Open Forum

Hello All-

I'm working on a project and have been tasked with finding suitable artwork for a private airplane. The craft would that fit the following criteria:

1. The works must weight 50 lbs or less. 
2. The works must have a maximum weight distribution of .1lbs/inch.
3. The works must be able to handle 16g's of force.
4. The works must be able to handle rapid temperature changes. (Climate control will at most times not be activated.) 

The aircraft will go from sub freezing temperatures when idle up to the high 60's in a matter of hours and 105 degrees down to the 60's in the same duration depending on its hangared location. My primary aim is to have no object damaged or destroyed while aboard.

Unpainted aluminum comes to mind immediately. Does anyone out there have any other suggestions outside of "don't put art on airplanes? All advise welcome.

Thank you in advance,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Killackey
Director fo Gallery Operations
Las Vegas NV
------------------------------

Michael,

Aluminum would be a good choice as would fiber arts. If you need suggestions for artists who work using aluminum substrate, I highly recommend Connie Zehr or Debb Vandelinder. 


Good luck.

------------------------------
Kathrine Page
The Gretchen Hupfel Curator of Contemporary Art
The Delaware Contemporary
Wilmington, DE
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-10-2019 05:40 PM
From: Michael Killackey
Subject: Artworks Needing No Climate Control

Hello All-

I'm working on a project and have been tasked with finding suitable artwork for a private airplane. The craft would that fit the following criteria:

1. The works must weight 50 lbs or less. 
2. The works must have a maximum weight distribution of .1lbs/inch.
3. The works must be able to handle 16g's of force.
4. The works must be able to handle rapid temperature changes. (Climate control will at most times not be activated.) 

The aircraft will go from sub freezing temperatures when idle up to the high 60's in a matter of hours and 105 degrees down to the 60's in the same duration depending on its hangared location. My primary aim is to have no object damaged or destroyed while aboard.

Unpainted aluminum comes to mind immediately. Does anyone out there have any other suggestions outside of "don't put art on airplanes? All advise welcome.

Thank you in advance,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Killackey
Director fo Gallery Operations
Las Vegas NV
------------------------------

I disagree with Kathrine Page's suggestion of fiber art as appropriate for this non-climate-controlled space, unless you are planning to choose a "fiber" pieces that is made from a more impervious material, such as wire, using textile techniques like weaving or crochet (if that appeals, take a look at Rebecca Medel's work) But if that's not the case, I would advise against pursuing a fiber piece. Textiles are among the most climate sensitive objects in museums and would not be suitable for the environmental conditions you outlined.

------------------------------
Melissa Leventon
Principal
[Curatrix Group]
San Francisco CA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-11-2019 07:05 AM
From: Kathrine Page
Subject: Artworks Needing No Climate Control

Michael,

Aluminum would be a good choice as would fiber arts. If you need suggestions for artists who work using aluminum substrate, I highly recommend Connie Zehr or Debb Vandelinder.


Good luck.

------------------------------
Kathrine Page
The Gretchen Hupfel Curator of Contemporary Art
The Delaware Contemporary
Wilmington, DE

Original Message:
Sent: 10-10-2019 05:40 PM
From: Michael Killackey
Subject: Artworks Needing No Climate Control

Hello All-

I'm working on a project and have been tasked with finding suitable artwork for a private airplane. The craft would that fit the following criteria:

1. The works must weight 50 lbs or less. 
2. The works must have a maximum weight distribution of .1lbs/inch.
3. The works must be able to handle 16g's of force.
4. The works must be able to handle rapid temperature changes. (Climate control will at most times not be activated.) 

The aircraft will go from sub freezing temperatures when idle up to the high 60's in a matter of hours and 105 degrees down to the 60's in the same duration depending on its hangared location. My primary aim is to have no object damaged or destroyed while aboard.

Unpainted aluminum comes to mind immediately. Does anyone out there have any other suggestions outside of "don't put art on airplanes? All advise welcome.

