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THE COMPLETE
GUIDE TO
LIMITED EDITION ART PRINTS
How to Identify, Invest & Care for Your Collection
by: Jay Brown |
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CHAPTER 19
- HANGING AND LIGHTING |
Placing Art at the Proper Height
The most important thing to remember about
placing a picture on the wall is that you want to hang it at the most
comfortable height for viewing. In most cases, that means eye level. If you are
hanging it over a piece of furniture, consider whether you normally will view
the item while standing or while you’re sitting and your eye level is
significantly lower.
Let’s study a couple of common situations, the living
room and the bedroom. If you plan to hang the picture over your sofa, then
measure 6 to 8 inches above the back of the couch and that’s where the bottom of
the picture should be placed. If the mantle is your position of choice, then
determine whether you have a standard 8-foot-high ceiling and a standard mantle
5 feet off the ground. For pictures less than 24 inches high, place it 4 to 6
inches above the mantle. If the picture is more than 24 inches high, then center
the picture in the 3 feet of space remaining.
For pictures that are going over the bed, there are two
different heights depending on whether you have a headboard or not. With a
headboard, measure 3 to 4 inches above the headboard and that’s where the bottom
of the picture should be. If there is no headboard, prop a pillow up against the
wall. Measure about 6 inches above the pillow and set the bottom there.
If you are placing the picture in an area where there
is no furniture below, then get some help from someone about 5 feet, 8 inches
tall. Have them hold the picture so two thirds of the image is below their eyes
and one-third is above. Then have them put the picture up against the wall, and
that’s where it should hang. That’s standard standing eye level.
Other areas work in similar ways. Take the time to
think about where eye level might be in each situation and be careful to think
about how the average person would best enjoy the work. If in doubt, hang it
low.
Hanging Art Above a Fireplace
There’s nothing like sitting by the
fireplace on a cold winter’s night, enjoying the warmth and ambiance of the
flames with friends and loved ones while snowflakes fall outside. It’s a magical
feeling that makes the coldest days of winter more bearable. But, as much as
people enjoy the mood of the moment, some fear that their precious print that
hangs above the mantle could be in harm’s way.
Normally, it is completely safe to hang a framed print
above a fireplace. The mantle acts as a heat and smoke deflector, so the picture
is in no worse danger than you are by being in the room. However, if you want to
be assured that there is minimal risk of damage, watch the piece carefully for
rippling from changes in humidity. And, keep an eye out for any condensation
that could form on the glass. In almost all circumstances, if rippling or
condensation occurs, your problems are more severe than the loss of your print.
If you have wallpaper, it’s probably letting loose and the wall is probably
getting hot to the touch. You have a fire hazard more than a print hazard.
Another thing that can harm the print is soot from the
fire. The day after you’ve had a fire, take a cloth and wipe off the glass. If
there is soot on the rag, then you know that there is a danger of smoke damage
over time. But again, if that’s occurring, it’s the least of your problems. If
the soot is getting to the picture, then it’s probably discoloring the wall and
other items in the room as well.
Overall, if the fireplace has been designed well, there
is nothing to fear. Since the spot over the fireplace is one of the most
dramatic walls for art in most homes, hang an expensive work of art there and
don’t worry. Relax and enjoy the ambiance and warmth that the picture brings you
all year long.
The Dangers of Smoking
We’ve all listened for years to the Surgeon
General’s warnings about cigarette smoke. It can cause heart disease, cancer and
shorten lives. And, more recently we’ve found out that even secondhand smoke can
be more dangerous than initially thought. But, secondhand smoke doesn’t just
affect people — it can also affect art prints and harm them terribly.
The tar from smoke leaves a sooty coating on clothes
and walls, and it can leave that same type of coating on an art print. And not
just prints that aren’t covered with glass like fine art canvas reproductions.
It can also penetrate a framed work of art through the inner edges of the frame
and through the backing and dust cover. The result can be a print that smells
like an ashtray and carries a yellow-brown haze over the image.
A print that has been exposed to cigarette smoke for a
long period of time is often less than mint in condition. The print can
sometimes be restored but it’s risky and an expense that most collectors would
prefer to avoid. If you are a smoker, you are not only putting yourself at risk,
but you are putting your works of art at risk as well.
Hanging Art in the Bathroom
It is advised not to place artwork with
value in any room that experiences harsh changes in humidity — such as a
bathroom with a working shower, a basement that might not be totally dry or an
attic without proper ventilation.
When a picture is hung in a bathroom with a shower, you
may notice condensation on the inside of the glass from time to time. The
condensation is caused by drastic changes in the temperature of the glass. What
has happened is the inside of the glass is normal room temperature and the
outside of the glass becomes another. The result is condensation. It’s no
different than the condensation that appears on your wall mirror when you’re in
the shower. In extreme cases, the condensation can appear on the actual print,
but even when it only seems to be on the glass, the print could be experiencing
temporary or even permanently disabling effects.
The most common side effects of humidity are rippling
and mildew. The rippling is an indication that the paper has taken in moisture
and is expanding. In some cases the paper will bounce back to its original flat
composition; however, the more often this occurs and the longer the print stays
moist and rippled, the less likely the fibers are to completely revert to their
original state.
Secondly, moisture can lead to mildew. Once mildew, a
living organism, forms, it will not die off on its own, and it is guaranteed to
spread. In some cases it can be hidden from view for years as it grows on the
back of a print; other times it can be seen from the front. To kill off the
mildew, the picture needs to be taken to a restorer. Still, there is often
permanent damage to the print from the mildew or from the chemicals that are
used to kill it off.
