Pictures of preparators

[T. Ashley McGrew]

Thought i would post a picture from the Dallas Museum of Art's blog (http://uncrated.wordpress.com/category/behind-the-scenes/page/5/).

I searched high and low to find a picture that is representative of the average preparator.

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I was successful in finding instead, a picture of the average preparators view of himself and also the possible start of a new fund raising tool - PACCIN's Preparators Calendar for 2012.

[JasonO]

How about this from the art handling olympics?

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[blakenoah]

think i figured it out. here is my second attempt at posting a photo. (i can get more done with a pencil, tape measure and level than i can with a computer...i promise)

2008: had to clear space in my shop. which meant whittling down my crate collection. i donated these to a non-for-profit in town, they turned them into storage and a work table.

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[T. Ashley McGrew]

Hey Blake,
Here are some instructions I sent to someone recently to start a new thread to post images. In this case just click on "reply" below this image and you will see the features described.
************************************************** *****************
So ... click on that topic on the Forum page.
Then click on the "Post New Thread" button.
After filling in the title you can type words as needed.
To post images go to the "insert images" button (has a tree on it) next to the envelope symbol.
When you click that you will get the choice to upload from a web page or your computer (will include external hard drives, thumb drives etc).
I always use my computer because if it is going on the site I have it saved somewhere anyway.
It will show where to "select files" at the bottom.
when you click this button you will get a window that will let you browse to find the image you want.
When you select the file and click "Open" it will show up listed in the previous box.
Click "upload file(s)" and they show up in your post.
It sounds more complex than it is actually.

Once the images are in the post you can set the size and location by rolling your cursor over the image and clicking on the pencil that pops up in the upper left corner.

Thanks so much for the contribution!
Best regards,

Ashley

[T. Ashley McGrew]

Okay so I started this thread in humorous vein but... what the heck - this classic image comes from the first ever PACIN Preparators Conference held in Williamstown in 2009 at the BBQ dinner held at the Williamstown Conservation Centers facility and it features a couple of Prep legends. On the right find Jack Carr who, based out of Boston MA lead the crating department of the original juggernaut art services company - Fine Arts Express and now fulfills that role for Artex FAS.
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On the left we find Kevin Marshall someone not much older than I, but who never the less, I knew of by reputation long, long before ever meeting him. Originally part of FAE based in Texas he went on to work for the J. Paul Getty Museum heading up its major move project while working under the institutions legendary Bruce Metro and who after Bruces retirement now heads the Getty's 24 member Preparation department.
Mike Nixon working first at Artex, and more recently for SurroundArt once suggested that the profession should have trading cards. If we did Kevin Marshall, Jack Carr, and the illusive Bruce Metro would all be among the most collectable of them all. Hopefully we can nab a picture of Bruce Metro and a few other legends to include in this thread along with the rest of us work-a-day type folks in the future.
Cheers,

Ashley

[blakenoah]

so i figured out how to edit my post and add a photo. then i realized that this thread is for photographs of preparators, not work trucks stuffed with crates that have a total value triple of the truck.

then i dug back through my work photo's and found too many photos of goofing off. i'm going to guess we all have plenty of photos in that vein, i thought i'd post a photo that captures the essence of the 'behind-the-scenes' type of work we do.

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[T. Ashley McGrew]

A picture of another preparator on the site here already.
http://www.paccin.org/showthread.php?353-Hi-all&p=882#post882
Hope we can put more pictures here. I would love to have one of me on a lift in the lobby of the IBM building in NYC. I remember thinking as I crimped the aircraft cable suspending an impressively large Calder Mobile suspended above all of those people that would be walking below that we have insane levels of responsibility in the work we do!
I remember at that point that I was just happy that the client (Calder Foundation) specifically requested that I should be in charge on-site for this particular install while working for Artex-FAS/NYC. Who doesn't like to be wanted? They also had a favorite packer. I think that she is now head of crating for Artex NYC.
Soapbox moment - The quality of the work results from the qualitiy of the individual and the best companies (Museums too) develop and keep the very best individuals. That's how it works. Anyone who tells you otherwise is blowing smoke.

Ash

[cockerham]

I thought this an appropriate image for the thread. It has been to outer space....but still needs a crate here on earth.
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[blakenoah]

Could you give some info on this image? It's great. I'm always interested in hearing about non-art objects that need bespoke crates. If you have any more images, please put them up!

[Gallagher]

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Getting the mock-up on the hill in preparation to rigging the real thing into place; Pat and James from PMA.

[T. Ashley McGrew]

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The Prep crew at the St. Louis Art Museum. See article "LONDON CALLING" (http://www.paccin.org/content.php?237-Interview-With-Mark-Slattery) for names to match faces.

[blakenoah]

A friend sent me this website this morning.

http://installator.tumblr.com/

[T. Ashley McGrew]

Kind of the ultimate in "pictures of Preparators" I would say.

[blakenoah]

It's a Mother Lode.

[Mark Wamaling]

Wendy Hesslink from Artex deinstalling Calder sculpture at the Pitssburgh Airport a couple of years ago.
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[T. Ashley McGrew]

It's an itty bitty one I see.

[Mark Wamaling]

I tried to make the photo larger but lack the means. Small shot for a large project! The crew had to do the work after hours when the airport was closed in order to deinstall and pack the sections into their crates. They were done and on their way home by dawn.

[T. Ashley McGrew]

No, no, not saying the photo was small - just joking about that being one honkin' big Calder! I hung one in the lobby of the IBM building in NYC once upon a time (I was working for a highly reputable company based out of DC at the time - you may be familiar with it) but this picture makes me feel oddly inadequate by comparison! Thanks for representing one of the outstanding female preps in the biz (Hi Wendy!).