I have always wondered how museums handle really large photos. I can understand paintings because they come sort of “pre-mounted” on canvases, but what about photos? Say a museum received a gift of a life-sized Richard Avedon photo. How would that photo be mounted to show? Would it be framed? Glued to some kind of backing? I am not so much interested on how they attach it to the wall, but rather how do that prepare it for show. Any insights? The reason I ask is because I am thinking of making some large prints, like 40x60 or larger, but am not sure what to do once I get them.
Much the same way that smaller photos are, just on a larger scale with heavier duty materials that are exponentially more expensive as they still have to be pH neutral and reversible so as not to damage the print.
Any works on paper should always be hinged from the top between a mount and undermount, essentially an acid-free barrier in front and behind the artwork/photo. Any tape should be acid-free and reversible too. Here’s a good example pic to illustrate.
Like I said, the main difference is the size/cost. A regular sheet of mountboard costs me around £6 for a 44" x 32" sheet. Meanwhile a 104" x 60" 4-ply cotton museum board costs me about £133. That’s literally just the cost price of a single sheet of mountboard, before you’ve even considered the rest of the frame, glass etc or the labour costs.
Back in the day when photographers printed their own prints, many would have a print dryer, which featured a slightly curved polished metal sheet with a canvas cover. Once the print was dry, you could also use this to mount your photos using sheets of some sort of hot glue between the print and the backing. Here is a pic of one: https://williamsdesign.ca/?product=heatrite-photographic-print-dryer the one I used was pretty big - you could get a lot of prints done in one go… probably about a meter across and a bit longer maybe 1.2m.
Nice to know! My darkroom setup came with what might be the exact same print dryer, never had one before, but nice to know it has another use too.
I used to work at a lab and would shudder at the total cost of scanning, printing and framing/mounting sometimes. Instead of traditional framing you can have prints mounted to different types of board. Like dibond, aluminum or acrylic, face mounting or gator board, for example. A bit more modern looking since you don’t have a mat board and a frame. Is usually hung using aluminum tubing mounted to the back of the board and hung that way.
The reason I ask is because I am thinking of making some large prints, like 40x60 or larger, but am not sure what to do once I get them.
I think this explains the popularity of ready to hang art like metal prints which don’t need a frame. Metal is surprisingly robust and although pricy, aren’t as pricy as having a paper print framed. If it was smaller, I’d frame it myself but a 40x60 isn’t something I’d attempt.
How big are we talking here? 20x24 I’d still mount with a backing board, hinged front mat, and corners. Though I’d flatten it in a dry mount press first. I’ve never needed to deal with an actual print that’s bigger.