Everyone is looking to trim costs these days, including people and institutions who store artworks. Self or “u-store” facilities, with advertised rates as low as low as $50-$75 per month for a “small” storage unit, are attractive. Rates vary from city to city, and within facilities depending upon “perks” like proximity to elevators, air conditioning, first floor, roll up door, etc.  Some offer free use of a truck on move in, and others discount boxes and packing materials.

Many customers are surprised to find, however, that storing art with a fine art company such as ours can be a cost effective alternative to self storage, and overall is more suitable for secure storage of art and other valuables.

A quick comparison:

SELF STORAGE                                                                           FINE ART STORAGE

-part month occupancy bills as full month                          - weekly pro-ration

-pay for entire unit, including wasted space                      – pay only for volume of items stored

-no insurance available                                                         -  insures into the millions

-no or few related services                                                    - full service art handling

-no racks or shelving provided                                               - customized for art storage

 -most will not receive/release for you                                - receive, ship out, whatever!

-no inventory services                                                               -photo & computer inventory

-temperature variation can be severe                                   - monitored, regulated          

– no carry assistance                                                                - trained art handlers

-variable security provisions                                                  - UL approved central station

-no control over commodities stored, pests, fumes           - screened for suitability

And the price ?  Our climatized area begins at $125 per month.You can store 15-20 paintings of average size for that cost, plus one time charges for pickup, wrapping, and placing into storage.

Self storage is a great way to go for your extra lawn furniture, tools, and durable furnishings — for many “renters” it is in fact the equivalent of a garage. .Or, for you back easters, a basement or attic. And that makes a useful guide: if you wouldn’t want to risk it in the garage/attic/basement, then don’t put it into self storage. Especially since, if you add up the value of your time going back and forth, an art storage facility may actually be a bargain.

Oh, and did you know? — most “art” storage facilities will store other high value and delicate goods as well, not just art and antiques. We’ll do another blog post shortly on the range of items we store and the types of customers who make our work interesting every day.

Betsy Dorfman

FINE ART SHIPPING

“Impressionism“, a new play on Broadway starring Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen, is a grand evening in the theater for fans of good acting. The play could itself use some work. And the art handling, is, well, amateur at best. Not that anyone would notice but a pro. Still, if you (attention playwright and director) are going to include a scene that has a supposedly high value artwork packed into a crate onstage by a supposedly professional art handling company, well, it should be done correctly.

In this case the art handlers wheel in an upright crate, take the painting off the wall (wearing gloves, thankfully), put it into a fabric bag (?) and then lower the painting-in-bag down into the crate through the open top, so that the painting disappears like your hard earned money down the slot in Vegas. Snap the top closed, get a signature, and off they go.

Problems? Well, they didn’t  inspect the painting before handing it, but that is a fine point. Unless there is a scratch on it and you are the insurer…The fabric bag is absolutely non standard, never seen one used like this ever. Fabric can catch on or stick to the face of a painting and deposit lint or other debris. Even if there is plexi over the face of a work, the fabric bag is still a bad choice as it is slippery and thus difficult to hold onto, and it can snag or tear on its journey into the crate.

Speaking of which, and this is the major point, artworks are not lowered into crates this way, for good reason: you can’t see what is happening to the piece! There could be loose materials or something shifted in the crate which would damage the artwork. A screw may have pushed through in transit or come loose in the crate. In most cases prepared crates are either laid flat or stood up, the front is removed, the crate inspected and made ready, the painting carefully fitted in under watchful eyes, and when all is safely braced the front of the crate is put on and off you go.

A somewhat more minor quibble, but in another scene Mr. Irons assists a purchaser, again of a major painting  ( $40,000) out to her offstage car with the artwork. No wrapping, she’s just going to presumably, what, toss it into the back of her SUV?

I am sure these faults will be corrected as legions of concerned art handlers line up outside the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater (236 West 45th Street, NY 10036) in protest. In the meantime I am available anytime Mr. Irons would like a private consultation.

 Betsy Dorfman

Entitled “See it split, see it change” by Doug and Mike Starn, this is a permanent installation commissioned by the NY Metropolitan Transportation Authority as a part of their ongoing Arts For Transit program.

The new South Ferry station is a major transfer hub for many connecting lines, so plenty of New Yorkers, if they can glance up from their cell phones for a moment, will have an opportunity to experience this art. Now how about something at 96th and Broadway, which could use some inspiration!

