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.
Anymore is pinned into place to prevent movement during transit, and then padded with Tyvek-covered bolsters and archival (acid-free) tissue paper.
Each of the glass bells is wrapped in Tyvek and surrounded with custom-cut foam collars that fit snugly around the piece.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.