A mount maker is responsible for the creation of structures called object mounts used to provide unobtrusive physical support, stability, and security of objects while on display, in storage, or being transported to

museums A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

libraries A library is a collection of Document, materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or electronic media, digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a ...

archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

botanical gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

or other

cultural institutions A cultural institution or cultural organization is an organization within a culture/subculture that works for the preservation or promotion of culture. The term is especially used of public and charitable organizations, but its range of meaning can ...

. Protection and long-term conservation of the object is a key goal of mount makers. This is accomplished through careful design, selection of materials and manufacturing process that will not inadvertently harm the object, and a cautious installation process of the object into its place in an exhibit. Professionals in this field can be employed directly by an institution, be independent contractors, or work as part of larger cultural institution exhibit design firms.

Responsibilities and duties

The primary responsibility of a mount maker is to provide safe and stable structural supports (also called mounts, brackets, or armatures) for a wide variety of cultural materials such as furniture, ceramics, paintings, sculptures, clothing, jewelry, aircraft, and machinery to be placed in storage, transported to another location, or for exhibition. Providing form and stability alleviates stress placed on an object, "thereby preventing distortions, creasing, and eventual structural damage." A successful mount will keep objects from moving in the event that an object's exhibit case is bumped or otherwise disturbed in addition to allowing visitors to view and interpret an object in new and unobtrusive ways. The object should be the subject of the viewer's attention, not the mount; allowing as much visual access as possible. Mount makers work with two types of mounts; custom mounts and generic mounts. Custom mounts are specially created to the exact dimensions, weight, and any specific stability or support issues in response to the preservation and conservation of a particular object. The type and design of each custom mount is also determined by the budget and skill of the mount maker. In contrast, generic mounts require only rough measurements of the object. These general or prefabricated shelves, brackets, or stock forms can be purchased from museum or archival supply companies. Mount makers collaborate with registrars, exhibit designers,

curators A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

, lighting technicians, and installers to develop or select mounts for each object that will be displayed in an exhibit. Mount makers also work "closely with

conservators In certain areas of England, Conservators are statutory bodies which manage areas of countryside for the use of the public. Establishment, Role and Powers Conservators are bodies corporate generally established, and granted their powers, by a ...

to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the objects and to find safe fabrication materials." Some types of materials may includ
battingcardboard
corrugated plastic such a
coroplastfelt
(polyester or acrylic), Foam Board (

Foamcore Foamcore, foam board, or paper-faced foam board is a lightweight and easily cut material used for mounting of photographic prints, as backing for picture framing, for making scale models, and in painting. It consists of a board of polystyre ...

)
Gator Foam
(Gator Board)
muslin

Plexiglas Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite ...

, and some metals such as brass and steel. Additional materials can include

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

, stainless steel, acrylic, an
resin
Cf104 canadian warplane heritage museum 1

Knowledge, abilities and skills

After considering which material is best suited for an object, mount makers then fabricate a mount to the specification of the object using hand-held tools and general shop equipment. Mount makers must be knowledgeable about the many different choices for

soldering Soldering (; ) is a process in which two or more items are joined by melting and putting a filler metal (solder) into the joint, the filler metal having a lower melting point than the adjoining metal. Unlike welding, soldering does not involv ...

and

welding Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as bra ...

, saws, buffers, and

grinders Grinder may refer to: Machinery *Various types of grinding machine, used in a machining operation to refine the surface of materials *Food grinders **Blade grinder, includes food processors, blenders, electric coffee and spice grinders, etc. **Co ...

and skilled in their use. Tools more specific to fabrication of basic mounts include a 10-inch to 1 inch

Band saw A bandsaw (also written band saw) is a power saw with a long, sharp blade consisting of a continuous band of toothed metal stretched between two or more wheels to cut material. They are used principally in woodworking, metalworking, and l ...

, either a freestanding or bench top

drill press A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driverchuck. Hand-operated types are dramatically decreasing in popularity and cordless battery-powered ones proliferating due to i ...

