FYI ~ errand boy - on the road again

Ready to go ~ on the floor / Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggenAnother disaster averted - it's always a crap shoot anytime you try something new and my newest framing / print presentation solution is no exception. However, the framing force was with me and the whole enterprise came off with very minimal complications.

The hoped for look of the matte/glazing-less white metal frame presentation is a resounding success. Not only does it look great - all the emphasis is on the picture - but, as mentioned previously, the cost was extremely low - $40.00USD for the entire 24"×24" assembly - and the assembly itself was a breeze.

So, today, it's off to Blue Mt. Lake and the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts to drop off my prints and book. From there it's on to NYC to pick up some of The Cinemascapist's framed pictures and to help my friend with his recent North Sea cruise pictures. My return trip will take me through Cooperstown - home of the Baseball Hall of Fame - where I will drop off The Cinemascapist's pictures at a gallery for an exhibit.

I'll be posting entries as I go, so stay tuned and wish me luck and good gas mileage.

FYI ~ finished book

If you wish to view the finished life without the APA photobook, click this link. Be sure to click on the Full Screen option to view the book at a larger size.

As mentioned, the book has all of the un-composited "before" pictures upon which the final pictures are based.

FYI ~ new book

I am creating a book to accompany the life without the APA pictures in the IMPACT Our Changing Enviroment exhibit. Herein are the cover and a sample spread.

The spread pages will have the original un-"constructed" picture from which the life without the APA picture is derived. Those same originals, fading to white, also appear on the cover.

FYI, I am offering my sincerest thanks and apologies to Mr. Dickens.

FYI ~ I want one

Panasonic has announced a forthcoming (August) µ4/3 Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4 lens. I want one.

I have a 4/3 Zuiko 25mm f2.8 lens which, with an adapter, mounts on the EP-1. It will probably end up on eBay once the Leica Summilux lens becomes available. It is my fondest hope that the word "Leica" does not mean the lens will have a stupid price tag.

FYI

The hereafter • click to embiggenIn the wake of OBL's demise, some - 61% in a CNN poll - believe he is currently (and for all time) residing in Hell. There are others who believe he died a martyr's death and is currently enjoying all of the virgins-in-waiting and other benefits thereof.

Then, as seen in this AM's local newspaper, there is the editorial cartoonist who has a different view on the matter.

Me, I'm just satisfied that he is gone and that his death had a karma-like symmetry to it - sudden, terrifying, and violent - that mirrored the deaths of thousands for which he was responsible.

FYI ~ my exhibit artist's statement

Artist's Statement • click to embiggenJust thought you might be interested.

And, yes, I'm working on the online exhibit gallery but that gallery is going to have quite a few more Forks pictures than the exhibit had. That's because I received an email today that stated (in part) ...

...Kelly at ADK Life asked if you could drop off a copy of your exhibit book to Adirondack Life Magazine... she would like to show editors and pursue a PHOTO featured article on the Forks with your images. She says until now, they have never done a story on the Forks because there isn't much of interest to do it on, but your images would work well.

Update on Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 09:37AM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Sven W (no link provided) wrote/asked: "Hmmm ... that's a very original "portrait of the artist"! What was your thinking in choosing this particular image...?"

response: It's in my nature to always be thinking at least a little bit outside the box. Some might even label it as "perverse" or "twisted". In any event, it seemed like the right picture to use.

FYI ~ discursive promiscuity redux

Center gallery wall • click to embiggenLast Saturday afternoon while my friend from NYC and I were hanging out in the gallery, he mentioned that it must have been time consuming and challenging to have hanged - placement, position, arrangement, juxtaposition, etc. - the pictures on the wall. In fact, that was not the case.

Because we were hanging prints right up to show time, and despite my assistant's pleas, I was just hanging the prints in no particular order with the idea that once they were on the wall, I could take the time to arrange them. Unfortunately, once the print were all on the wall, the gallery goers started pouring in. Consequently the center wall prints never got "arranged"(the prints on the side walls did get arranged).

That said, when it was all said and done, I thought that the "random" arrangement worked rather well, at least nobody complained or, other than my friend, even mentioned the arrangement. It wasn't until my friend mentioned it, that I had a flashback to my idea of discursive promiscuity - an idea that I addressed in a blog entry 2 years ago.

Over time, that idea sort of went by the wayside. After spending some time with the center gallery wall, I think that I will have to rethink the idea. I liked it before. I like it even better now.

civilized ku # 826-27 ~ print presentation

"Floating" prints • click to embiggen
Frame corner • click to embiggen
Frame backs • click to embiggenSeveral questions have been, re: my exhibit print mounting.

The exact proceedure started with 1/2" thick 28"×36" foamcore sheets cut to size. In my case, I got 4 12"×12" and 2 24"×24" boards from each sheets. Then the prints were spray mounted - Krylon Spray Adhesive is archival, acid-free, and non-yellowing - on each board and trimmed flush by cutting 1/4" from each side of the print/board sandwich.

I had a friend pre-make the wood backings which were made to have a 3/4"-1" setback from the print/board edges. These backs were attached to the foamcore board with spray adhesive. The backs provide stiffness / warp-resistance and a nice "floating" effect. If time had allowed, I would have stained the wood backs black.

All in all, this is very visually pleasing - no glass = no glare / reflections - and is very inexpensive as well. The only issue is surface protection. In order to address that issue, I am attending a Protect Your Prints seminar (Ken Allen Studios, Feb. 8, in Brooklyn) where, amongst other methods, spray coating technique will be addressed.

Update on Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at 10:58AM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Mary Dennis asked: "Did you have to use a press to get the prints smoothed out on the foamcore or simply able to smooth by hand? ... I'm curious approximately how much it was per 24×24 to do this method?"

I did not use a press in order to smooth the prints. Keep in mind that the prints were on Epson Premium Semimatte 260 (258gsm) paper which is 10.7 mil thick - i.e. rather stiff and heavyweight paper. After positioning the sprayed paper on the board (with the assitance of my assistant), I placed a double layer of tissue sheeting on the print surface and, working from the center outward, used the side of my hand to apply pressure in a smooth even stroke out to the edges of the print.

It is also worth pointing out that the back of the print and the board itself must be free of even the smallest speck of particulate matter. Even with the stiff thick paper, it takes only a miniscule particle to create a tiny but noticeable bump in the surface of the print.

As tedious as this process sounds, it's well worth noting that I lost only 1 print in the course of mounting 38 prints.

Re: cost - my foamcore cost was approximately $8 per 24"×24" print. That price is including the shipping cost for the foamcore - that cost was nearly 2/3 of the cost of the foamcore itself. If you could buy the board locally, the cost would drop to around $5.35 per 24"×24" print.

The spray mount cost was $15/can x 2 for all of the print mounting - 12 24"×24" and 25 12"×12" prints - which, best as I can estimate, is about $0.16 per 24"×24" print.

The only cost that I can't estimate is the cost of the wood backing frames. They were made by a friend with "scrap" wood that he had around his shop. He made them for free, although I am treating he and his wife to dinner in a nice restaurant. That said, I would hope to pay around $20-25 for additional backing frames - all of the prints I have sold have been requested to have the same mounting as the prints in the exhibit.

If that price is acceptable to my friend, that would bring the total material cost, per 24"×24" print, to about $30-35. That's a very reasonable cost for that size print.