WHAT IS SQUARE?

This may come as a surprise to a few of you: I like to build furniture & case goods. I have been building my house in Los Angeles from the ground up, for the last few years. I have built everything. I do not mean assembling pieces of ready-made furniture, but actually site built, shop made, hand lacquered or vacuum press veneered case goods, for every part of the house. Millwork. Doors. It is an endless list. Along the way, I have learned a few things that apply to creatives in other disciplines. This isn't supposed to be a humble brag about my abilities. I’m writing because a few of you need to learn what "square" really is. This includes a couple of people in the art framing business in Los Angeles. I also think that this goes to a deeper problem with creatives, but I may not be able to unpack all of it here.

Ok, Explain.
One of the questions I get asked about my work, is why I quit using stretched canvas and have gone to a rigid panel. The answer is quite simple: I can build square.

Three years ago, I created a test for my currency and paper texture idea on canvas. It’s actually a lovely study and hangs in my master bedroom. I’ll write more on this piece in the future, as it is very evocative. BUT …It is not stretched square and that drives me crazy. It took three attempts and it is still more than an 1/8 inch out of square over 60 inches. I see this flaw every morning and every night. I have also been wanting to say something for a while now. So ...get ready.

Back Story.
In the summer of 2018, I took this rolled canvas to a highly prominent framing studio, in Los Angeles. The kind of place that has Shepard Fairey paintings and real Andy Warhol pieces. Not prints. Not lithos. Seven and eight figure real deal art. In fact, he supposedly stretches Shepard Fairey’s work exclusively, and has since the late 1980’s. I know this because that was the first of many humble brags to come. I indeed, saw a good dozen Obey pieces on the racks. I felt very confident that he was going to be able to stretch my piece and do a great job. I even let him name his price. After three attempts and several months later, the results were dismal. He tried to blame it on the way the canvas was done, the way the painting looks, the way the paper folds against the left hand line of the painting's edge ...then it was just my eyes, then it was just an optical illusion. I can see down to a 32nd of an inch. If something is out of level, or out of plumb, it is very obvious to me. While he was grandstanding in front of his entire shop, with lectures and tape measure tricks, I was thumbing through my photos on my phone. I mentioned that I build furniture and he needed to quit saying it was an illusion. He too said he was a woodworker and in that same breath, as he nodded in a smug "you don't know what I know way", I showed him a picture of my work and my shop. He saw that I was no joke and started to change his tone. Fast.

And Then...
I begged him to measure it correctly on the diagonals and not just the top and bottom, as that does not actually confirm square. Any freshman shop class covers this. I guess he missed that day. Once he did measure the diagonals ... things got quiet. He then went and got his Johnson square (decent brand but not that accurate) and saw the issue immediately. This made all of the staff's nodding in agreement and attempts to tell me that it was all me and that they were right, all the more pathetic. They too got quiet.

The Johnson had a much longer leg, which allowed him to see clearly over 48 inches. A six-inch square 'aint gonna get it done. At this point, I was hoping to watch him eat shit in front of his staff, especially the beautiful assistant I was trying to look cool for. He did lecture/mansplain to me for an hour. Yes, a man can have another man "mansplain". In the end, he did concede that he was wrong. I was assured that it was a fluke and they could fix it. Of course nobody apologized. That was way too much for any of them. I have met my fair share of arrogant artists, but dude you just frame the shit. Then I realized the shop was full of frustrated and failed artists. So ...FML.

I did allow them to try it one more time but it was just beyond their abilities. 67 days went by. I offered more money and even the use of my tools, but still it was delivered out of square. Apparently Shepard doesn’t care or this guy just hated me. But here's the thing. If it wasn’t for his shitty craftsmanship, I would have never discovered a new and better alternative. Like a way better alternative. So I guess I owe him thanks.

I know you are thinking "Brian, they tried", and "he was doing his best... why are you being a dick?" Here is why. Don't walk me through your multi-building facility, brag about the staff and capabilities, humble drop famous artists' names whose work is in the shop and even go so far as to correct me when I called a Warhol piece a lithograph, letting me know that I was actually standing next to a $35MM triptych of the lame ass Elvis piece. Don't do all that, name your price for the job, take the money and then suck at it. And then suck at it again. And then suck at it one more time for good measure.

Whew! So, after that experience, I decided to apply my furniture making abilities, to the assembly of the substrates and carrier mechanisms for my art. Square side profiles, modified French cleat hanging devices, rigid panels …and all within 3/10 of a mm of square. As I have shown in other posts, I can build the shipping materials, so this was just a perfect extension of my abilities. Never needing another useless vendor was just the proverbial "icing on top". Through all of this, I discovered complete autonomy can be very liberating.

And?
Back to the original point. Square is not square. In the realest of terms, the idea of “level“ or “straight“ or even “distance“ is a theory. A mathematical equation that has limits both in terms of physics and perception. You can have some fun learning about this: Take three tape measures and measure 73 and 9/16. I’ll bet all three will be different. Do it with a digital laser measuring device. It will be different as well. Now the question becomes, “which one is actually correct?” You can do this with a framing square from the Home Depot. Compare that against one of my single billet of aluminum, Woodpeckers square or the TSO triangle pictured above. The difference is substantial. Like before, the question becomes "what is square?" In the end, none will be perfect. Perfection, like squares seems to be highly interpretive. More so at some LA framers, but I digress.

Perfection?
I’m not seeking perfection. I’m an artist. However, I do like to get as close as I can, to perfection, especially when rendering certain elements in my art. I also seek it out in the substrates and hanging mechanisms of my work. I have the same expectations of vendors that I work with. Unfortunately, the chasm between those expectations and reality, tends to widen more and more. Perfection is a mythical goal. An evolution of craft and ability, but not an absolute.

Having complete autonomy has made the work better. If you’ve been struggling with your craftsmanship, maybe you can look at better measuring devices to help master your ability. If you think $300 is a lot, I saw a measuring caliper for the Aerospace industry that was $3,500. I am sure it is more accurate than my $70 one. It better be. Obviously, you don't have to go that far, but Harbor Freight 'aint gonna do it. If you rely on vendors and have been disappointed, maybe now is the time to get your autonomy back. Maybe you’ve never even thought about it and this all seems crazy. I promise, once you try that trick with a tape measure …it opens up a whole world of questions. At least it should.

Wrap Up.
I know this post started out as one thing and then became something else. Thanks for letting me rant. I appreciate my readers.

I’m working on a Broken Bank Note painting and creating some new furniture for the house that is nearing completion. I don’t know if this is the right forum but if I get enough messages, I’ll do a post on the finished piece. Maybe I will show some video of me working in the shop? Maybe that’s interesting to some of you? Maybe you’re like “dude just stick to paintings!” I hope you’ve learned more about how to perfect your presentation and are intrigued by the theoretical limits of “square“. I also hope I inspired you to take responsibility and get your autonomy back. At the very least, I finally give the answer to why I quit using stretched canvas.