Presentation of Prints and their Framing

[GeoffWessex]

This should be the right place to ask the question.....

Our Photo Club has an annual exhibition in the local library - we had a little over 100 people in the for opening night and it's on for the month.

A local well-respected member of the arts community (who also dabbles in photography) called in, on her own, and has mentioned, in an email, that she enjoyed the show but said that "If I had to choose a general weakness of the show, it would be either 'under' or 'inappropriate' presentation". She didn't explain further, but I believe she's referring to frames and mattes. I don't always agree with her comments when she occasionally comes along to, as I see it, pontificate on our work but..... maybe she has a point.

I don't think we have a member who is trained in graphics etc so I'd like to find a good reference - preferably online - that I can use to pass on to members. I must say, when I choose frames and mattes, I stick to the simplest I can find, usually in black. But maybe there's some full guidance out there somewhere?

Geoff

[Cathus]

We have a similar event, we'll be choosing photos for our display (abt 120) in a couple of weeks.

Ours are all unframed but they are submitted within a 500mm x 400mm matte. They have velro attached to the rear of the matte & get stuck on the wall as is.
I think we'd be hard pressed to fund 120 frames with club funds.

[GeoffWessex]

Understood, Cathus.... we started with 225 prints, which were 'juried' down to 84... so I think the quality was there. We make sure that every member who submits - up to a maximum of six - has at least one image selected, so maybe a couple of images by beginners weren't really up to scratch but we have to encourage all the members.

It's the framing/matting thing, though. Members must provide (and assemble) their own frames and mattes. One very surprising thing I found in Canada was that photo frames seem to be on sale in so many shops and we can usually shop around to find bargains. (Providing frames for the members, thankfully, never entered into it! Even at bargain prices we'd still be looking at around $1600 - around 1000 pounds).

Maybe that's the problem.... without much guidance, members do their own thing and, while most stick with plain frames, some go a little 'over the top' and some of the matting didn't look quite right in terms of colour/tone.

So I'm looking for, basically, some aesthetic advice about those aspects that I can pass on.

[Cathus]

your setup seems very similar to ours in terms of image selection.

Getting everyone to frame their own shots sounds like a nightmare. We just make sure everyone mounts their shot in a 500 x 400mm matte either black or white & have consistency without the frames.

[GeoffWessex]

Well that's certainly a thought..... the only snag I see in our case is that the exhibition is in a public place (a large room in the city library). It's tucked away on the first floor, so it's not like any Tom, Rick or Harry can walk in and damage anything, but - if not framed - wouldn't they be a bit vulnerable if they're just in a matte?

The 500mm x 400mm..... (about 20"x16") ..... that's the outside dimensions, I assume. The cut-outs would presumably be 14" x 11" (approx. 360mm x 280mm), with room to manoeuvre for different crops?

I suppose we could just say, "they've got to be in black frames, the thinner the better", as that seems fairly standard gallery thing (though I understand that white frames are becoming popular). That would simplify things. If we also said - "mattes may be black or white - nothing else" that would be another.

Food for thought - perhaps I'll just get back to that 'critic' we had and ask her to clarify what she meant.

Cheers!

[ABERS]

Everybody seems to be having their annual club exhibition around the same time, ours takes place over a fortnight around Easter.

It takes place in a large building that was once a church and reconstituted into an arts centre, so we are not restricted for room, and consequently no selection is made. Everyone who wants to display their work is alloted a space that can take six 40X50 mattes, althoght that number is not a condition of entry, you can have one picture or perhaps a dozen. These can be in frames or not, according to the members' choice ( and pocket I suppose).

As to the colour of mattes that is left to the individual member, as it is seen as part of the overall presentation of that member's work, to insist on a universal colour would impinge on the photographers' presentational skill.

I have to say from previous exhibitions and work seen throughout the year most people nowadays opt for a white through to a pale cream mount so we don't get a great clash of colours. Black is very rarely seen, unless someone has been under the bed to drag out something especially for the exhibition.

Framed prints do suffer from light reflections in the venue if the lighting is not adjustable, and that can be a drawback, as I know to my ccost last year!

[GeoffWessex]

Thanks ABERS... that's certainly a different setup and marvellous to have all the room you want. One of the 'problems' here is that, as a small but very culture-aware city, the 'downtown' area has around five professional galleries and another half-dozen 'available walls' in restaurants etc. so presentation is almost a competitive thing.

Our show is in January this year (and next) for the simple reason that somebody forgot to book our normal April in time! There are so many arty groups that want the room! (And I wouldn't be surprised if a little chicanery had gone on).

We had a search for other venues but the big advantage is that, tucked away in a Library, we don't need to have it attended while it's open. It's also well-lit with gallery-standard lighting, has a little platform/stage and a sound system.

While I agree that mattes should be the member's choice, some of them did come up with some odd colours - and frames. Personally, I quite liked the way the show looked but when we get criticism from somebody I know is a graphic arts teacher there must be something to learn!

[Cathus]

Geoff, we don't stipulate a print size, just the matte. My prints are 15" x 10" others are bigger, some do A4.

We've never had a problem with any damage & they are just velcroed to the wall. The display place is a gallery within our museum, I guess the sort of people who visit aren't the sort who would think about causing problems.

Unfortunately, the council are closing the museum this year to save money, so it will be our last exhibition at these premises (we've been going 90 years). Not sure where we'll go next year.

[GeoffWessex]

Sorry to hear that Cathus. Our location in the City Library is perfect (though with the growth of the club it would be good to be able to display twice as many pictures). It's just that the time of year isn't so good.

While casting our net for a new venue, several possibilities came up but they'd all have needed some kind of safeguarding - considering the prints are also for sale, even the not-so-good images are actually worth something in frames! Some members spend a lot of money on the whole print production and then put prices on them that would make some famous professional photographers blush! So if you found some premises it may be worthwhile reducing the opening hours and asking a member to attend to them for a few hours at a time.