Faced with the installation of a 600 pound Jacques Lipchitz
bronze relief on irregular stone wall over mantle in Collector’s
home more than 325 miles from their warehouse, Artech had to
find a fool-proof installation solution before arriving on site.
The home was a cowboy mansion in Eastern Oregon, and the mantel
itself was sawn from a large tree.
The bronze, which measured 45 x 90 x 8 ins (115 x 230 x 20
cms) had arrived at Artech in a flat crate. Knowing there was
no forklift on site the crate because a distinct liability –
lifting 600 lbs straight up would take at least six people and
risk serious back injury. – So Artech technicians repacked
the bronze into a “handling cradle” (see Diagram)
which allowed the work to travel vertically in the truck and
also provided lifting-points for moving the work into and through
the home.
On site the two Artech technicians were assisted by two local
movers – hired by the collector – and with the benefit
of the “handling cradle” four people were able to
lift and move the sculpture.
The crew then used a Genie-lift (hand-cranked fork-lift) with
a capacity of 1000 pounds. This low impact machinery is one
of the few that can be used inside most homes. The 600-pound
artwork, placed at the outer end of the forks, remained within
the rating for the machinery. The lifting-cradle was well braced
to the Genie-lift with two pieces of structural lumber this
meant humans on ladders did not need to steady the art as it
was lifted. It was an easy matter to crank the lift above the
mantel height and push the unit in to the wall. As often happens
when working with collectors, the artwork had to be raised and
lowered several times so that the client, his friends and relations
had their input on the final height. The fixing hardware was
then attached to the wall!
The Lipchitz relief was manufactured with two heavy bronze
L-brackets extending more than 2 inches out from the back. The
fireplace wall surface was irregular stone. Artech designed
a bar-cleat made from ¼ x 3 inch steel stock and 5 –
½ inch stainless steel threaded rod inserts. Hole placement
was lined up with a laser level. The holes were drilled into
the stone (grout lines very irregular) with a roto-hammer and
9/16” bit. The holes were cleaned carefully and epoxy
adhesive used to anchor the stainless rod horizontally. With
washers and nuts on both sides of the steel, the bar-stock cleat
was held rigidly one inch from the stone face, ready to catch
the brackets on the artwork. This was done with fast set epoxy
which provided sufficient hold in two hours to install the artwork.
Once the brackets on the artwork were lifted above the wall
cleat, the ratchet straps were loosened slowly to allow the
artwork to tilt clear of the still-stable cradle front. Finally,
when brackets were close to the stonewall, the art was lowered
to engage brackets to bar-cleat. The straps were loosened again,
the weight tested, and finally all attachments were removed
and the lift lowered. A satisfying operation.
Mike Hascall
Artech Fine Art
