I have always wondered how museums handle really large photos. I can understand paintings because they come sort of “pre-mounted” on canvases, but what about photos? Say a museum received a gift of a life-sized Richard Avedon photo. How would that photo be mounted to show? Would it be framed? Glued to some kind of backing? I am not so much interested on how they attach it to the wall, but rather how do that prepare it for show. Any insights? The reason I ask is because I am thinking of making some large prints, like 40x60 or larger, but am not sure what to do once I get them.
Much the same way that smaller photos are, just on a larger scale with heavier duty materials that are exponentially more expensive as they still have to be pH neutral and reversible so as not to damage the print.
Any works on paper should always be hinged from the top between a mount and undermount, essentially an acid-free barrier in front and behind the artwork/photo. Any tape should be acid-free and reversible too. Here’s a good example pic to illustrate.
Like I said, the main difference is the size/cost. A regular sheet of mountboard costs me around £6 for a 44" x 32" sheet. Meanwhile a 104" x 60" 4-ply cotton museum board costs me about £133. That’s literally just the cost price of a single sheet of mountboard, before you’ve even considered the rest of the frame, glass etc or the labour costs.