Lighting for a home gallery

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Framing Goddess

Framing Goddess

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Jul 18, 2000
Posts
4,318
Loc
Cleveland, Ohio
I have a customer who wants to light a wide hallway gallery in his home and needs some general advice on placing of and type of and wattage of track lights. Any ideas I can pass on to him? He is a DIY'er, btw. Or if anyone knows of any Decor or PFM article or any misc. archive I can access, let me know!!
Thanks very much in advance!
Edie the Framing Goddess
Next Stop: LAS VEGAS! yay.
 
If he has original works on canvas he should NOT use halogens. They are too hot and will cook the oil paints. NOT GOOD!

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Timberwoman
AL
I cut the mat, I pet the =^..^= cat.

[This message has been edited by ArtLady (edited January 04, 2001).]
 
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ArtLady:
If he has original works on canvas he should NOT use halogens. They are too hot and will cook the oil paints. NOT GOOD!

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm not so sure about this. The bulbs themselves are hotter but the light they give off shouldn't be any hotter per lumen than most other types of light bulbs. The biggest mistake people make is to use too bright of a bulb and that can cause more heat and fading. A 20 watt halogen puts out more light than a 100 watt tungsten bulb and that light is focused in one direction...towards you art. Lower wattage halogen floods with UV filters should work fine to light a hallway display.
Tech Lighting looks like they have some great systems. I especially like the bendable wire setup, you could use it in a S shaped manner allowing you to set your lights on opposite sides of the hallway from your artwork getting a better angle and larger spread of the light (and less heat).
 
I know from personal experience here in the gallery. I am absolutely sure that I what I said is correct.

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Timberwoman
AL
I cut the mat, I pet the =^..^= cat.
 
Goddess,

We use a 30 watt/par 20 nfl(flood) halogen bulb (the bulb head is about 3" in diameter) in our gallery. The track is mounted on the ceiling 3 1/2 feet away from the wall and works great. Never had a problem with any "melting" on original oils in over 4 years and some pieces (unfortunately) had ample opportunity to do so. I suppose MAYBE the melting problem may have something either to do with the lights being to close to the work, type of paint or wattage bulbs used or temperature & moisture changes, I dunno--just never had a problem with it.

I would suggest that you refer him to one of the better lighting stores in your area. ((Not Lowes, Sears or someplace with a lighting "department" but a real LIGHTING store)) Most stores like that are going to have people working for them that sell such lighting on a daily basis to builders, electrical contractors and home designers. Those are the people I'd trust to advise your customer depending on their situation. They could also recommend an electrician that could install it directly into their circuitry so they don't have a cord with a switch dangling from the ceiling.

Another option for them would be having an electrician install a moveable "eye" recessed can light(s) into their ceiling (depending on the type). This will still give them a gallery look without having all the hardware attached to the ceiling. (depends on the amount of pieces to be displayed) Yet another reason to defer to the lighting professional.

well, that's my two cents.
 
The paints don't melt they become brittle and the whole work becomes misshapen. This was advice given to me by a gallery owner who owns a very large upscale gallery and sells more artwork each year than any of us has seen our lifetimes. I didn't believe until I experienced it for myself.

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Timberwoman
AL
I cut the mat, I pet the =^..^= cat.
 
I can't reply from a technical perspective, but I do know that we use Halogen bulbs, as do at least one of the major musuems here in Phoenix. I called one of the conservators that I had met, and he confirmed it. So maybe the distance, wattage and other factors might be the culprit. But for us, that GE ad showing the same bulb we use protecting fine works of art(like the Samantha piece on the refrigerator) was satisfactory
 
OK Artlady I decided I had better do a little research. I haven't found exactly what I wanted...a comparison of different bulbs as far as spectrum and energy outputs. I did however find an interesting line on the GE site:
"Halogen lamps offer large amounts of visible and infrared energy from a small light source, with about 90% of the energy in the infrared."
The reflectors that the bulbs are mounted in focus the infrared away from the fixture to protect it so it would be directed at the artwork. The actual bulbs themselves can reach 1250 degrees F. I'm not sure how much infrared incandescent lamps give off but I'm pretty sure it's not anywhere near that much. Certainly something to look into more thoroughly.
 
I rest my case. Infared is the heat wave length if I remember my grade school science lessons. Have you ever experienced a heat lamp in a hotel powder room. Those give off infared. Albeit not as much but the principle is the same.

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Timberwoman
AL
I cut the mat, I pet the =^..^= cat.
 
The following came from The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and artistic work.

When lighting paintings, use indirect lighting. Lights that attach to the top of the frame and hang over the picture can be dangerous. These lights cast a harsh glare, illuminate and heat the painting unevenly, and can fall into the artwork causing burns or tears. Indirect sunlight, recessed lighting, or ceiling-mounted spotlights are best for home installations. Halogen lamps are increasingly popular, but halogen bulbs emit high levels of ultraviolet light (the part of the spectrum that is damaging to artworks) and should be fitted with an ultraviolet filter when used near light-sensitive materials. These bulbs also have been known to explode and may pose a fire hazard. Tungsten lamps may be preferable for home lighting."
 
Where, oh where, is that wisest of the wise, the sage from the north, when we need him the most. Orton, want to clear this up for all of us not so enlightened?
 
Hi Guys!

Just a few general comments.

When choosing lighting, consider first the long-term effects of the lighting on the artwork. Remember that all light is damaging to artwork, not just UV - and ALL light damage is accumulative and cannot be reversed.

Having said that, it would be prudent to choose lighting that focusses a minimum amount of heat on the art and emits a minimum amount of UV.

Ignoring colour balance considerations altogether, indirect tungsten is probably the safest, halogen the least safe. Flourescant emits high UV levels and is not safe unless filtered but may be colour-correctable. Halogens emit high UV levels as do flourescent lights but generally run far too hot to use filter film media on them.

If my memory serves me correctly, most museums and galleries use a general standard light level threshold of 75 lux, although this level changes dependant upon the nature of the artifacts being illuminated.

Here's a method that will give you an APPROXIMATION ONLY of light levels.

Set your SLR camera to 800 ASA, shutter at 1/60th and focus on a sheet of white matboard such that the board fills the entire frame of the viewfinder. The board should be held in the same plane as the art, relative to the light source, and the camera positioned such that its shadow (and yours) does not fall on the board and obscure the lighting pattern.
Adjust the diaphragm until the camera indicates a "correct" exposure. The following f stops approximate the light levels: f4 - 50 lux; f5.6 - 100 lux; f8 - 200 lux; etc. in geometric proportion.

Do not use a a glossy white board - matte surface is best - the verso of most boards is a good alternative.

Reference CCI Notes 2/5.

Hope this is of some help.

Orton
 
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