Archival Framing Materials and Methods - Part I

Archival framing is a too much of a subject to cover in one post. But I did want to touch on one particular aspect today. Let's call this section one in the framing seminar:

I. Why Tape Is the Devil

Please allow me to elaborate...

I imagine the story starts off simply enough: "Our child Opie came home today with a certificate for perfect attendance! This is so special, we should frame it, and hang it in a prominent place... Here, I bought a pretty frame from the Target. Oh, but how should we mount the certificate into the frame? Let's use this 3 year old roll of masking tape I found in a drawer of random stuff next to some mismatched loose buttons and a shower cap. We're just putting the tape on the back so no one will see it anyway..."

Three years later: "Oh, look this masking tape stopped being sticky and our pre-teen Opies's certificate seems to have fallen down into the frame. We don't want this special achievement to be forgotten. Well that masking tape wasn't very good. I should try using something stronger. This packing tape is pretty strong. I'll just run a big strip of it on top of the masking tape. That will work, right?"

Three more years later: "Damn this f-ed up packing tape is turning brown, and the old masking tape I never took off is turning even browner, and now I can see the tape stains through the paper from the front! Well hell, it all looks like garbage now! Whatever, teenager Opie is a surly truant now, and who cares if we remember that one time he had perfect attendance! I'm throwing this out!"

Now I'm not saying that it was these parent's use of tape on the attendance certificate that caused their child to grow up into a punk teenager, but how can you be sure it wasn't?

The actual point I'm trying to make is, there are better ways to mount important artifacts into frames. 

One of the easiest methods for framing is to use acid-free, polyester photo corners to mount your artifact. With corners, there's no adhesive touching the artwork. By using acid-free, polyester corners, you won't expose your artifact to yellowing crappy materials that can hasten deterioration.

This is just a demo, you don't actually have to use such gigantic corners. And your artwork will probably be nicer.

Sometimes you can't use corners though. That's when you might have to mount the artifact into the frame by hinging it to a piece of cotton rag board and place that into the frame. Now I am way too lazy to explain how to hinge artwork here. But I did have enough energy to surf the Internet and find a couple of web pages that do a decent job of explaining the process. 

Before I list these URLs, I need to reiterate something I've mentioned in previous posts. If you have something really valuable, HIRE A PROFESSIONAL CONSERVATOR. The DIY explanations here are really just meant for things like your perfect attendance certificates. If you have some amazing Rembrandt print you want to frame, don't try this yourself! Oh, and don't go to framers with your amazing artwork either. Even if they say they are conservation framers. I have maybe met only a tiny handful of framers with decent chops, and most of them were museum staff. I've seen SO many works wrecked by "conservation" or "fine art" framers who really don't know what the hell they're doing. Go to a conservator! A conservator!! A conservator!!! At least so they can send you to one of the handful of good framers out there.

So having said that, here are two links for hinging instructions:

-Northeast Document Conservation Center Pamphlet

-Company I don't know and have never heard of before

Hinges are great when you use the right materials because they last a long time, won't damage the artwork, and are easy to remove later if you want to change up the framing. But make sure you are using the right materials. Japanese mulberry paper and refined wheat starch paste are the best. Don't use anything that claims to be archival but is self-sticky or seems like just an overpriced paper tape. The word archival gets tossed around a lot, but you have to be wary because there's no true regulation of the term.

If you don't want to deal with the fuss and muss of cooking wheat starch paste, on Etsy, Wren Haven Tools sells easy-to-use remoistenable hinges that are hand made by a paper conservator. The hinges come with complete instructions. 

So that's my spiel on devil tape and what to use instead. Upcoming segments on archival framing will include:

-The Horrors of Brown Corrugated Cardboard!

-Why Are You Using Glass? We Have Earthquakes here...

and,

-I Hate Metal Section Frames. Period.

-J