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Framing "Christina's World" by Andrew Wyeth
The Museum of Modern Art's frame shop crafts unique frames for art pieces. The best frame doesn't draw attention but complements the artwork. For example, the frame for "Cristina's World" was redesigned to better fit the painting. The process involves considering the frame's weight, not touching the artwork, and selecting the right wood and stain. Created by The Museum of Modern Art.
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- When is the frame considered to have artistic or historic value?(11 votes)
- When it is original to the painting it has historic value. When it does not call attention to itself, the frame has artistic value.(4 votes)
- Why is the Frame so important? Shouldn't the artwork itself be what your paying attention to?(3 votes)
- Very true! But, some artwork would not benefit from not having a frame, and so it is very important that the frame being chosen be one that does not, as you say, distract from the painting, but instead complement and highlight it. That is why so much time is taken to choose the frame.(13 votes)
- What happened to the original frame?(7 votes)
- The man stated that the frame was removed because it was not the original and it was incorrectly made since it was touching the top of the subject matter "chimneys".(4 votes)
- How does the frame push and pull ? When the gentlemen stated that" the frame has a way of pushing and pulling".(2 votes)
- The speaker was relating to how a frame pushes or pulls a person into the scene of a painting. Some frames push the painting out to the forefront, showing the viewer the scene, and letting one admire it from afar. Other frames pull the person into the painting itself (figuratively speaking) making one look closer at the details and feel as it they were really there. That is the difference that the speaker was discussing, and it is amazing how much a frame can either enhance, or detract from, the beauty and emotions of a painting.(9 votes)
- How does the person who the frames picture measure the exact lengths for the two?(1 vote)
- The inner frame was a "floating" style frame and the lengths match the canvas outside measurements. Once the inner frame is attached the rabbit of the exterior frame is measured adding 1/4" to allow room for the wood to expand due to humidity levels. If the measurement did not allow this, the wood having no room to "give" could pop the corners of the frame or even cause warping of the canvas under the pressure.(6 votes)
- why cant you make a gold foiled frame for expensive paintings(2 votes)
- In this video they try to find a frame that fits really well with the painting. One that complements it, rather than distract from the content (you can imagine that a gold foiled frame would sometimes draw more attention than the painting itself, and we wouldn't want that! :-)). As you can see in the movie they attempt to find a suitable frame based on the colour-use of the artist, and the shapes the artist used in the painting rather than trying to add an expensive gold foiled frame to an expensive painting :-)(4 votes)
- Now what exactly would happen if they scratched the masterpiece?(2 votes)
- I wish the video had a sister video that went a little more in depth into the actual making of the frame.(2 votes)
- Is that the REAL painting of Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World?(1 vote)
- Yes, the painting that was shown and being framed in the video was the the real, original painting by Andrew Wyeth. The framers have to be extremely careful when handling such artwork, because if even one thing was damaged, then the whole work it, because there is only one original, and they are extremely valuable to the world of art.(3 votes)
- At1:40to1:48, the framer said that Wyeth liked to pick a frame that matched a color in the painting, but a framer should not do that? What does he mean? It seems the framer would want to try to do what the painter originally intended, wouldn't he? Please clarify.(1 vote)
- Good question. I think it has to do with what he said earlier about a frame not calling attention to itself. You don't want to see the frame as an extension of the painting, it's where the painting stops.(3 votes)
Video transcript
(modern music) - [Peter] The frame shop here at the Museum of Modern
Art is actually unique. We do most of the framing
for the collection, for exhibitions and traveling exhibitions. Anything that is wood is made inside. We have a small woodworking shop. We have seven people
working at the department but we produce a
tremendous amount of work. In the case of Cristina's World, it can't be too modern. It has to fit with a certain context. Ultimately the best frame is the one that doesn't call attention to itself. The frame has a way of
pushing and pulling. Normally if you had a landscape, it would be what is called a cove, a frame that comes out and
creates a window into the work. This works in reverse. This one the painting come forward and the frame goes back. The first thing I wanted
to do was to understand why the frame was not working. What is it about the frame that could be improved upon? It was not original to the work. Framers talk about frames
in terms of weight, not necessarily in terms of look. The frame could be too
light, it could be too heavy. The frame that it had
was a little bit light. A little (mumbles) even though it had a gold band on the inside. The gilded liner of the
frame was actually touching the chimneys of the house. Wyeth spent a great
deal of time and effort coming all the way too the edge. So what's important that
we see the entire panel. This painting actually is floating. There are two frames in one here. It's not damaging or causing any pressure. Many of the frames that Wyeth selected for his work were painted and he always wanted to pick
a color from the painting and use that color in the frame. If the artist does it it's one thing, but a framer should not be doing that. I picked what I thought
would be a very natural wood and basically set the
painting within the frame as a beautiful little jewel. The whole frames is made
from one single piece of wood so that the grain just continues. We knew from the beginning that we were going to have a gold band. I decided to put a cove on the inside to separate the gilding. The next step is to design the panel. One element that would justify angling the panel to the outside
is the roof of the house. Then you have to decide how
that panel is going to end. This is an abrupt stop. It has another angle to the back. The frame will appear
almost floating on the wall because when you light it it's going to cast a shadow behind it. After you make the frame then you start thinking
about the different stains. Once you put a stain on the
panel you can't take it off and that's where you come in. We're making as many samples as possible using the exact same piece of wood. You can see the difference
if you put them next to it. These are very very minor variations that ultimately you
don't pay attention to, but in terms of the framing
it's rather important and it has a way of affecting
how we see a painting. (modern music)