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Old 7th April 2011, 12:33 PM
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Miha Miha is offline
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Default mounting/framing...why

Why do we mount our photographs, frame them, put them them on walls...so that they end up as nice pieces of furniture? Photos are not paintings after all.

Is there an alternative way to present them without matting and cowering them with glass (why glass?!).

I like to fondle photographs in my hand, look at the up close, look at them at an angle, look at the surface,...not possible when photos are encapsulated and hung.

Well, I'm thinking out loud here, so forgive my writing haste.
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Old 7th April 2011, 01:26 PM
Neil Smith Neil Smith is offline
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Most photographers have more prints in storage than mounted, ranging from piles in cardboard boxes, stuck in albums to stored in archival boxes/folios.

I can't imagine anybody having a large percentage of their work mounted and displayed at any one time.

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Old 7th April 2011, 01:39 PM
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But I'm only interested in the mounted ones. Why do we (or think we should) mount our best photograps?? - or as I wrote in my opening post - encapsulate them?
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Old 7th April 2011, 01:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Miha View Post
Why do we mount our photographs, frame them, put them them on walls...

I like to fondle photographs in my hand, look at the up close, look at them at an angle, look at the surface,...not possible when photos are encapsulated and hung.
Mounting and framing photographs facilitates their display and is also for their protection. "Fondling" does not help a print last very long.

Seriously, as opposed to a gallery situation, would you rather 100 people handled (and breathed on and sneezed on) your prints?
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Old 7th April 2011, 02:01 PM
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I have never seen a painting protected by an overmat or glass (apart from Mona Lisa in Louvre). What are we afraid of?
And what purpose does a frame serve?
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Old 7th April 2011, 02:10 PM
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This is how the famous Stieichen's Family of man exhibition looks like in Clervaux. The feeling to it is very "photographic":


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Old 7th April 2011, 03:12 PM
Dave miller Dave miller is offline
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The normal reason to display prints behind glass is to protect them from destructive elements such as excessive humidity, dust and pollution. Oil paintings are less susceptible to moisture damage whilst watercolour work is generally also displayed behind glass.
The use of a glazed frame allows the photograph to be easily viewed and hopefully enjoyed by those primarily interested in the image rather than the medium. We currently have around 50 photographs displayed in glazed frames in our home which our visitors are free to admire or ignore at will. We have however found that to do provide a (sometimes) useful stimulus to conversation. Any photographic aficionados that call are always welcome to burrow through boxes of prints should they feel the need for closer tactile contact, at least with my work.
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Old 7th April 2011, 03:33 PM
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I think this touches on the debate about the nature of a photograph. Is it an image that can be reproduced and used in many different ways, or is it a crafted 'thing'. It can be both of course, and I suppose we choose to accept what we're comfortable with.
I like to look at the 'thing' in my hands and appreciate its many facets, one of which is the image. I like them on the wall behind glass too, but then its more about what it looks like from a good viewing distance....
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Old 7th April 2011, 03:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xpres View Post
I think this touches on the debate about the nature of a photograph. Is it an image that can be reproduced and used in many different ways, or is it a crafted 'thing'. It can be both of course, and I suppose we choose to accept what we're comfortable with.
This is a very interesting point that, I think, started with the famous Gallery 291 that was managed and curated by Alfred Stieglitz. It was the first recognized place where photographs were presented as art. The established practice of the gallery was to matt the photographs with white borders for the first time.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...White-1906.jpg
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Old 7th April 2011, 03:56 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave View Post
The normal reason to display prints behind glass is to protect them from destructive elements such as excessive humidity, dust and pollution. Oil paintings are less susceptible to moisture damage whilst watercolour work is generally also displayed behind glass.
Dave, I can understand that view, but I'm somehow disappointed to see so many photo exhibitions that look alike - white mats, black borders

I was pleasantly surprised last year when visited our Museum of modern art to see an exhibition my Milan Pajk (http://www.mg-lj.si/node/715) where the photos were simply "put" on the walls.

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