2c. High School Community

This is started to share the best matting options and processes.

Maybe it's best to start by defining what a mat is and what it does. 
1. It's real purpose is to block out the extraneous visual images around the art work that is matted. It protects the work by allowing handling the work without touching the work. The mat takes the abuse not the artwork.
2. It really does little to protect the work. After all mats are usually 1/8" thick or less. It's a spacer so that a piece of glass or something as stiff can be laid over it and protect it. Paper, cloth, etc. will sag down in the cut opening and rub against the work.

3. Proper matting creates a folder that protects the back of the art work.

4. Mats can become artwork in themselves just like a frame. But what protects them? Another mat or a frame.

This is started to share the best matting options and processes.

How did TAEA come to use mats as a way of protecting artwork for contests? Was this always a practice? Do the divisions and events find this method protects the flat works best at the most efficient cost? Mats in my photo background had more to do with creating a safe and acid free environment for prints to remain archival. I never learned in school (was not an art ed major) about matting or framing for public that had to be handled a lot.

Maybe it's best to start by defining what a mat is and what it does. 
1. It's real purpose is to block out the extraneous visual images around the art work that is matted. It protects the work by allowing handling the work without touching the work. The mat takes the abuse not the artwork.
2. It really does little to protect the work. After all mats are usually 1/8" thick or less. It's a spacer so that a piece of glass or something as stiff can be laid over it and protect it. Paper, cloth, etc. will sag down in the cut opening and rub against the work.

3. Proper matting creates a folder that protects the back of the art work.

4. Mats can become artwork in themselves just like a frame. But what protects them? Another mat or a frame.

This is started to share the best matting options and processes.

How did TAEA come to use mats as a way of protecting artwork for contests? Was this always a practice? Do the divisions and events find this method protects the flat works best at the most efficient cost? Mats in my photo background had more to do with creating a safe and acid free environment for prints to remain archival. I never learned in school (was not an art ed major) about matting or framing for public that had to be handled a lot.

Maybe it's best to start by defining what a mat is and what it does. 
1. It's real purpose is to block out the extraneous visual images around the art work that is matted. It protects the work by allowing handling the work without touching the work. The mat takes the abuse not the artwork.
2. It really does little to protect the work. After all mats are usually 1/8" thick or less. It's a spacer so that a piece of glass or something as stiff can be laid over it and protect it. Paper, cloth, etc. will sag down in the cut opening and rub against the work.

3. Proper matting creates a folder that protects the back of the art work.

4. Mats can become artwork in themselves just like a frame. But what protects them? Another mat or a frame.

This is started to share the best matting options and processes.

Artists have different preferences for the materials they use to mat their artworks. Some of them hire professionals to do the matting and framing for them, while others do it themselves. Students, on the other hand, may not have the option to outsource this task, so they may opt for cheaper materials that are not meant to last long. The term archival refers to the materials that are designed to preserve the artworks for a long time. <o:p></o:p>

To prevent the deterioration of paper and paper products over time, acid free or pH neutral materials were invented as a standard. These materials are called archival, meaning that they are designed to last for a long time without losing their quality or integrity.<o:p></o:p>

Artists have different preferences for the materials they use to mat their artworks. Some of them hire professionals to do the matting and framing for them, while others do it themselves. Students, on the other hand, may not have the option to outsource this task, so they may opt for cheaper materials that are not meant to last long. The term archival refers to the materials that are designed to preserve the artworks for a long time. <o:p></o:p>

To prevent the deterioration of paper and paper products over time, acid free or pH neutral materials were invented as a standard. These materials are called archival, meaning that they are designed to last for a long time without losing their quality or integrity.<o:p></o:p>

How did TAEA come to use mats as a way of protecting artwork for contests? Was this always a practice? Do the divisions and events find this method protects the flat works best at the most efficient cost? Mats in my photo background had more to do with creating a safe and acid free environment for prints to remain archival. I never learned in school (was not an art ed major) about matting or framing for public that had to be handled a lot.

Maybe it's best to start by defining what a mat is and what it does. 
1. It's real purpose is to block out the extraneous visual images around the art work that is matted. It protects the work by allowing handling the work without touching the work. The mat takes the abuse not the artwork.
2. It really does little to protect the work. After all mats are usually 1/8" thick or less. It's a spacer so that a piece of glass or something as stiff can be laid over it and protect it. Paper, cloth, etc. will sag down in the cut opening and rub against the work.

3. Proper matting creates a folder that protects the back of the art work.

4. Mats can become artwork in themselves just like a frame. But what protects them? Another mat or a frame.

This is started to share the best matting options and processes.

I'm interested in the topic of matting and how it affects the perception of art. I read a dialogue with Rothko, who said that he and his fellow modernists had no money and had to use whatever materials they could find. They also experimented with new ways of presenting their work.<o:p></o:p>

I wonder if we are too rigid in our expectations of how art should be matted and framed. We might think that a blank mat around a drawing is the best way to highlight the artist's choice, and that we should mat the artwork again even if it already has a **** mat. But maybe the artist has a different vision and wants to have more control over how their work is displayed.<o:p></o:p>

So, I ask myself, is it fair that we impose our standards of presentation on the artwork, or should we respect the artist's preferences more? It may be a good question to ask as we continue a discussion about matting.<o:p></o:p>

Artists have different preferences for the materials they use to mat their artworks. Some of them hire professionals to do the matting and framing for them, while others do it themselves. Students, on the other hand, may not have the option to outsource this task, so they may opt for cheaper materials that are not meant to last long. The term archival refers to the materials that are designed to preserve the artworks for a long time. <o:p></o:p>

To prevent the deterioration of paper and paper products over time, acid free or pH neutral materials were invented as a standard. These materials are called archival, meaning that they are designed to last for a long time without losing their quality or integrity.<o:p></o:p>

Artists have different preferences for the materials they use to mat their artworks. Some of them hire professionals to do the matting and framing for them, while others do it themselves. Students, on the other hand, may not have the option to outsource this task, so they may opt for cheaper materials that are not meant to last long. The term archival refers to the materials that are designed to preserve the artworks for a long time. <o:p></o:p>

To prevent the deterioration of paper and paper products over time, acid free or pH neutral materials were invented as a standard. These materials are called archival, meaning that they are designed to last for a long time without losing their quality or integrity.<o:p></o:p>

How did TAEA come to use mats as a way of protecting artwork for contests? Was this always a practice? Do the divisions and events find this method protects the flat works best at the most efficient cost? Mats in my photo background had more to do with creating a safe and acid free environment for prints to remain archival. I never learned in school (was not an art ed major) about matting or framing for public that had to be handled a lot.

Maybe it's best to start by defining what a mat is and what it does. 
1. It's real purpose is to block out the extraneous visual images around the art work that is matted. It protects the work by allowing handling the work without touching the work. The mat takes the abuse not the artwork.
2. It really does little to protect the work. After all mats are usually 1/8" thick or less. It's a spacer so that a piece of glass or something as stiff can be laid over it and protect it. Paper, cloth, etc. will sag down in the cut opening and rub against the work.

3. Proper matting creates a folder that protects the back of the art work.

4. Mats can become artwork in themselves just like a frame. But what protects them? Another mat or a frame.

This is started to share the best matting options and processes.