The project involved the installation of five enormous tapestries in the Bank of America Building lobby in Los Angeles. The largest tapestry weighed 280 kilos (617 pounds), without the stretchers, and measured 13.25 meters high by 6.80 meters wide (43.5 x 22.3 ft). Los Angeles building and safety codes dictated that the artworks could not be hung free on the walls, but had to be stretched on a frame. With granite walls, ceilings as high as 18
meters (59 feet), and constant pedestrian traffic the complications were challenging.
The project took more than a year from beginning to end.

Bryan and his team met with engineers to brainstorm the design and Cooke’s devoted a large warehouse building for the construction. Stretcher bars were designed in 3 x 3 inch (7.62 x 7.62 cm) aluminum square stock, with all components screwed together so parts could be reassembled at the installation site. The addition of a wood edge on the aluminum
stretcher meant the tapestries could be stapled to complete the final stretch.

One of the biggest challenges was stretching the tapestries on these frameworks. The final work had to be done on site, vertically in front of the granite wall, as there was no room in the lobby to lay the works down. The Cooke’s team invented a clamping system using 2 x 4 inch (5 x 10 cm) lumber, C-clamps and volara padding to sandwich and hold the edges of the heavy tapestry. The anchored edges were connected across the back of the stretcher with heavy duty ratchet straps. The ratchet straps had the power to draw the tapestry around the frame edge for stapling. According to the crew at Cooke’s “It was sort of like stretching a painting, but on a gargantuan scale.“ Fastening the largest stretched tapestry to the wall, with a total weight of 850 kilos (1,874), took some hardware testing.

The Cooke’s crew decided on a piece of butterfly-type hardware called a Snaptoggle. Each fastener could support over 158 kilograms (350 pounds). The stretchers were designed so the horizontal support bars lined up with the grout lines between granite wall panels and holes were drilled in the grout-lines for the fasteners. A series of angled cleats held the weight of the art, and additional fasteners were added so the tapestry could not jump off the cleats in an earthquake.

The scaffolding contractor had to be creative to work around and over escalators and lobby elements that could not be moved. The towering scaffolding was rigged at the top with I-beams perpendicular to the wall. Manipulating the weight of the tapestry and stretcher
required chain hoists which were attached to the I-beams. The crew worked to stretch the
tapestry (like stretching a huge Persian Rug) in a 60 cm space (24 inches) between the back of the suspended stretcher and the wall. Of course full safety harnesses were required. We can only imagine the fatigue at the end of the day.

The mammoth project complete, Bryan gave fellow ICEFAT members the transparent view
of events when he revealed that, as the plastic covers were being removed for the dedication events, a tiny (but significantly visible) piece of the tapestry backing was pulled into view at the top of the largest tapestry. Undaunted, the crew went back into overdrive to find an extension pole that could tuck it back into place. Finally, the job was complete and well done.

Mike Hascall
Artech Fine Art Services
USA