• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Anyone agonize over having artwork just sitting in portfolios?

Started by batman_fan,

89 posts in this topic

AKA Rick

AKA Rick

Posted
Posted
Are mylars really a better way to store than portfolios? The portfolios all say they are archival - but if anyone knows any different, would love to know.

 

I do mylars in the portfolio. Works well.

 

The material used with portfolios are fine, but it's silly to just rely on them. They're flawed by design.

 

You should use Mylars for artwork at a certain level/value and/or use Polybags.

 

You should seal the Mylars in a polybag or just use a polybag.

 

If you just use a mylar or put a mylar in a portfolio, there's a top opening, and art collector's arch nemesis SILVERFISH will be able to come and snack on your art, often spawning little silverfish too, and they destroy the surfaces, edges, and corners.

 

When you put them in a sealed bag, the odds of silverfish entering is minimized.

 

It also protects from moisture and water.

 

Portfolios are good in that they house and organize the artwork, but don't rely on them as archival storage as they are "as is" as a stand alone system.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
zhamlau

zhamlau

Posted
Posted

I read these replies and it seems clear: Everyone who collects on this level needs to have an office/study/man-cave/whatever to fully own and display stuff in. When i bought my house a few years back, i made sure there was an extra bedroom not needed for kids or guests. I am turning that into my study. Long process, you need to UV coat the window(s) and get LED lighting with a UV screen glass, and the framing has to be Museum quality glass or plexi. But after that, its really up to you and I've found it to be a very fun process. Having a personal museum filled with things you love and that inspire you has been a dream of mine since i was in middle school.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Eric Seffinga

Eric Seffinga

Posted
Posted

Regarding AKA Rick's assertion re: 40 YO Virgin and social norms, I think at play is also the kind of comic art collected as well.

 

Because I started young, I've had some comic OA up in the main living space of every adult home I've ever had. Because I'm me, I've never quite gone full nerd-cave with my displays of comics related material. The closest would have been my bedroom before I moved out of my parent's place. And that's because it was all in one space I think.

 

I've talked about this before, but in my current home, I have art in every single room. Not all of it is comic art, but it is a very curated mix of material. Our formal dining room has Sandman OA on just about every wall. There is a Tennyson photograph in there as well, but it jives with the other material. It's classically framed (white mat, black frames) and everything suits everything in the space. From the colors of the walls, to the clean lines of the furniture and light fixture. It's all very clean and wouldn't look terribly out of place in a store catalog. It just so happens that the framed pieces are (mostly) pen and ink drawings.

 

Never had anyone raise an eyebrow or cop a "you still play with toys/read comics" attitude. I suppose I have met a couple folks that think it is very odd. The guy that delivered our new fridge a couple years ago for instance seemed offput. But I dare say it was more a reaction to the Dave McKean painting by the front door and him not having much art exposure beyond photos & still-life/landscape/portrait paintings. Some people aren't quite sure what to make of the "Pop Surreal/Lowbrow" material, but it never stops people walking up to it and spending a lot of time considering it.

 

But most strangers have been really cool. Most highly complimentary. A few have even asked for quickie tours. Which is both a little surprising and kinda fun. Who knows what people say when they leave, but I've never felt any kind of negative impact from it. It's been universally positive for us.

 

As for friends and family, well they know us, and they know how deeply my wife and I both are entrenched in art. It's basically a foregone conclusion at this point. We've been our house for 16+ years now, so plenty of time to curate what goes where and how.

 

But getting back to what I was saying at the beginning about content... I imagine if the art we put up was primarily guys in capes punching each other, or wasp waisted good girl art and pieces of that nature, our experiences could have been different. Comic art can be many things, even though the long underwear crowd is still a majority. That said, I've also seen people with truly amazing displays of superhero art though. It's all down to the level of taste and sophistication of the decorator, and the way in which the space is treated and presented to people. For some, a house is an Easyboy and family photos on a wall, and rugs and cushions, and some metal decorative doohicky they bought from Ikea on the wall.

 

Part of why we get away with our home is us not having kids, for sure. It'd have to be entirely different to kiddy-proof. But that said, we have always been and will always be proud of who we are. I bristle at terms like societal norms, because I was always different. I've seen how dickish people can be about that stuff, and I know how it works. Just happy to not have any of those people in my life. And if the guy delivering the fridge doesn't like our art? Heh. Like we care!

