Exploring ACM Panels

by TIM REES
http://www.reesfineart.com/

 

Aluminum composite material is a relatively new painting surface in the field of art materials.  Those who have heard of it are often aware of its nature to be more rigid than stretched canvas and not prone to the same deteriorating effects of time like wood.  In short, ACM is an incredibly long-lasting substrate, destined to last through the ages as our work is passed down from generation to generation, or is (hopefully) acquired by museums.

 

While all this is true, I have found the subject of using ACM akin to the same conversation we seem to have about vegetables or exercise: we all know it’s good for us, and that it will help keep us alive and healthy longer, but that conversation hasn’t exactly turned us into a society of vegetarian fitness buffs.  When I have spoken to artists of the long-term qualities of ACM, I notice a similar mentality. I hear arguments such as:

 

“Most paintings of the past were executed on canvas or wood” (similar to the argument that “People of the past couldn’t always eat vegetables and they didn’t visit a gym”); or:

“My work probably won’t make it into a museum/nobody will want my painting anyway” (similar in effect to the argument that “I might be hit by a car and die tomorrow, so why change my diet today?”).

 

The very nature of humans makes it difficult to persuade us to consider long reaching ramifications, so I have little intention of doing that here.  Instead, I’d like to bring to the table some of my experiences as a working artist who has had the curiosity (and sometimes necessity) of working on a huge range of painting surfaces and substrates, and highlight a variety of reasons why I continue to be drawn back to the ACM.  Perhaps you have shared some of these frustrations, or perhaps they haven’t been considered.  In any case, they should work to help inform your decision-making process.

 

STRETCHING
Most people I have met have had one issue or another at some point with stretching canvas, but another consideration is what happens immediately following.  I once participated in a show that was in a very humid climate compared to my typical dry studio climate.  Upon unpacking the crate, to our horror, we discovered that this drastic change in humidity (no doubt combined with the vibration associated with shipping), caused all of the paintings to be hanging loosely from the stretcher bars.  While it might have been less noticeable on smaller works, with these large paintings we could see drooping rolls in the canvas.  We spent the time unframing, re-stretching, and framing them before the show.  Flash forward a month, and when I unpacked the paintings back in the studio, I noticed they had re-tightened, leaving the crease from the stretcher bar visible in some areas around the perimeter of the painting!  Ultimately, this does not affect how good the painting is, but the occasional dimensional crease like this can be visually unappealing.  Unfortunately, the only remaining solution now would be to re-stretch the painting on smaller bars, or to mount it to a less climate-reactive substrate such as ACM, and re-frame the piece.