place. The Tangent Gallery can be a little bit of a wind tunnel and only half of my piece was secured to the wall at any time. 




Because the Tangent Gallery slopes, the leveled height of each artwork had to be calculated individually. We worked off and average of 160cm, or eye height of the average person, as the centre of the work. 


The heavier installs, such as Jess's suggestion box, needed to be screwed into the wall. 



That's me (above left). This day was one of the few days where I actually wore matching socks. The washing machine has eaten the rest. 

Here I'm applying some blue scotch tape and double sided tape to me print and the wall, to hold the plastic or moveable part steady. 



The only digital print present was nailed into the wall because of the border allowance. 


With the Tangent Gallery half filled, most who had finished installing their own artworks hung around to help out those with more complicated installs. The most devious questions were about home much, or how little, of an artwork to hang.  


The Tangent Gallery installation was complete!



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