 

What I can say is I've lived long term both ways. With little art on the wall, and with much art on the wall, though NEVER ever salon style. I need space between pieces and minimal clutter to not go nuts. I can say for our place, once we started living with our absolute favorite work on the wall, the change was a no-brainer. It just took 10 years to find the right balance of what art in what rooms, and repainting in the house between reorganizations to find that balance. Now it all jives. I've never gotten board of looking at a piece on the wall that was worth while.

But having a mix of art types and styles from room to room probably helps with that as well. Variety being the spice of life.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
zhamlau

zhamlau

Posted
Posted
Regarding AKA Rick's assertion re: 40 YO Virgin and social norms, I think at play is also the kind of comic art collected as well.

 

Because I started young, I've had some comic OA up in the main living space of every adult home I've ever had. Because I'm me, I've never quite gone full nerd-cave with my displays of comics related material. The closest would have been my bedroom before I moved out of my parent's place. And that's because it was all in one space I think.

 

I've talked about this before, but in my current home, I have art in every single room. Not all of it is comic art, but it is a very curated mix of material. Our formal dining room has Sandman OA on just about every wall. There is a Tennyson photograph in there as well, but it jives with the other material. It's classically framed (white mat, black frames) and everything suits everything in the space. From the colors of the walls, to the clean lines of the furniture and light fixture. It's all very clean and wouldn't look terribly out of place in a store catalog. It just so happens that the framed pieces are (mostly) pen and ink drawings.

 

Never had anyone raise an eyebrow or cop a "you still play with toys/read comics" attitude. I suppose I have met a couple folks that think it is very odd. The guy that delivered our new fridge a couple years ago for instance seemed offput. But I dare say it was more a reaction to the Dave McKean painting by the front door and him not having much art exposure beyond photos & still-life/landscape/portrait paintings. Some people aren't quite sure what to make of the "Pop Surreal/Lowbrow" material, but it never stops people walking up to it and spending a lot of time considering it.

 

But most strangers have been really cool. Most highly complimentary. A few have even asked for quickie tours. Which is both a little surprising and kinda fun. Who knows what people say when they leave, but I've never felt any kind of negative impact from it. It's been universally positive for us.

 

As for friends and family, well they know us, and they know how deeply my wife and I both are entrenched in art. It's basically a foregone conclusion at this point. We've been our house for 16+ years now, so plenty of time to curate what goes where and how.

 

But getting back to what I was saying at the beginning about content... I imagine if the art we put up was primarily guys in capes punching each other, or wasp waisted good girl art and pieces of that nature, our experiences could have been different. Comic art can be many things, even though the long underwear crowd is still a majority. That said, I've also seen people with truly amazing displays of superhero art though. It's all down to the level of taste and sophistication of the decorator, and the way in which the space is treated and presented to people. For some, a house is an Easyboy and family photos on a wall, and rugs and cushions, and some metal decorative doohicky they bought from Ikea on the wall.

 

Part of why we get away with our home is us not having kids, for sure. It'd have to be entirely different to kiddy-proof. But that said, we have always been and will always be proud of who we are. I bristle at terms like societal norms, because I was always different. I've seen how dickish people can be about that stuff, and I know how it works. Just happy to not have any of those people in my life. And if the guy delivering the fridge doesn't like our art? Heh. Like we care!

 

What I can say is I've lived long term both ways. With little art on the wall, and with much art on the wall, though NEVER ever salon style. I need space between pieces and minimal clutter to not go nuts. I can say for our place, once we started living with our absolute favorite work on the wall, the change was a no-brainer. It just took 10 years to find the right balance of what art in what rooms, and repainting in the house between reorganizations to find that balance. Now it all jives. I've never gotten board of looking at a piece on the wall that was worth while.

But having a mix of art types and styles from room to room probably helps with that as well. Variety being the spice of life.

 

Need a like button +1

Link to comment
Share on other sites
F For Fake

F For Fake

Posted
Posted

I have considered going the route of selling everything I can't frame, but then I open up the portfolios and start looking at the art and start remembering why I loved and bought the pieces in the first place. Same thing with comics. "Why do I have all of these folded and stapled pieces of printed paper slid into plastic sleeves and hidden in a cardboard box?" But as soon as I start looking through them, I realize I can't give them up that easily.

 

I WILL say that framing is a good deterrent to selling, if you're like me. I love art, I love comics, I love toys, and I tend to go through phases where I sell art to buy toys, then sell toys to buy comics, then sell comics to buy art, and so on and so forth. My focus shifts around. But if the art is framed, chances are I'm not going to bother with freeing the sucker and selling it. I've unframed a couple of pieces and sold them, but it's rare for me. By and large a frame = "in the permanent collection", and helps temper my more ADHD collecting tendencies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Go to topic listing