This description of the installation courtesy of Wetterling Gallery:

The Starns’ iconic tree and leaf imagery from their Structure of Thought and Black Pulse series undulate throughout the entire concourse level of the station. Primarily rendered in an innovative and unique fused glass technique, this iconography is punctuated by a stone mosaic of the island of Manhattan and a water-jet cut stainless steel fence delineating the entrance of this 250-foot long installation.

Details and more photos at MTA Arts for Transit – worth a look! 

Betsy Dorfman

During the course of a work week we pack and crate a wide variety of objects. But I have to say that in 26 years of operation I think this is our first…(pause for effect) …urinal. We did have a large litter box for the Whitney Biennial last year, but this one takes the cake. (OK, sorry.)

Below is a series of photos documenting the preparation and crating of this beast. Made of resin and steel and measuring 16 x 16 x 288″ !! — this is an undertaking to be sure. No prefab slat crate from the plumber’s supply outlet, but a custom pack and crate job all the way.

The artwork is by Bejing born artist Terence Koh, “To be titled (Urinal), 2009″. Permission to use the photos is courtesy of Mary Boone Gallery – many thanks.

Sometimes the most difficult objects to store or ship are those which look like everday things and could be mistaken for same. That litter box, for example, or the artist whose artwork was a crate and, in another case, a light pencil drawing on a ragged piece of cardboard. In a working warehouse, such items must be isolated, draped with caution tape, and severely labeled so as not to be confused with supplies or trash.

In this case, it wasn’t likely that anyone was going to use the appliance, but still the sooner crated the better!

Be sure to check out the exhibition opening April 4th at Mary Boone Gallery, curated by Javier Peres and also including works by Mike Kelley and Jeff Koons.

Betsy Dorfman

At Fine Art Shipping we broker art shipments to or from virtually any location worldwide. And because we book frequently and often in bulk with carriers, we keep our prices competitive — sometimes less than what you would pay for the same service if you booked independently.

You:

– Save staff time and hence $$

– Fill out one form online, or send one email

– Receive an estimate reflecting the best combination of pricing and schedule to suit your needs

– Deal with one person in our office from soup to nuts

– Multi stop exhibitions also booked this simply

– Pay one invoice even for services performed in multiple locations by multiple providers

– Don’t require a staffer experienced with shipping to arrange for even complicated projects – we’ll help!

We:

 – Survey qualified carriers who serve the requested route or region

– Maintain a roster of fine art services providers worldwide, and know their track record and strong suits

– Have ongoing relationships with carriers resulting in best pricing and attentive service

– Obtain bids from subcontractors as needed

– Contact artists, studios or institutions to obtain information as needed for the estimate  

– Submit one comprehensive estimate to you detailing all aspects of a project

– Prepare all paperwork including international documents, and arrange for customs clearances   

– Contact all venues and handle all aspects of multi stop tours and exhibitions

– Maintain records of past shipments for 7 years in case proof of shipping documents are needed for tax or other purposes

So if you’re feeling a little bit broker (sorry, but who isn’t?) give us a call and see if we can’t turn “broker” into a positive concept!

Betsy Dorfman

Well known for his plays, stories and films,Alan Bennett is also, who  knew, an astute observer of art and member of the board of the National Gallery. “Untold Stories” is a series of short pieces written when Mr. Bennett was under a, thankfully incorrect, death sentence from cancer in 1997. His musings on the state of the British commonwealth and psyche are on target and rendered in vibrant and piquant style. His “take” on many of the world’s museums includes commentary on the ambiance and room tone of the spaces — how they make you feel and whether they are inviting spaces in which to encounter art . Benches or no benches? Lighting up to snuff? His opinions of the artworks, too, are fresh and entertaining and he has no trouble casting aside received wisdom when “masterpieces” don’t make the cut. You definitely want to go museum hopping with this gentleman.  

Skip ahead to the diary entries if you are mainly interested in his art critiques and observations;   but you will be missing much. Tales of his upbringing among the shop-keep aunties and conventions of ex-urban Leeds are both poignant and hilarious by turns.

Here is a link to the 2005 review by the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/oct/09/biography.features1

Betsy Dorfman

I get some variation of this phone call all too frequently:

ARTIST:   Hi, I have a crate I need to ship to London. I built it myself.

ME:           Okay, we can help with that. I will need the dimensions and weight.

ARTIST:   I got everything in one crate, if you can believe that. Eight by seven by about, oh the height has gotta be, I’m five eight so let’s say, six.

ME:          (Hopefully, but knowing better) Feet or inches?

ARTIST:  (Proudly) Feet. It’s in my garage. You’ll need a lift gate. Wait, you thought I was five inches tall?

ME:          What is the size of the largest work in the crate. These are paintings?

