God said, "Let There Be Light!"
Without it there would be no art. No pretty colors. Nothing. Light is
one of Gods most precious gifts, for everything that we see is because
we have light. It is ironic that light is also one of the most destruction
forces that will ever befall the works of art hanging on walls.
( The above beautiful picture is a small detail of "Autumn
Visitors" by Jim Hansel.
Sunlight is composed of more than just one kind of light
ray. There are color rays that are seen and also many unseen rays such
as ultraviolet rays. Ultraviolet rays can give a beautiful suntan, or
cause a bad skin burn. These are the same rays that turn beautiful works
of art into yellowed, brown, brittle worthless pieces of paper. These
rays can turn 100-hour needlework projects into ruined, faded pieces
of cloth.
The damaging effects of the suns rays usually aren’t
quickly apparent. Like sneaky culprits the damage is done little by
little over a period of time. It can go completely unnoticed until one
day it is discovered that the artwork, "looks faded". The
damage is completely irreversible and cannot be repaired. Like on Star
Trek, the wonderful colors in the art get slowly transported away never
to be seen again.You would think that this would spell certain doom
for all art but no this is not to be. Much progress has been made in
the last few years to develop fade resistant inks and stains in the
art that is published. These inks are very good and most of the fine
lithographs produced today use them. Many of these prints are perfectly
suitable to have framed using premium clear glass. Especially in the
case of "Open Edition Prints" that are almost always replaceable.
For more valuable works of art everyone should use "Conservation
Glass". This glass blocks out 97 percent of the ultraviolet rays.
This is the single best thing that can be done to protect beautiful
art from fading. This glass is available in clear or reflection control.
It is somewhat more expensive than premium clear glass.
It is up to the owner of the art to decide what is valuable
enough to warrant using this glass. Most would not bother to use conservation
control glass on a thirty dollar print. At Grignon’s Art and Frame,
we always recommend it for valuable limited edition prints and other
irreplaceable works of art. For example, many women will spend over
100 hours on a piece of beautiful needlepoint. That should be custom-framed
using conservation control glass.Another example, children’s baby
pictures might want to be framed using conservation control glass. There
are many valuable artifacts that should be custom framed using this
glass.
How To Preserve Art
Hang artwork in places that have subdued lighting, not
in places where sunlight falls upon it. Use incandescent lighting to
light your artwork. Custom picture framers sell individual picture lights
to light art. These work great and many of the newer models have dimmer
switches with adjustable lighting.
Don’t hang art in rooms that are flooded with florescent
lights. Florescent lights give off almost as much ultraviolet light
as the sun. In fact, because many rooms are lighted longer with florescent
light than sunlight, the damage can be done sooner using florescent
lights. Most galleries use halogen flood lights on track lighting.One
of the best things that can be done for art is to "rest" it.
By this I mean hanging the art for six months or a year then putting
this art into dark storage for several months. This has many advantages.
It really does make any art last LOTS longer. Most museums use this
technique. It also allows the art to keep that fresh new feeling in
mind. Works of art should not be hung on walls long enough for people
to get bored with them!
Another advantage with this technique is that it allows
the retailer to hang more art then there is actual space for. By continuously
rotating the art this way, you are not only preserving the art, but
also continuously making the decor look more fresh and "alive".
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