Hello AT,
A friend of my mother's was recently kind enough to pass on to me her collection of framed Herman Miller company picnic posters, and I'm thrilled. However-- at their previous residence, the posters apparently encountered something of an aphid problem. Each print has two or three of the little things squished between the glass and the poster, and it drives me nuts. I'd like to get them out, but I don't want to undo a professional framing job. The frames appear to be custom-sized, and the prints are backed by posterboard and held secure by little metal bits.
Is there any way to take the frames apart, remove the dead bugs, and put everything back together myself without damaging the print?
Thanks, Megan
(Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first.)
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if it were me, I wouldn't do it myself but rather take it to a framer (then again, I'm rather unhandy and lazy). If there's one who's already done work for you they might even do it for free or a pittance. it literally takes them only a few minutes per frame. i recommend chelsea frames, they're nice and strung a picture for me for free.
often those little metal bits are just flat, bendable prongs that are made to bend up and allow you to pull the innards of the picture out. Pull all the parts out, and take a cloth and wipe it all down, try to smooth any dents from the bugs and then press it all back it, bending the prongs back in place to hold the parts in. That should work. If you cant, just take it to a framer. Shouldnt be too pricey as it's a minor amount of work.
ew!
:D
Hi Megan -
You do need to take the print out of the frame to get rid of the bugs even if that means taking the frame apart. If it's not a "do it yourself" frame, take it to an archival framer and have them do it. About the bugs -- if they've left a stain, and it's bothersome to you, you could have the print cleaned by a paper conservator. It's not that expensive. But more importantly, what you need to check is whether there are more bugs that you cannot readily see and if there is any residue that has seeped through the paper. If the prints were not framed archivally, there's a good chance the wrong glue was used and over time, mold, staining and/or other potentially damaging things to the print can develop. Again, if you are bothered by it, I'd take it to a paper conservator and have it checked to see if it needs cleaning overall. If you need a recommendation for either a framer or a conservator, I can recommend some. I run a gallery and this is standard operating procedure. Just let me know.
Barbara
Although I can't address the frame question, I do envy your poster collection. These are beautiful prints, and seeing them in person makes a difference. They're printed on this vinyl-like material that gives them a slighly glossy finish.
In design school, I had the opportunity to meet Stephen Frykholm, a long-time designer for Herman Miller. He was wonderful and gave a talk about serendipity in design.
Hope the debugging turns out well!
I'd say, take this valuable collection to a pro (all the more reason to cultivate a relationship with a framer). While you can indeed disassemble the framing (all quality framing is designed to be "reversed"), a pro can help assess the condition of "bugs" you can not see. Chances are good the real bugs indicate a less-than-ideal (or archival) original framing job.
If in NYC, I vote for Steven Amedee Custom Framing.