Photography in storage areas

Sarah Hillary <sarah.hillary [at] aucklandcity__govt__nz> writes

>I would be very interested to know whether other institutions carry
>out photography in their storage areas or not.

At the Guildhall Art Gallery in London we are also forced to use our
picture store for photography, trying to reserve a clear area beyond
the racks for this purpose.  It is not ideal, but it is the only
space large enough to photograph some of our biggest paintings.  We
(or rather, I--paintings conservators have many uses) painted the
wall behind the easel with blackboard paint to give a uniform, matte
background (you may have to consider the effect of solvent fumes
from the paint on anything/anyone in there while this is being
carried out).  The fire risk is controlled by the photographic
lights always being unplugged after use and never being left
unattended when switched on.  If the storage space is small and the
tungsten lights are being used for prolonged periods you may have to
think about the effect of the heat on the environment in the store.
The easel we use is permanently in position to try to ensure that no
works of art are kept anywhere near it and it is always available. I
think that if your store does not have a clear space you can reserve
as the photographic area there will always be a danger of accidental
damage to nearby artworks with trailing flexes tripods and other
tripping hazards being involved, but you may, like us, have no
choice.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 16:21
               Distributed: Thursday, September 19, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-16-21-006
                                  ***