On the road again...

After wildly successful outings at the Cite de la Musique in Paris and at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Miles Davis Exhibition is headed for Brazil. Scheduled to open in the next week or so, the exhibition showcases a remarkably diverse collection of musical memorabilia, scores, trumpets, synthesizers, artworks and even Miles’ personal boxing bag. Not to mention stage outfits which are quintessential Miles and as sparkling and distinctive today as ever.

FINE ART SHIPPING is pleased once again to handle loans to the show for Miles Davis Properties — nothing we like better than the chance to view these legendary artifacts and send them off to discover new and old fans around the world.

We wish the organizers, Foro Sul, all the best for a great opening. We’ll pass along updated information here as to future travels of the show and reviews of the Brazil exhibition when available. Viva Miles!

Painted crates pay tribute to Miles Davis famous "red trumpet" -- always a crowd favorite

Betsy Dorfman

Crates come in all sizes.

This one is from our “extra bedroom” series.

Looks like we might need that handy expand- a-truck tool…

Just another day at the office.

Our sympathies, guys.

Betsy Dorfman

Ian Patrick, crating manager

Ian Patrick, Crating Manager

Oct 22, 2010

FINE ART SHIPPING welcomes a granddaughter!!  

Emery Dorfman, born July 11 in Seattle WA

  As you can see, the packaging for this product has been designed with  great attention to safety, style, and utility for re-use. The most vulnerable points of the object are wrapped in suitably soft and archival material, then further bundled into an appropriate shape to  secure the item within the selected vehicle of conveyance. Where appropriate, additional measures have been taken to mitigate environmental exposures, particularly in the top or “head” region.

As is recommended, a minimum of  2″ of foam padding is employed  at the sides, top, and bottom of the enclosure to further protect the shipment in transit. Also included but not seen, certain moisture barrier strategies have been incorporated into the interior packaging where prudent, and based on long established guidelines for care of  such commodities.

Further updates will follow as the shipment is expected to increase in size and weight over time.

Betsy Dorfman

What has dozens of steel quills and makes a  surprisingly lovely sound as you walk toward it?   It’s an elegant steel sculpture by Italian artist and furniture designer Harry Bertoia (1915-1978), and it was my distinct pleasure as the new crating manager to pack it this week. As a recovering sculptor myself, I take particular delight in Bertoia’s lively, indeed musical, use of industrial materials and their properties.

This piece, an assortment of slender steel rods welded to a rectangular plate in a somewhat pitched “V” formation, was certainly handsome enough to look at, but the real surprise revealed itself as I stepped closer and heard the rustle of the steel rods, making a sound like brushes on a cymbal; sizzle, sizzle, sizzle… 

From a crating perspective, the fragility of the piece posed certain challenges.  The sculpture had come to us with an extant injury (one of the rods had fallen loose from the plate), and I wanted to ensure that the packing put only minimal stress on the welds.  This meant no compression – nothing on top to flex the rods.  Capturing the base was therefore the way to go, so I devised a system of padded yokes which fit together like a 3D puzzle, grasping the piece from its sturdiest point.  To keep the rods from trembling in transit, I gently bundled them together and grasped with a sliding foam collar.

Packing of complex sculpture has always been one of my favorite aspects of this job.  It offers the art enthusiast in me a chance to commune with works of sculpture in a very tactile way, and allows me to show of my own chops as a craftsman.  The little rustling Bertoia was my favorite kind of project… pretty good day at the office!

Ian Patrick for FINE ART SHIPPING

Artwork from the collection of David K. Pressman

Congratulations to L.A. artist Greg Lauren for a terrific write up in the L.A. Times on his current exhibition. We had fun at the opening Saturday night, especially watching the double takes done by (typically well heeled) passers by on Beverly Boulevard. Who could be forgiven for mistaking the show for, well, what it actually looked like: the opening of a super chic men’s boutique. Complete with valet and champagne service and more than a few celebrity sightings.

We’ve packed and shipped these paper art sculptures a number of times, and while obviously the weight is not an issue, keeping the “clothing” intact and with wrinkles only where the artist wants them is a challenge. We’ve shipped them on and off the mannequins, making use of archival paper and good old dish pack boxes and the odd slat crate with good results.

My husband’s brother tells the story of lecturing on a cruise ship where the headline lecturer was a memory expert. The many elderly passengers aboard were constantly cozying up to this guy and asking for tips on how to remember pesky things like names and telephone numbers. They figured he would have clever mnemonic devices to offer. His advice instead: try harder and pay attention.

Similarly, often the best art handling “trick” is to pay attention, keep it simple, and try hard to recognize and respect the integrity of the objects in front of you. This approach worked well with respect to Greg Lauren’s host of perfectly imperfect faux garments. And, yes, we did have to resist the impulse to try them on.

Betsy Dorfman

Recent news reports have detailed the upcoming sale of artworks from the Michael Crichton collection, currently on display at Christie’s in London. The paintings to be sold include a seminal work from the Jasper Johns “Flag” series, as well as works by Picasso, Lichtenstein and Rauschenberg . Old friends all.

FINE ART SHIPPING has moved, installed, shipped and stored many of these works over the past decade-plus for the Crichton family. Packing and crating these recent few to send off for display in London was an exercise in nostalgia to be sure. We have softpacked the Johns for Mr. Crichton to carry on an airplane, installed it at residences in New York and Los Angeles, and each time we handled it was a thrill. The office emptied out, art handlers mysteriously appeared as the crate was about to be opened — there are artworks which claim their own audiences, and this is one.

On September 11, 2001 our Los Angeles based crew was packing art at the Crichton residence in upstate New York, some 90 miles from ground zero. We were immediately invited to stay in the home for several days, allowing us to give our hotel rooms to our NY based crew, who were unable in those early days and hours to return to the city. So this goes beyond a business relationship, to what has been a partnership of care and concern for this art over many years and circumstances.
Following the current exhibition at Christie’s the artworks go on sale in New York in May. To the new owners we can only say: may the vibes, all good, be with you.

Betsy Dorfman