If you are intent in hanging art in a bathroom with a
shower, it is recommended that you use inexpensive replaceable art that is not
likely to become rare and valuable. If you do decide to hang a valuable work of
art in a humidity prone setting, keep an eye on it and at the first sign of
trouble, move it to a safer location.
The Problem with Picture Lights
There are serious problems with using a
mounted picture light directly on a print. Though most picture lights operate
with incandescent bulbs, which are less damaging than fluorescent tubes, they
still can lead to fading of the work. Furthermore, because they sit so close to
the art and the light pyramids downward, the top portion of a picture receives
more light and, if the lights are kept on regularly, the picture can eventually
exhibit patterned and uneven fading. There’s also the issue of heat generated
from a bulb so close to a piece of art. The heat can lead to rippling of the
picture or even mildew.
Most people who desire a picture light are doing so
because their picture is dark. But darker pictures will pick up more glare than
bright pictures and when a light is placed so close to the picture, the
reflection can be more irritating to the eye than the lack of light. If you’re
using a picture light because your picture is dark, try changing the glass to a
low-glare product instead. By eliminating or reducing the glare, an illusion of
brightness can be created and hopefully you’ll be satisfied enough that you
won’t need to use a potentially damaging mounted light.
Determining the Safest Lighting Fixture
There’s no such thing as safe lighting for a
picture. So, unless you plan to hang your art in a closet and never turn on the
light or keep your picture packed in a box, your pictures will eventually fade.
The best and safest avenue to take is to use
preventative caution. Avoid placing your art in direct sunlight where the
ultraviolet rays from the sun will damage the colors permanently Also, avoid
placing a light source directly on the picture, and above all, use
conservation-treated glass products. There are three main types of
lighting: fluorescent, incandescent and high-intensity discharge.
Fluorescent lighting generates ultraviolet energy and
can lead to fading. The result is that the lifetimes of many art pieces are
reduced considerably because of the fading these lights cause. There are some
benefits to fluorescent lighting — they are very economical and provide a great
deal of light — but the negatives far outweigh the positives.
Incandescent bulbs (standard or halogen floods and
spots) are common with track lighting and they are preferred for lighting
artwork. They must, however, be positioned far enough away from the art or the
heat emitted can cause a print to ripple. The halogen lights emit a white light
that’ll bring out the colors in a picture better than other options. They also
allow for very direct spot lighting as well as broad wash lighting. Besides the
heat issue, the other negative is the price. The cost of installing the track is
high and the cost of the bulbs is high as well.
The other option, high intensity discharge lighting, is
similar to fluorescent lighting. The only real difference is the way the light
is created within the bulb. It does provide the most natural lighting possible
and it is extremely efficient. The biggest negative is that it gives off the
most ultraviolet light of all the options.
If you must use a light source on your art, use a low
wattage incandescent halogen light and only use it when absolutely necessary. In
conclusion, if you’re a “bright” person you won’t need to use any artificial
light.
The Proper Way to Light
If you expect your picture to look exactly
the same at home as it did when you saw it displayed in a gallery, it won’t. An
art gallery’s business is dependent on making the artwork look its best and the
lights used in a well-designed gallery are an integral part of the sales
technique. The lighting in a gallery is often even throughout, even though many
pictures will appear better and more appealing with delicate accent lighting in
your home. It can be structured to create a focus on the art and a balance
throughout a room.
In order to light a picture properly, you need to take
into consideration the mood of the room. If the room is meant to be dim and
reserved, then strong picture lighting will feel uncomfortable. If the room is
bright and bold, then a softly lit picture might get lost. You also need to
think about things like the size of the wall, the height of the ceiling and how
much of a focus you want the piece of art to portray in the overall design of
the room.
Consider the ceiling height for instance. If the
ceiling is high, then the art may be so far away from the lights that the only
way to light the picture properly is with track lighting and extensions dropped
from the track to bring the lights closer to the art. If the ceiling is low,
then you may want to place the lights further away from the art or the lights
may appear like bullet holes on the glass.
Then there’s the matter of windows and outside light
sources. If you have a lot of outside light penetrating the room during the day,
then you might want to consider whether you should be adding more light, or
perhaps reducing the light by adding blinds. And how often will you be viewing
the work at night anyway. Perhaps you can go without additional light and use
that money to buy another piece of art. Every situation is different.
There is a standard formula that has been developed by
the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) to determine
placement of lighting fixtures. All you need to do is subtract 5’3” from the
ceiling height and multiply the difference by 0.577. In other words, if the
ceiling is 8’ high, the difference is 2’7” or 31 inches. Then multiplying 31 x
0.577 = 17.887 inches or approximately 1.5 feet of the recommended distance from
the art to the light source. It is also recommended that the lighting fixture be
placed at a 30-degree vertical angle.
If you want to consult a professional lighting
designer, call the International Association of Lighting Designers
(212-206-1281) for the name of an expert in your area; or stop in your local
lighting store and ask for some advice. In some cases, lighting stores will have
temporary lamp units that can be taken home and tried out before a final
decision is made.
Finally, if you plan on using a light on a picture,
make sure you have a dimmer switch installed. This way you can adjust the
intensity of the lighting to best highlight the picture while having the
flexibility to overcome any intangibles such as lamps, sunlight or reflected
light from other areas. And, if your picture needs glass, make sure you look
into the conservation glass options to help protect your picture from fading.
(Some information for this section was taken from Décor Magazine’s
articles in their December 1996 and January 1997 issues.)
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