Weight, Balance and Who Lifts It

Sculpture is rarely damaged by its environment. It is damaged when it is lifted by a projecting element, set down on an unpadded surface, moved by one person when it needed two, or stored on a shelf that does not support its actual footprint. Every one of those is a procedure failure rather than a facility failure.

Outdoor bronzes brought into storage bring their own complication. They arrive with existing surface condition — patina, corrosion products, sometimes previous coatings — and moving them into a stable interior environment can change how that surface behaves. It is worth documenting thoroughly at intake for that reason.

• Lifting points identified before anything is moved.
• Two-person handling as the default, not the exception.
• Support that matches the base, not the shelf that happened to be free.
• Padding at every contact point.
• Bronze and outdoor works, which frequently arrive with existing surface issues.

Weight, whether it is stable standing unsupported, and where it may and may not be held. Artists and fabricators frequently know that a particular element must never bear load, and that knowledge is lost between the studio and storage more reliably than anything else.

If nobody knows, we assume nothing bears load and handle accordingly, which is slower and safer. Being told is better.

1. 01Assess weight, balance and lifting points on intake.
2. 02Photograph and condition report before anything is moved.
3. 03Store on supports appropriate to the actual base.
4. 04Handle with the number of people the object requires.
5. 05Re-report condition on every movement.

Tell us where a piece can and cannot be held before it arrives. Artists and fabricators frequently know that a particular element must never bear weight, and that information gets lost between the studio and the store more often than anything else.

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