The Set Up For Dutiful Citizen

No matter how many times you set up a show or install artwork, the process is always fraught with challenges.  The set up and logistics for Dutiful Citizen were no exception.

Making the work is only the first step.  Finding a venue in which to display the work is the second step.  Getting it there is the third....

Here are a couple shots of my good friend's moving truck loaded with the Dutiful Citizen bounty.

Once we got the pieces to the Maquoketa Art Experience, it was time to spread them out and begin to assemble the frames.....

...lay out the ceramic debris.....

....and start constructing the installation.

It's good to have a plan, or even plans, but in the end, something will invariably pop up that will render the plan obsolete.  If you can't improvise, life can become a headache really fast.

My wall pieces are generally heavy for works hung on the wall.  The carved wood frames, cement textures, and size make them pretty beefy.

The difficulty I encountered while hanging Dutiful Citizen was that my pieces would pull the screws out of the wall.  Bad news all the way around.

So to circumnavigate that problem, I built a bunch of 'shelves' for my pieces to 'sit' on.  They look like this.

Once I made enough shelves for my pieces (at least two per piece), all I had to do was figure out how high I wanted to hang a piece.  Then I measured down 1 3/4" from that height, and used a laser level to lay out a couple of strips of blue 'painters' tape along the 'level line'.

I hung the shelves so the top edge of the shelf was level with the top edge of the blue painters' tape.  Now I have two shelves that are level to each other and attached to the wall with five screws each (for more stability, or for a heavier piece of artwork, I would attach the upright board of the shelf to a wall stud behind the drywall (an electronic 'stud finder' would be necessary for that).

Once the shelves were in place, all I had to do was set the inside stretcher bar down on the shelves (which I know are level) and secure the piece to the shelves using a couple of screws.  Once a piece is secured to the shelves which are screwed to the walls, it is highly unlikely it will accidentally come off of the wall.

Then repeat that process until everything is hung.....

In the image above is the finished version of Transaction.  Here is a link to a previous post showing how it changed/evolved before Dutiful Citizen.

The Transitive Property of Yesterday made its debut at Dutiful Citizen.

Always a warm spot in my heart for Mr. Falcon Finds A Stranger In The Alps.....

A detail shot of Trojan Horse.

Tower Of Babel surrounded by debris and a stick-construction.

Dutiful Citizen is at the Maquoketa Art Experience through Saturday June 1st.  Check out the Maquoketa Art Experience!

Signs and Buildings. Buildings and Signs.

As things unfolded, and as other things outright unraveled, I decided to increase the robusticity (a derivative of robusto, so just cool your jets) of the installation for Dutiful Citizen.  That basically meant I had to go into overdrive to finish what buildings and signs I have started (for a different show/project) in time for the show.

The studio, which could rarely be described as being clean, looked like the staging area for some kind of D-Day invasion if Dr. Seuss was the five-star general in charge.

A pretty straight forward process really.  I build the shells out of cardboard.  Cover the outside with fabric. Paint the fabric to stiffen it up.  Fill the insides with expanding spray foam. Jam a stick into the foam while it is still goey/sticky (and boy is it sticky....). Do a little extra fabric work to secure the stick(s), and then finish the surface (either with paint and/or Spackle and paint).

Here are some buildings at the: 'fill-with-foam-and-jam-a-stick-into-them-stage' (highly technical stuff).

After a couple of primed layers, it's time to add a dark base color.

The signs receive the same treatment.

They are 'finished off' with a thinly applied coat of gray paint which shows off the texture of all of the bricks, and fabric used to make the building.

Here are a few shots from Dutiful Citizen.....

...Some of the stick structure in front of Domain....

...Buildings, Signs, the sculpture Trojan Horse, and the wall pieces Swan Dive Bomber, and Tower Of Janus in the background....

...Part of Trojan Horse and a sign in front of Mr. Falcon Finds A Stranger In The Alps....

...The masks on top of Trojan Horse in the foreground with Carnival peeking out from behind....

...A staircase leading to the newest piece in Dutiful Citizen, The Transitive Property Of Yesterday...

...And the Man.  Chuck Morris.  Should I say 'Jute Master Chuck'?  'Jute Master C'?  This guy spent nearly 10 hours (not a typo) binding all of the joints with Jute.  I must give a profound and heart-felt 'thank you' to Chuck Morris for all of his help in setting-up Dutiful Citizen.  I am pleased to also thank Wayne Frantzen, and Steve Saller for all of their tireless help in making this show happen.  Thank you, gentlemen.

Next time we'll take a behind-the-scenes peek at what it took to hang my painted constructions.