Dallas Museum of Art Uncrated

Be sure to stop by the DMA by Sunday, January 12, for a last look at Jim Hodges: Give More Than You Take. which we were excited to co-organize with the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and to premiere in Dallas. Starting bright and early on January 13, DMA staff will begin packing the artworks in preparation for shipping the exhibition to Minnesota . These photos showcase the careful packing methods needed for such fragile and unusual materials.

Jim Hodges, Anymore, 2010, handmade paper and cast paper with Beva adhesive, Lillian and Billy Mauer

Anymore is pinned into place to prevent movement during transit, and then padded with Tyvek-covered bolsters and archival (acid-free) tissue paper.

Jim Hodges, Untitled (bells), 2002, blown glass in 18 parts, Pizzuti Collection

Each of the glass bells is wrapped in Tyvek and surrounded with custom-cut foam collars that fit snugly around the piece.

Jim Hodges, Untitled, 2011, mirror on canvas, Penny Pritzker and Bryan Traubert

The black mirror Untitled hung high on the back wall of the Barrel Vault comes apart into five pieces; each is screwed into the back of a travel frame so that it “floats” and nothing touches its
fragile edges.

Jim Hodges, Changing Things, 1997, silk, plastic, and wire, Dallas Museum of Art, Mary Margaret Munson Wilcox Fund and gift of Catherine and Will Rose, Howard Rachofsky, Christopher Drew and Alexandra May, and Martin Posner and Robyn Menter-Posner

Each of the 342 pieces of the DMA’s own Changing Things artwork is pinned into its numbered spot onto a foam tray inside archival blue-board boxes. The numbers correspond to labeled holes on the plastic template that hangs on the wall for installation.

Jim Hodges, the dark gate, 2008, wood, steel, electric light, perfume, paint, and flooring, Private Collection

The many custom bolts that attach the sides, ceiling, and floor panels of the dark gate room are neatly inserted in parallel rows inside their crate.

Jim Hodges, Untitled (Gate), 1991, steel, aluminum, copper, brass, paint, and electric lighting, Collection of the artist

Eleven strips of twill are drilled into the foam backing of Untitled (Gate)’s crate to secure the chains for travel; the charms that hang in the center of the web are further protected by a Tyvek-covered foam sheet.

Jim Hodges, on the way between places, Nos. 8-21, 2009, charcoal and saliva on paper, Collection of the artist

Due to charcoal’s fragile “friable” (the tendency to flake) nature, it is best that the medium travels flat. These 14 pieces in the series from the artist’s collection are each wrapped and ride inside a
foam slot.

Jim Hodges, With the Wind, 1997, scarves and thread, Collection Glenn and Amanda Fuhrman NY, Courtesy The FLAG Art Foundation

To minimize the possibility of wrinkles and protect the fibers of the artwork, With the Wind is wrapped in tissue and rolled around a tube.

Reagan Duplisea is the associate registrar, exhibitions at the DMA.