, a 1 inch by 8 inch Disk combination

sander A sander is a power tool used to smooth surfaces by abrasion with sandpaper. Sanders have a means to attach the sandpaper and a mechanism to move it rapidly contained within a housing with means to hand-hold it or fix it to a workbench. Woodw ...

, and a vacuum with either a minimum 5 micron filter or a

HEPA HEPA (, high-efficiency particulate air) filter, also known as high-efficiency particulate absorbing filter and high-efficiency particulate arrestance filter, is an efficiency standard of air filters. Filters meeting the HEPA standard must s ...

filter. Some mount makers specialize in a specific medium such as metal or plastic. All should be knowledgeable in artifact handling, have a working understanding of chemistry, physics, mechanics, and be an expert in the area of problem solving and time management. Mount makers have been described as having the skills of "jewelers,

welders In a broad sense, a welder is anyone, amateur or professional, who uses welding equipment, perhaps especially one who uses such equipment fairly often. In a narrower sense, a welder is a tradesperson who specializes in fusing materials together ...

fabricators Metal fabrication is the creation of metal structures by cutting, bending and assembling processes. It is a value-added process involving the creation of machines, parts, and structures from various raw materials. Typically, a fabrication sh ...

machinists A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...

, and

blacksmiths A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

- for artwork." Other skills that may be needed include carpentry, metal working, experience with computer aided design programs, painting, and modeling.

Education, training, experience

Mount makers come from a wide range of professional and educational backgrounds. Individuals seeking to become a mount maker mush have experience in design, fabrication, and a familiarity with handling objects. Effective communication skills and the ability to work both alone and on a team are also highly desirable. Mount makers may have Bachelor of Arts (B. A.), a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B. F. A.), or a Bachelor of Science (B. S.) in fine arts, studio art, conservation, design, or industrial arts from an accredited university. Conversely, individuals may have a background that is technical in nature such as in construction or automotive repair. Continuing education courses, workshops, and symposiums in mount making are available through various cultural institutions such as th
Northern States Conservation Center
the

Corcoran College of Art and Design The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design (known as the Corcoran School or CSAD) is the professional art school of the George Washington University, in Washington, DC.Peggy McGloneUniversity names first director of Corcoran School of the Arts and ...

, the

Canadian Conservation Institute The Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI; ) is a special operating agency of the federal Department of Canadian Heritage that provides research, information, and services regarding the conservation and preservation of cultural artifacts. Materi ...

and the Field Museum of Natural History.

Professional organizations

Mount Makers have memberships in a variety of professional organizations such as the Preparation, Art handling, Collections Care Information Networ
(PACCIN)
the International Convention of Exhibition and Fine Art Transporter
(ICEFAT)
and the National Association for Museum Exhibition
(NAME)
in order to stay current with professional best practices and have access to a broad informational network of colleagues. A Professional Interest Committee of th
American Alliance of Museums
PACCIN "is dedicated to building a museum industry network of information and resources available for the educational dialogue of professionals interested in the high standards of art and artifact handling. The area of focus of these standards include packing, crating, shipping, installation, mount making, rigging, exhibition fabrication, educational employment opportunities as well as ongoing industry updates of current technical and material usage." The International Convention of Exhibition and Fine Art Transporters hosts "annual conventions where members meet to exchange ideas and establish relationships with associates world wide in the field of packing, shipping and forwarding works of art, artifacts and antiquities." Also
Professional Interest Committee
of the American Alliance of Museums, the focus of NAME is on advocating the importance o exhibitions and "promot ngexcellence and best practices, identify trends and recent innovations, provide access to resources, promote professional development and cultivate leadership" to a membership of over 800 museum professionals.

References

External links

Mountmakers Forum

MountmakingAIC Conservation Wiki

'The Man Behind the Mounts'

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...

'The Mount Maker'
National Gallery of Art
'Shelly Uhlir, Full-Time Exhibition Mountmaker visits SAM'Seattle Museum of Art

, Office of Exhibits Central,

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...