It sank; "Necessity is the mother of invention"

This blog doesn't have much to do with my paintings per se, but rather to document of how to mitigate a problem that shouldn't have happened in the first place. 

The 2 pieces of paintings of dancing movements, which I had mounted in a float presentation are ready to be on public display.

I had alluded to my various attempts to try to circumvent the visibility issue of the hanging wires and finally settled on using clear fishing lines, hoping that nobody would notice them, or at least not mind.

Well, I was wrong, and I am wrong.

The curator takes one scan, just a glancing look, and says "Those lines got to go."

"So I have 2 D-rings on the back of the frame, perhaps you can use 2 wires to suspend the frame?"

"No!"

"Sawtooth?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

Perhaps the curator is thinking of the hammered in sawtooth clips to have such reservations about sawtooth hooks.  Whatever the reason, this is almost universal now for art venues to demand that accepted pieces must be ready to hang, and no sawtooth hangers are allowed.  Along with no Styrofoam peanuts as packing material.  

I can sympathize with the nuisance of dealing with styrofoam peanuts, I've chased a few errant peanuts myself, but there are sawtooth hangers that are screwed-in, and they should be as sturdy as D-rings, especially if the correct weight rating is adhered to.  But, what do I know.  I'm only guessing.  

So I try to enlighten myself on the internet and see if I can find pertinent information regarding what ready to hang means.

"Ready to hang means that artworks must arrive with a suitable hanging system attached. This includes fixings such as “D” rings with cord or picture wire strung between."

My mission, should I accept it, is to fashion a device that is sturdy enough to hang my float and is hidden from the front view.

I am trying to make my hanging "hook" out of the existing D-rings.  Perhaps this is one way to associate my homemade hook with the well accepted D-ring, so there is no second-guessing. 

I am using two tabs to latch onto the "D" ring itself, such that it is kept secured and locked in at the center position.  I am bending the "D" ring at the vertical midline to make room for the hanging hook.

For all this to line up in a geometrically correct position, I am crimping one of the attachment tabs to accommodate the round side of the "D".

I am making a note of the center of the frame.  This is where I am going to locate my homemade "hook".

After careful positioning of the tabs, screws from the original D-rings are used to secure the homemade attachment contraption. 

No more visible hanging wires!

I am now using a smaller hanging hook on the wall, such that the hook itself is hidden from view.

I must admit, this is a cleaner and more professional look!

The takeaway from this experience is that I should have known better.  Despite my efforts of trying to make the float paintings "float", I was still cutting corners by using fishing wires as hanging wires.  Obviously the only person fooled was myself!

It takes a third party, someone who can decide on the fate of these two floats, to object to the fishing lines to nudge me to not accept anything that is less than "acceptable".  I've come to appreciate the saying "necessity is the mother of invention" even more.

Thank you, curator!

Will it float?

It is time to frame my two pieces of gesture paintings.  These are paintings done on thin, delicate, translucent Xuan paper so I really to to present them in a float format.  And I have just the frames for them.  Perfect.

But then I become concerned about the steel hanging wires being visible through the clear border of the float piece.  The wires would be very distracting, taking away the ambience I am trying to attain.

Perhaps I can compromise by attaching the painting to a similarly thin piece of translucent Xuan paper, such that the paper would obscure the hanging wires, and the translucent paper will still give off the air of a float piece?  Semi-float piece?

Without thinking it through, I trim off a piece of the translucent Xuan paper the size of the glass and attach the painting to it.  I am using a hobby heating iron used to attach skins to model airplanes to smooth out the wrinkles and creases on the paper.

 I meticulously cleaned my glass with denatured alcohol and microfiber wipes.  

Only to see this when the painting is sandwiched between the two panes of glass.

There are visible wrinkles forming on the translucent Xuan paper!  The paper is too thin and delicate to withstand the clamping of the cover glass.  A heavier piece of paper or cardboard would have definitely solved this problem, but I won't be getting my float or semi-float presentation.

I should have known better.  Years ago I committed the same mistake, but the excuse then was I was short on time, and not at a place where I would have resources to mitigate the problem.

I've seen the same snafu at the office lobby of our local Chinese/Asian attraction.  They displayed a piece of un-mounted Chinese painting sandwiched between 2 pieces of glass and it was awful.  My grandma had smoother skin than that piece of paper.  This is not an acceptable way to present Chinese works of art or culture.  

Obviously I cannot bear to see wrinkles on my own piece of work.  I should have thought it through more thoroughly.  

Back to square one, a real float it shall be.  I shall use clear fishing line for hanging wire and hope that it is not too visible, especially if the lighting is done right.

Now that I have the two pieces displayed side by side, I think they might work as a diptych?