Framing Kara Walker
This October has seen the unveiling of Kara Walker’s extraordinary new commission for the Tate Modern Turbine Hall - a monumental faux-Victorian fountain entitled Fons Americanus that confronts the way we look at the history of slavery. Running concurrently to the commission is a new exhibition by the artist at Sprueth Magers Gallery, which we have had the honour of framing.
The exhibition features eight of Walker’s films which highlight ‘her diverse approach to filmmaking, signature use of silhouettes, and insightful handling of space, sound and time to expose profound and enduring historical traumas and narratives.’
Alongside the film works, we framed an array of artefacts that shed light on Walker’s filming process, including shot lists, handwritten notes, cut-and-pasted lines of text, sketches and puppets. These include several works on paper in solid white sprayed wood from our gallery range. In addition to this we made four light boxes showcasing puppets.
Framing Kara Walker’s Movable Puppets
The movable puppets were mounted in light boxes, which were set into tray frames constructed in the workshop. To allow the light to come through from behind the puppet, the light box was covered with stretched fabric, to which the puppets were sewn by hand and held in place. As the artwork was movable, we were sent images of how they should be displayed by the artist and gallery, which we followed to fix them down. To do this we had to attach them in a number of places, in a delicate and sympathetic manner.
The box was then mounted into a sprayed white tray frame which was covered with an acrylic box - all with a hole allowing the power cord to be threaded through.
All in all, this was quite a complex project which required a delicate framing system. We think this approach to framing Kara Walker’s puppets has an incredible impact when seen in situ on the gallery wall, providing a dramatic and shadowy setting for the darkness of Walker’s subject matter.