Thank you in advance,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Killackey
Director fo Gallery Operations
Las Vegas NV
------------------------------

Original Message------

Hello All-

I'm working on a project and have been tasked with finding suitable artwork for a private airplane. The craft would that fit the following criteria:

1. The works must weight 50 lbs or less. 
2. The works must have a maximum weight distribution of .1lbs/inch.
3. The works must be able to handle 16g's of force.
4. The works must be able to handle rapid temperature changes. (Climate control will at most times not be activated.) 

The aircraft will go from sub freezing temperatures when idle up to the high 60's in a matter of hours and 105 degrees down to the 60's in the same duration depending on its hangared location. My primary aim is to have no object damaged or destroyed while aboard.

Unpainted aluminum comes to mind immediately. Does anyone out there have any other suggestions outside of "don't put art on airplanes? All advise welcome.

Thank you in advance,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Killackey
Director fo Gallery Operations
Las Vegas NV
------------------------------

Agree with this sentiment. You might want to look into photography printed with the Dye Sublimation process. Basically, it's a way of embedding an image into a durable substrate. Aluminum is a common option, though there are others (including fabrics and tiles). 
It is relatively durable, maintainable, and easily replaceable if/as-needed due to damage. And would open up a very wide range of aesthetic choices as any artist willing to have their work printed in this technique would be an available option.
I don't know the specs, so can't say for sure if it would meet your demanding environmental criteria, or what would happen to any embedded artwork/imagery during cycles of expansion and contraction. But It's probably worth your time to do a little research into it. Chromaluxe is the 800 pound gorilla in terms of manufacturing the aluminum substrates, though they are not the only player. But they might be a good starting point to see if the materials and process are within your performance requirements. If they are, there are many photo labs that can produce work in this technique, inevitably some much better than others. Whatever artists you are acquiring work from may also have a preferred lab for printing.

------------------------------
Brian Mattlin
New York NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-11-2019 11:53 AM
From: Jean-Luc Vincent
Subject: Artworks Needing No Climate Control

Hi,

It sounds to me like a perfect situation for using high quality reproductions which can be replaced if damaged.

'Bye...

Jean-Luc Vincent

Administrateur du Système d'information sur les artefacts

Direction des collections, de la conservation et de la restauration

Direction générale des affaires autochtones et du patrimoine culturel

Parcs Canada, Gouvernement du Canada
2630, chemin Sheffield, Ottawa, Ontario, K1B 3V7
Messages: jean-luc.vincent@canada.ca / Cell. 613-720-4418 / Fax 613-990-6627

 

Artifact Information System Administrator
Collections, Curatorial and Conservation Branch  
Indigenous Affairs and Cultural Heritage Directorate

Parks Canada, Government of Canada
2630 Sheffield Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1B 3V7
Messages: jean-luc.vincent@canada.ca / Cell. 613-720-4418 / Fax 613-990-6627

450 000 km2 de souvenirs / 450 000 km2 of memories

 

 

Original Message------

Hello All-

I'm working on a project and have been tasked with finding suitable artwork for a private airplane. The craft would that fit the following criteria:

1. The works must weight 50 lbs or less. 
2. The works must have a maximum weight distribution of .1lbs/inch.
3. The works must be able to handle 16g's of force.
4. The works must be able to handle rapid temperature changes. (Climate control will at most times not be activated.) 

The aircraft will go from sub freezing temperatures when idle up to the high 60's in a matter of hours and 105 degrees down to the 60's in the same duration depending on its hangared location. My primary aim is to have no object damaged or destroyed while aboard.

Unpainted aluminum comes to mind immediately. Does anyone out there have any other suggestions outside of "don't put art on airplanes? All advise welcome.

Thank you in advance,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Killackey
Director fo Gallery Operations
Las Vegas NV
------------------------------

Unpainted aluminum sounds like a very good idea for relief sculpture. Other metals can probably also take being in a plane if they are inside the plane, repousse work done in copper, silver and brass, for example. These could include metalwork from Mexico and the Taos region, both antique and new. Also, for work that has a strong color element, I have seen sculptures made from colored aluminum wires​. These are very colorful and can be very elaborate and detailed, and the color on this wire doesn't seem to suffer from being in hot, cold, or other inclement conditions.

