Mount maker
A mount maker is responsible for the creation of structures called object mounts used to provide unobtrusive physical support, stability, and security of objects while on display, in storage, or being transported to museums, art galleries, libraries, archives, botanical gardens or other cultural institutions. Protection and long-term conservation of the object is a key goal of mount makers. This is accomplished through careful design, selection of materials and manufacturing process that will not inadvertently harm the object, and a cautious installation process of the object into its place in an exhibit. Professionals in this field can be employed directly by an institution, be independent contractors, or work as part of larger cultural institution exhibit design firms.
Responsibilities and duties
The primary responsibility of a mount maker is to provide safe and stable structural supports (also called mounts, brackets, or armatures) for a wide variety of cultural materials such as furniture, ceramics, paintings, sculptures, clothing, jewelry, aircraft, and machinery to be placed in storage, transported to another location, or for exhibition. Providing form and stability alleviates stress placed on an object, "thereby preventing distortions, creasing, and eventual structural damage."[1] A successful mount will keep objects from moving in the event that an object's exhibit case is bumped or otherwise disturbed in addition to allowing visitors to view and interpret an object in new and unobtrusive ways. The object should be the subject of the viewer's attention, not the mount; allowing as much visual access as possible.
Mount makers work with two types of mounts; custom mounts and generic mounts. Custom mounts are specially created to the exact dimensions, weight, and any specific stability or support issues in response to the preservation and conservation of a particular object. The type and design of each custom mount is also determined by the budget and skill of the mount maker. In contrast, generic mounts require only rough measurements of the object. These general or prefabricated shelves, brackets, or stock forms can be purchased from museum or archival supply companies.[2]
Mount makers collaborate with registrars, exhibit designers, curators, lighting technicians, and installers to develop or select mounts for each object that will be displayed in an exhibit. Mount makers also work "closely with conservators to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the objects and to find safe fabrication materials."[3] Some types of materials may include batting, cardboard, corrugated plastic such as coroplast, felt (polyester or acrylic), Foam Board (Foamcore), Gator Foam (Gator Board), muslin, Plexiglas, and some metals such as brass and steel.[4] Additional materials can include aluminum, stainless steel, acrylic, and resin.[5]
Knowledge, abilities and skills
After considering which material is best suited for an object, mount makers then fabricate a mount to the specification of the object using hand-held tools and general shop equipment. Mount makers must be knowledgeable about the many different choices for soldering and welding, saws, buffers, and grinders and skilled in their use. Tools more specific to fabrication of basic mounts include a 10-inch to 1 inch Band saw, either a freestanding or bench top drill press, a 1 inch by 8 inch Disk combination sander, and a vacuum with either a minimum 5 micron filter or a HEPA filter.[5]
Some mount makers specialize in a specific medium such as metal or plastic. All should be knowledgeable in artifact handling, have a working understanding of chemistry, physics, mechanics, and be an expert in the area of problem solving and time management.[6] Mount makers have been described as having the skills of "jewelers, welders, fabricators, machinists, and blacksmiths - for artwork."[7] Other skills that may be needed include carpentry, metal working, experience with computer aided design programs, painting, and modeling.
Education, training, experience
Mount makers come from a wide range of professional and educational backgrounds. Individuals seeking to become a mount maker mush have experience in design, fabrication, and a familiarity with handling objects. Effective communication skills and the ability to work both alone and on a team are also highly desirable. Mount makers may have Bachelor of Arts (B. A.), a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B. F. A.), or a Bachelor of Science (B. S.) in fine arts, studio art, conservation, design, or industrial arts from an accredited university.[8] Conversely, individuals may have a background that is technical in nature such as in construction or automotive repair.[9] Continuing education courses, workshops, and symposiums in mount making are available through various cultural institutions such as the Northern States Conservation Center, the Corcoran College of Art and Design, the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Field Museum of Natural History.
Professional organizations
Mount Makers have memberships in a variety of professional organizations such as the Preparation, Art handling, Collections Care Information Network (PACCIN), the International Convention of Exhibition and Fine Art Transporters (ICEFAT), and the National Association for Museum Exhibitions (NAME) in order to stay current with professional best practices and have access to a broad informational network of colleagues.
A Professional Interest Committee of the American Alliance of Museums, PACCIN "is dedicated to building a museum industry network of information and resources available for the educational dialogue of professionals interested in the high standards of art and artifact handling. The area of focus of these standards include packing, crating, shipping, installation, mount making, rigging, exhibition fabrication, educational employment opportunities as well as ongoing industry updates of current technical and material usage."[10]
The International Convention of Exhibition and Fine Art Transporters hosts "annual conventions where members meet to exchange ideas and establish relationships with associates world wide in the field of packing, shipping and forwarding works of art, artifacts and antiquities."[11]
Also a Professional Interest Committee of the American Alliance of Museums, the focus of NAME is on advocating the importance o exhibitions and "promot[ing] excellence and best practices, identify trends and recent innovations, provide access to resources, promote professional development and cultivate leadership" to a membership of over 800 museum professionals.[12]
See also
References
- ^ Buck, Rebecca A.; Gilmore, Jean Allman (2010). Museum Registration Methods. Washington, D.C.: The AAM Press, American Association of Museums. p. 310. ISBN 978-0-8389-1122-8.
- ^ "Mounts". Northern States Conservation Center. Northern States Conservation Center. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^ "National Museum of the American Indian". Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
- ^ "Materials". Preparation, Art handling, Collections Care Information Network. PACCIN.
- ^ a b "Mountmaking Tools and Materials". AIC Wiki. American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.
