Construction method of Glass box / case ?

[DreamKeepers]

I realise it may not be every framer's cup of tea, but for any of you interested, a lot of framers buy ready made acrylic cases from us.
We have a standard range, but also different formats for bespoke projects, and can manufacture to your exact drawings / requirements if needed.
We can make them with any thickness of acrylic and museum grade is available.
Some examples here:

http://www.dreamkeepers.co.uk/index.php ... ry&path=77

[A3DFramer]

I might not have posted this, but for a chance meeting with an old school mate yesterday. My old school friend is a professional artist and runs residential teaching courses on painting in mid-Wales at his home, where I stumbled on him exploring an out of the way footpath. During a guided tour of gallery and studios I spotted a piece 3D artwork, it was unique and good, it had intriguing form and intellectual integrity, and it was cased.

It was not in a display case, the case was an integral part of the art. Does this make case making a framing technique? This leads me to offer a word of caution, the previous poster offers the acrylic cover as an alternative to the glass cover, which was the subject of the OP's original post and therefor opens the question, is it a like for like substitute.

If I were a bespoke framer today I would ask myself, 'am I my business' advocate or am I my customer's advocate'. If I am to recommend a third party product, then surely in my own interest I must be my customers advocate, and I need to point out that acrylic/glass is not a like for like substitute.

My word of warning is as a case maker I met many customers, both frustrated and even offended by their Picture Framer, who had tried to fob them of with a substitute that they did not meet their expectations.

Sadly I do not think that the craft of framing, as separate from Picture Framing, has the skills to take non durable 3D artwork into the gallery, let alone offer clients a sufficiently wide choice of products for so that both glass and acrylic can be chosen on their individual merits.

[Roboframer]

Does this make case making a framing technique?

No, case making is case making; framing is framing and cabinet making, which could include a glass front, but probably not sides, is cabinet making! I have a very nice solid oak cabinet with a bowed glass front - wouldn't want to know about making that, not even a little bit - a totally different world.

Our framing 'trade body' does not only not cover case making, it does not even have the word 'frame' (or framing/framers etc) in its title. Is there a trade body for case-makers? If not I have a suggestion for one, the "Fine Three-Dimensional-Art Trade Guild" - that says about as much about case making as "Fine Art Trade Guild" says about framing!

Sadly I do not think that the craft of framing, as separate from Picture Framing, has the skills to take non durable 3D artwork into the gallery,

I frame plenty of 3D stuff - many do, you couldn't walk around it and see it from all sides though, or from above but we have that option with acrylic display cases made to order or we could have a stab ourselves if we really wanted to, with glass or acrylic; most (me included) don't want to though!

[IFGL]

with regards to you can't see it from all sided, I have framed 3d objects with mirrored backs and left enough space around the object to allow plenty of light in and allow you to see the sides.

this gives you a feeling that the frame is much deeper than it really is, let's you see the back and in my opinion looks better than any case I have seen.

[Roboframer]

Nice, but it's still not something you can walk around and actually see the whole thing from all sides, including from above, just as it would be if it was not encased. Display case-making is not framing, it's something a framer could do/adapt to, if s/he wanted to but most would buy something in and most of those "most" would probably be looking at an acrylic box, as per dreamkeepers.

[Roboframer]

museum grade is available

What's your definition of that, UV filtering?

[A3DFramer]

Ah! I stand corrected but not entirely convinced. Some years ago I had the opportunity to discuss with a member of the General Framing Council, whose experience and business spanned several generations, his reasons for the framer's professional body not having a policy or protocols for transparent covers and the case as a framers tool did not include such cut and dried ideology, in fact the reason that the framers trade body does not recognise this area of framing was more to do with administration and finance or was 10 years ago. Of course it could now be political, the manufactures of mountcard would prefer the framer to be dependent on techniques that do not give the end user a greater choice.

Roboframer's bow fronted oak cabinet is no doubt a display case, this I would not dispute. The bow fronted cases dating from the mid 19th century that that are an integral part of the work of J.Cooper and Sons that sell in Fine Art Auctions are in my opinion framing, because they cannot be separated from the artwork they house. The principles of construction that have given them the strength to survive over many years could well apply to some of the jobs that today's framer runs across.

There does seem to be a growth in 'other media' art work, when I started framing there was a snobbery about 3D artwork that was non-durable, that has been mitigated by time and perhaps the construction methods of Roland Ward, Spicer of Leomington Spar, Murray of Carnforth, J. Hutchins of Aberystwyth could help today's framer. They were respected other media artists of past generations, their work sells in Fine Art Auctions, where they will not be described as 'in a display case' as each of their styles are recognisable by their unique method of framing.

[DreamKeepers]

@Roboframer

Museum grade is acrylic with special treatment that filters between 98 and 99% of UV rays (depending on the manufacturer). It's still not recommended to display an item in direct sunlight, but it helps a great deal.