------------------------------
Valeria Kondratiev
The Frick Collection
New York NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-10-2019 05:40 PM
From: Michael Killackey
Subject: Artworks Needing No Climate Control

Hello All-

I'm working on a project and have been tasked with finding suitable artwork for a private airplane. The craft would that fit the following criteria:

1. The works must weight 50 lbs or less. 
2. The works must have a maximum weight distribution of .1lbs/inch.
3. The works must be able to handle 16g's of force.
4. The works must be able to handle rapid temperature changes. (Climate control will at most times not be activated.) 

The aircraft will go from sub freezing temperatures when idle up to the high 60's in a matter of hours and 105 degrees down to the 60's in the same duration depending on its hangared location. My primary aim is to have no object damaged or destroyed while aboard.

Unpainted aluminum comes to mind immediately. Does anyone out there have any other suggestions outside of "don't put art on airplanes? All advise welcome.

Thank you in advance,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Killackey
Director fo Gallery Operations
Las Vegas NV
------------------------------

You might want to contact Duncan Aviation, located in Lincoln, Nebraska. Their interior designers would have experience with placing art in aircraft.

------------------------------
Susan Kriz MBA
Associate Director
Sheldon Museum of Art University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln NE
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-10-2019 05:40 PM
From: Michael Killackey
Subject: Artworks Needing No Climate Control

Hello All-

I'm working on a project and have been tasked with finding suitable artwork for a private airplane. The craft would that fit the following criteria:

1. The works must weight 50 lbs or less. 
2. The works must have a maximum weight distribution of .1lbs/inch.
3. The works must be able to handle 16g's of force.
4. The works must be able to handle rapid temperature changes. (Climate control will at most times not be activated.) 

The aircraft will go from sub freezing temperatures when idle up to the high 60's in a matter of hours and 105 degrees down to the 60's in the same duration depending on its hangared location. My primary aim is to have no object damaged or destroyed while aboard.

Unpainted aluminum comes to mind immediately. Does anyone out there have any other suggestions outside of "don't put art on airplanes? All advise welcome.

Thank you in advance,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Killackey
Director fo Gallery Operations
Las Vegas NV
------------------------------

Hi Michael, There is also the unconventional option of sound-based art or video. This would definitely meet the criteria :) It has the advantage of requiring a staging of equipment, some of which could be repurposed when the art experience is desired to be turned off. I was once on a yacht where they had installed a 30+ channel Meyer Sound system (!) and commissioned new sound installations for it- an incredible project and a unique place to experience art, as would be your plane. Planes have characteristic noise, but this could be an interesting limitation.

------------------------------
Micah Silver
Principal
Polytope Agency
Audio Scenography
Los Angeles - Basel
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-10-2019 05:40 PM
From: Michael Killackey
Subject: Artworks Needing No Climate Control

Hello All-

I'm working on a project and have been tasked with finding suitable artwork for a private airplane. The craft would that fit the following criteria:

1. The works must weight 50 lbs or less. 
2. The works must have a maximum weight distribution of .1lbs/inch.
3. The works must be able to handle 16g's of force.
4. The works must be able to handle rapid temperature changes. (Climate control will at most times not be activated.) 

The aircraft will go from sub freezing temperatures when idle up to the high 60's in a matter of hours and 105 degrees down to the 60's in the same duration depending on its hangared location. My primary aim is to have no object damaged or destroyed while aboard.

Unpainted aluminum comes to mind immediately. Does anyone out there have any other suggestions outside of "don't put art on airplanes? All advise welcome.

Thank you in advance,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Killackey
Director fo Gallery Operations
Las Vegas NV
------------------------------

Original Message------

Hi Michael, There is also the unconventional option of sound-based art or video. This would definitely meet the criteria :) It has the advantage of requiring a staging of equipment, some of which could be repurposed when the art experience is desired to be turned off. I was once on a yacht where they had installed a 30+ channel Meyer Sound system (!) and commissioned new sound installations for it- an incredible project and a unique place to experience art, as would be your plane. Planes have characteristic noise, but this could be an interesting limitation.