ARTIST:  There’s a couple of big ones, maybe four, then a whole bunch of medium and little ones that I stacked double high and double wide. Kind of up on a shelf thing on the inside. Sectioned. That way it could all go in one crate.  (Pause) Hello?

ME:      Sorry I’m just…is there any way you can cut this thing in half?

FADE OUT

Okay, some actual useful information:

HEIGHT

Many airlines have height cutoffs of 60-63″, depending upon the actual equipment flown. Above that height you will need to book on a freighter, which gives you fewer flights to choose from and is often more expensive. You typically need an advance booking on a freighter, and such freight can wait in line sometimes for days until space is available.  Sometimes you can’t avoid this, with a large installation piece or bronze, but where it can be avoided it should be.  

WEIGHT/HANDLING

Oversize crates cost more at every stage of shipping and handling, and if very heavy can be dangerous to move as well. They are more likely to be fork lifted rather than hand carried or dollied.

FREIGHT COST

With inventories of mixed sizes it is nearly always cost effective to fabricate multiple crates with contents grouped by size.  It is the overall volume that determines freight cost, and splitting into multiple crates often saves on final volume. 

ACCESS: THE END GAME

Also consider that the average doorway is only 30 or so inches wide. If your shipment is going to a corporate location, office building, or a downtown gallery your giganto crate may not fit through the doorway. Not every business has a dock or wide receiving doors. So now you’ve got some preparator unpacking the crate at the curb — not going to be your biggest fan once that is done.  And then what do they do with the crate? Have you seen the average gallery store room? 

DAMAGE ISSUES 

Most damage in shipping actually happens during packing and unpacking. Creating an oddly sectioned crate, which also has a high center of gravity, may not be simple to unpack. The recipient could open the wrong side or not perceive where all the works are located. We have seen examples where small works were sectioned off behind larger works, but where the separating foam or cardboard was mistaken for the wall of the crate.  Out goes the crate into the trash still holding the small works – ouch.   Always include a pack sheet detailing the crate contents, and unpacking instructions as well. Unfortunately many artist packed crates don’t have such instructions included.

 RETURN SHIPPING

If the destination can’t or won’t store your oversize crate, you may be asked to pay for storage at an offsite location or charged for a new crate to return unsold items. If you are lucky and they do store it, and, even luckier, they sell half of your artworks at the show, now you are going to have to ship that huge crate back half empty. Had you built 2 or 3 crates, chances are the returning volume could have been downsized into 1 of 2 of those.

Like most art handlers we are happy to give guidance to artists or others building crates. Call us BEFORE you build and we may be able to save you some money, or grief, or both.

Betsy Dorfman

Actually, they’re here. We’re branding these as ARTfids, our in house name for radio frequency identity tags which track the location of artworks in our care. You likely have experienced RFIDs in the guise of those pesky tags stores embed in clothing as a theft preventative.  Step out the door and through the “reader” and you trip an alarm.

Now this technology is making its way into the realm of fine art inventory systems and handling.  RFID technology is a huge improvement over bar coding as well as  visual only labeling systems.  Information from RFID tags can be scanned and uploaded directly into a computer to form an instant inventory. When pieces are deaccessioned from storage they are scanned out,  and scanned again coming off the truck at a delivery point using the handheld reader. Game, set and match.

The application for fine art is obvious: you want to know where high value items are at all times. New flat labels make this possible. RFID tags look like regular shipping labels and can be affixed to artworks quickly and simply.  Our proprietary system of ARTfids works with a handheld reader that is carried through our warehouses,  taken to job locations, and used on the trucks.   Inventories are read and verified in far less time than it takes to do manual counts, and with far greater accuracy.

And, how cool is this: unlike barcodes or human eyes,  RFID readers don’t require line of sight to the actual tag. The radio signal can be picked up from even inside closed containers. So, for example, the reader can report and verify the entire contents of a crate containing multiple pieces, without opening the crate. Walking through a loaded truck the reader can verify which items are on board, even if one is behind the other. Point it at a set of shelves where small items have been stored and it will tell you if one has been left on a high shelf out of sight.

RFID technology has obvious applications for institutions, collectors, and homeowners wanting peace of mind as to the location of their valuables. We’ll have a follow up post on a major Los Angeles art theft that might have been prevented had an RFID detection system been in place.

In our setting, i.e. the professional fine arts and antiques storage facility, the upgrade to RFID has been a major improvement. We’re very excited about this technology and invite questions from customers and the general public on this grand new tool for inventory and tracking of fine art.

We’ll also show you some photos of the tags and the system in use in later posts.

Betsy Dorfman