- ^ "Mountmaker Position". Sanders Museum Services. Sanders Associates. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ Reese, Carrie. "Meet Phillip Brutz – Mount Maker". The Cleveland Museum of Art Blog. Cleveland Museum of Art. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^ "Sr. Mountmaker". The J. Paul Getty Trust. 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
- ^ "Day in the Life - Mount Maker". YouTube. Denver Art Museum. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ "About PACCIN". PACCIN. Preparation, Art handling, and Collections Care Information Network.
- ^ "About ICEFAT". ICEFAT - International Convention of Exhibition and Fine Art Transporters. International Convention of Exhibition and Fine Art Transporters. Archived from the original on 2014-11-22. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
- ^ "What is NAME?". NAME - National Association for Museum Exhibition. National Association for Museum Exhibition.
External links
- Mountmakers Forum
- Mountmaking|AIC Conservation Wiki
- 'The Man Behind the Mounts' Dallas Museum of Art
- 'The Mount Maker' National Gallery of Art
- 'Shelly Uhlir, Full-Time Exhibition Mountmaker visits SAM' Seattle Museum of Art
- Interview with Howard Clemenko OEC Mountmaker |Office of Exhibits Central, Smithsonian Institution
- All Shook Up! Protecting Art in an Earthquake|J. Paul Getty Museum
- v
- t
- e
and issues
- Agents of deterioration
- Archival processing
- Archaeological science
- Archaeology
- Archive
- Bioarchaeology
- Calendar (archives)
- Conservation and restoration of cultural property
- Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property
- Conservation and restoration of movable cultural property
- Conservation science (cultural property)
- Collecting
- Collection (museum)
- Collection catalog
- Collections maintenance
- Collections management
- Collections management system
- Cultural heritage
- Cultural heritage management
- Cultural property
- Cultural property documentation
- Cultural property exhibition
- Cultural property imaging
- Cultural property storage
- Cultural resources management
- Database preservation
- Deaccessioning (museum)
- Digital library
- Digital photograph restoration
- Digital preservation
- Disaster preparedness (cultural property)
- Film preservation
- Finding aid
- Fonds
- Found in collection
- Heritage asset
- Heritage science
- Inherent vice
- Intangible cultural heritage
- Integrated pest management (cultural property)
- Inventory (library and archive)
- Inventory (museum)
- Media preservation
- Midden
- Mold control and prevention (library and archive)
- Museum
- Optical media preservation
- Preservation (library and archive)
- Preservation metadata
- Preservation survey
- Provenance
- Repatriation
- Ruins
- Sustainable preservation
- Treasure
- Web archiving
and expertise
- Archivist
- Art dealer
- Art handler
- Auctioneer
- Collection manager
- Conservator-restorer
- Conservation scientist
- Conservation technician
- Curator
- Exhibition designer
- Mount maker
- Objects conservator
- Paintings conservator
- Photograph conservator
- Preservationist
- Registrar (cultural property)
- Textile conservator
and techniques
- Aging (artwork)
- Anastylosis
- Arrested decay
- Cradling (paintings)
- Cultural property radiography
- Detachment of wall paintings
- Desmet method
- Display case
- Digital repository audit method based on risk assessment
- Historic paint analysis
- Inpainting
- Kintsugi
- Leafcasting
- Lining of paintings
- Mass deacidification
- Overpainting
- Paleo-inspiration
- Paper splitting
- Reconstruction (architecture)
- Rissverklebung
- Textile stabilization
- Transfer of panel paintings
- UVC-based preservation
- VisualAudio
and restoration
of immovable
cultural property
by item type
and restoration
of movable
cultural property
by item type
- Aircraft
- Ancient Greek pottery
- Bone, horn, and antler objects
- Books, manuscripts, documents and ephemera
- Ceramic objects
- Clocks
- Copper-based objects
- Feathers
- Film
- Flags and banners
- Fur objects
- Glass objects
- Herbaria
- Human remains
- Illuminated manuscripts
- Insect specimens
- Iron and steel objects
- Ivory objects
- Judaica
- Lacquerware
- Leather objects
- Lighthouses
- Metals
- Musical instruments
- Neon objects
- New media art
- Paintings
- Painting frames
- Panel paintings
- Papyrus
- Parchment
- Performance art
- Photographs
- Photographic plates
- Plastic objects
- Rail vehicles
- Road vehicles
- Shipwreck artifacts
- Silver objects
- South Asian household shrines
- Stained glass
- Taxidermy
- Textiles
- Tibetan thangkas
- Time-based media art
- Totem poles
- Vinyl discs
- Woodblock prints
- Wooden artifacts
- Wooden furniture
cultural heritage
preservation
- Ancient music
- Applied folklore
- Dance notation
- Early music
- Endangered language
- Ethnochoreology
- Ethnomusicology
- Ethnopoetics
- Family folklore
- Folklore
- Folk art
- Folk dance
- Folk etymology
- Folk instrument
- Folk medicine
- Folk music
- Folk process
- Folk play
- Foodways
- Folklore studies
- Heritage language
- Heritage language learning
- Indigenous intellectual property
- Indigenous culture
- Indigenous language
- Language death
- Language preservation
- Language revitalization
- Living history
- Oral history preservation
- Preservation of meaning
- Primitive music
- Tradition preservation
- Traditional knowledge
projects
- Conservation issues of Pompeii and Herculaneum
- Conservation-restoration of Ecce Homo by Elías García Martínez
- Conservation-restoration of The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins
- Conservation-restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper
- Pompeian frescoes
- Conservation-restoration of the Shroud of Turin
- Conservation-restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes
- Conservation-restoration of the Statue of Liberty
- Conservation-restoration of the H.L. Hunley
- Conservation response to flood of Arno, Florence
- Modern and Contemporary Art Research Initiative
- Preservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies