Knowledge base concerning the curators role
Table of Contents
Manuals
Images of an artwork
An image of an artwork must be prepared for upload as followed:
- File format: .jpg
- Color profile: sRGB, colors adjusted
- File size: 1500px (short edge of the image), file size optimized
- File naming: artists-name-number-keyword.jpg (leonardo-da-vinci-01-gioconda.jpg)
- Number: Up to four images
- First image: Entire artwork, frontal, deskewed
- Other images: Detail view, close up, reverse side
How do I photograph 2-dimensional works?
Place the work
- Mount the work on a flat surface (wall) with a gray, black or white background.
- Make sure that the work hangs vertically, plane and parallel to the wall.
Set up the camera
- Mount the camera on a tripod.
- Position the tripod at the correct distance from the work, according to the focal length of the lens and to the dimension of the work.
- Vario lenses: set the focal length to the value that delivers the best quality according to the camera or lens specification.
- Set the lens axis vertically and horizontally exactly in the center of the work. The film plane should be as parallel as possible to the work.
- Check in the viewfinder whether the work is centered, free of distortion and with enough surrounding background.
- To shoot upright format works, turn the camera to portrait orientation. And not the other way around.
- You may mount a color wedge, centered and at a small distance to the work.
Set up the lighting
- Place the lights in the middle between the work and the camera and at an angle of 45 degrees to the work.
- Equip the lights with screens and turn the lights so that the work is illuminated only indirectly, but evenly.
- Make sure there are no strong shadows or reflections caused by the lighting.
Camera settings
File format
- RAW or RAW/JPG combined (specialized software is required for the further processing of photos in RAW format.)
- Maximum image size.
- JPG format: the best compression quality.
Exposure
- ISO value that provides the best photo quality according to the camera specification. (Generally: the lower the ISO value, the better the quality.)
- Exposure priority: aperture priority.
- Aperture value that provides the best photo quality according to the camera or lens specification. (Generally: the aperture f/8 provides the best quality.)
- White balance in case of a defined light temperature: according to the used lighting equipment.
- White balance in case of undefined light temperature or mixed lighting: create a custom white balance according to camera manual, or automatic mode
- Shutter release mode: self-timer
How to label an artwork?
- The artist’s name
- The title of the work (Language and case sensitive)
- The year the work was finished
- The height of the work (cm)
- The length of the work (cm)
- The applied technic(s)
- The materials and medium(s) the work is created of
- Original work, resp. edition/number
- The price of the work ($)
- A short description of the work
- The settings of the work (incl. dimensions (cm))
- Keywords matching the work
An example
- Paul Zoller
- DISTANT REALITY
- 2016
- 92 cm
- 144 cm
- Acrylic painting
- Glass pigments, acrylic, cotton
- Original work
- $ 4575.00
- A look up to the higher regions. Above the horizon, there is vast space, but it is of a different nature than where the feet are, immaterial, transparent, without a beginning and without an end, no low nor high, levitating between fixed coordinates.
- Painting mounted on aluminum-plywood support. Ready for hanging. 92 x 144 cm.
- landscape, weather, rays, air, atmosphere, distant, reality
List of labeling terms
To ensure a certain consistency, the terms listed here can be used to label the works:
List of technics
- Painting
- Acrylic painting
- Airbrush
- Watercolor
- Encaustic
- Frottage
- Stained glass
- Gouache
- Grisaille
- Oil painting
- Pastel painting
- Tempera
- Ink painting
- Acrylic painting
- Print graphic
- Woodcut
- Wood engraving
- Linocut
- Aquatint
- Crayon
- Photogravure
- Drypoint
- Copperplate
- Mezzotint
- Embossing
- Etching
- Stahlstich
- Vernis mou
- Lithography
- Offset lithography
- Zincography
- Screen printing
- Woodcut
- Drawing
- Charcoal drawing
- Sanguine
- Pencil drawing
- Silver point drawing
- Ink drawing
- Brush drawing
- Charcoal drawing
- Photography
- Digital photography
- Alternative process
- Color photography
- Photogram
- Holography
- Pinhole camera
- Black and white photography
- Digital photography
- New media
- Digital art
- Media art
- Multimedia
- Net art
- Video
- Digital art
List of materials
- Painting materials
- Oil paint
- Acrylic
- Pigment
- Tempera
- Wax
- Oil paint
- Graphic materials
- Bister
- Sepia
- Pastel
- Ruddle
- Ink
- Wax Crayon
- Charcoal
- Pencil
- Color pencil
- Feather
- Silver pen
- Bister
- Support materials
- Canvas
- Cotton
- Metal
- Wood
- Paper
- Watercolor paper
- Handmade paper
- Carton
- Transparent paper
- Parchment
- Vellum
- Watercolor paper
- Paper
- Canvas
List of settings
- Mounted
- Framed
How to write an artwork description?
Tell what to expect from the work of art, what isn't obvious in the representing images and provide background information.
Provide practical informations
- What extra materials were used to create the work
- What type of surfaces is the work created on, and how does its finish look like
- Whether the artwork is framed or unframed
- Recommended hanging/installation procedures
- Whether hanging/installation hardware is included
Provide background informations
- What do you feel/think percepting the work?
- Why was the medium, subject matter, style chosen?
- About the making of the piece
- What was the artists intuition or inspiration, is the idea, concept?
- What do other people say about the work? (Testimonials)