I am a UK-based self-employed Art Technician, who travels around my local region to different galleries and museums to install art exhibitions.
Sometimes I handle famous and expensive artworks or priceless artifacts, but most of the time it’s probably artworks you’ve not heard of. This includes 2D work like paintings, 3D work like sculptures, video projections, screens, sound systems, computers, and room-filling installations. Sometimes we work directly with living artists to help produce their work.
Happy to talk about technical stuff i.e. how artworks are transported, packed, fixed to the wall, what sort of fittings are used, how an exhibition is spaced out, hung, arranged etc; or to talk about working in galleries, or any questions from artists about how to prepare works for exhibition etc
I’m also a practicing artist, and historically both a filmmaker and gallery curator - so happy to answer things relating to that sort of thing too.
Because it’s a pretty niche job I may have to keep some details vague for privacy etc.
I’m doing a public talk fairly soon on “what I do”, and I need to know what sort of things people are potentially interested in, so I can focus more on those in the talk - so any relevant questions would be really helpful to me, thank you.
Person who’s had the fortune/misfortune of having dipped their toes into the creative scene here (architecture).
I am impressed by anyone who pursues a path such as yours. First, if you deal with it at all, how do you deal with stress?
Second: What are your thoughts on passions turning into commodities as is the case with most publicly renowned art?
Stress:
I used to smoke, and once they invented vaping, I did that for a while. I don’t do either now, but outside of work I have to make sure I get enough sleep, and sometimes have to do yoga to de-stress, both mentally and physically. Moving heavy crates around, or running up and down stairs etc, or going up and down a ladder 500 times, or crawling round on your knees for hours can take quite a toll on the body, and in recent years I’ve really started to feel it. I’m quite into doing stretches in the morning these days.
On a more difficult install, you’re often working with a team of other technicians, so there’s a sense of camaraderie with the other people in the same situation. You work very closely and intensely with a small group of people - and thankfully, I’ve generally found them all good to work with. That atmosphere generally helps with the stress of things. I’m apparently good at keeping things calm, and tutoring and reassuring less experienced techs - so all in all, we look out for each other and try and share the stress out.
Passions to Commodities:
Same as with music, I guess. It’s often inevitable at some point in an artist’s career - especially if they’re “represented by a commercial gallery”. There’s a point where you’d be creating “what will sell” or “what will get the commission” rather than “what your passion leads you to”. I’ve managed to avoid this as an artist by simply avoiding being successful :)
There’s a case where I feel some people are “just churning another one out for the cash”, but there’s still the majority working with genuine passion - and surprisingly a lack of ego in most cases. Even amongst “contemporary artists you may have heard of”, the handful I’ve met seem to have generally been anxious, low self-confidence, kind, passionate about their projects etc. Same with musicians actually. It seems like it’s normally the commercial gallery representative or management that carries the ego around.
Thank you for these fantastic insights into your work. Nice to know that there’s a sense of camaraderie among installers and techs, after all, I reckon in most lines of work you’d find yourself pitted against those you are teamed up with. May that synergism always present itself as a well of rejuvenation.
The point about (visual) artists v. managers seems to mirror what happens in the music biz. One can never creative when one thinks they’re there or enough. The meekness has to be a necessity.