------------------------------
Micah Silver
Principal
Polytope Agency
Audio Scenography
Los Angeles - Basel
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-10-2019 05:40 PM
From: Michael Killackey
Subject: Artworks Needing No Climate Control

Hello All-

I'm working on a project and have been tasked with finding suitable artwork for a private airplane. The craft would that fit the following criteria:

1. The works must weight 50 lbs or less. 
2. The works must have a maximum weight distribution of .1lbs/inch.
3. The works must be able to handle 16g's of force.
4. The works must be able to handle rapid temperature changes. (Climate control will at most times not be activated.) 

The aircraft will go from sub freezing temperatures when idle up to the high 60's in a matter of hours and 105 degrees down to the 60's in the same duration depending on its hangared location. My primary aim is to have no object damaged or destroyed while aboard.

Unpainted aluminum comes to mind immediately. Does anyone out there have any other suggestions outside of "don't put art on airplanes? All advise welcome.

Thank you in advance,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Killackey
Director fo Gallery Operations
Las Vegas NV
------------------------------

Greetings Michael - As a long-time conservator, I've made recommendations to similar challenges. This is definitely not a preservation environment so a work that the artist considers ephemeral to begin with might be an appropriate approach to start with. 16G's of shock seem a little extreme - that's fighter aircraft territory! Still, small plane shocks tend to be larger upon landing and in unstable air and the transmitted power vibration frequencies in an aircraft are from 200 Hz to 400 Hz. So glass and ceramics are out as options. Stone such as granite and marble can withstand most of the conditions you are reporting, as they do in architecture. But mass multiplied by velocity equals momentum and the last thing you want flying around an aircraft in a turbulent event is a chunk of stone. Aluminum actually has relatively large thermal expansion coefficient and while it can take those extremes with little fatigue, if there is a design layer such as paint on that surface, the design media interface with a less flexible material is likely to suffer quickly. The low temperatures mean that a graphic work with a low glass transition temperature like paint will lose adhesion from a paper or paper-like substrate. But a graphic work might be suggested here, particularly if the media - say printing inks or high-key exterior sign-graphic inks on a honeycomb paper panel - are consistent with exterior signage or architectural materials. Small works on paper that are blind hinged with sliding-japanese paper tab hinges that pass through a slot in the backing mat and appropriately framed might work is this stress-inducing setting because, while even a small-scale paper substrate of the art will move a lot, the sliding blind tab hinges are strong and thin and will accommodate a great deal f movement. If a framed object, micro-climate framing with a great deal of humidity and thermal mass buffer using Optium acrylic glazing should help prevent condensation on the inside from rapid cooling. Digital screen works with exterior signage components might also work. Bas-relief panels in steel, copper, bronze and their alloys do well in cold and dry conditions and shock and vibration would not be an issue. While a historic or ancient textile would not be appropriate, a contemporary work made of synthetic fibers, yarns or fabrics that is not overly stretched or restrained on its mount might work well. Think of passenger seats and bulk-head fabric panels in commercial passenger aircraft. But remember, those materials do get replaced on a regular basis! The art may require the same kind of schedule.

------------------------------
Dale Kronkright
Head of Conservation
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
Santa Fe NM
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-10-2019 05:40 PM
From: Michael Killackey
Subject: Artworks Needing No Climate Control

Hello All-

I'm working on a project and have been tasked with finding suitable artwork for a private airplane. The craft would that fit the following criteria:

1. The works must weight 50 lbs or less. 
2. The works must have a maximum weight distribution of .1lbs/inch.
3. The works must be able to handle 16g's of force.
4. The works must be able to handle rapid temperature changes. (Climate control will at most times not be activated.) 

The aircraft will go from sub freezing temperatures when idle up to the high 60's in a matter of hours and 105 degrees down to the 60's in the same duration depending on its hangared location. My primary aim is to have no object damaged or destroyed while aboard.

Unpainted aluminum comes to mind immediately. Does anyone out there have any other suggestions outside of "don't put art on airplanes? All advise welcome.

Thank you in advance,
Mike

------------------------------
Michael Killackey
Director fo Gallery Operations
Las Vegas NV
------------------------------