About five years ago, I created and curated the artwork for RSM’s Orange County, California office. RSM is a global professional advisory firm providing technology and financial consulting services, tax and attest services. RSM moved to a new office space during the pandemic, so I removed the work from the walls of the old office and prepared the work for the move. Last month I hung the work on the walls of their new office.
When I started the dialogue with RSM about the project they told me they were looking to modernize their office space and were interested in my photographs. I came up with the concept to only use images only form Orange County to help the office showcase their identity and to be a component of team building. I knew that an entire office of similar images and frames would not work so I curated my work to use various photographic styles. Since I had lived in area for over twenty of years, I had a fair number of images to choose from. I also knew the area well enough to know where to go to photograph to get the images I still might need. The photograph above shows two images I went out looking to photograph once I began this project. These two prints are in the lobby and large conference room which are the focal point of the office upon entering it. It was a great opportunity for me to display some of my images that aren’t in some of my better-known portfolios plus it allowed me to reexamine some images that I hadn’t looked at in a while.
The RSM collection includes 35 framed prints of various sizes, a small aluminum print, and a large (40’x60”) three panel aluminum piece. RSM’s new office has less useable wall space than their old office but my photographs fit better in the modern brand-new building. The installation took about 17 hours including the time it took time figuring out useable wall space and pairings. The new building also had some surprises for me with wall material considering all walls were internal. There were several times where I had to redrill holes or move mounting brackets on frames because I hit steel supports, but it all worked out and by the second day of hanging frames I had my system down again.
Below, one of my favorite images for this office still remains the theatre marquee for the movie “The Accountant”, just a perfect image for this office.
I’ll share some insight into my installation process. I use a T-lock locking system to attach the frames to the wall in commercial settings. I developed a system to speed up the process by making templates out of strips of scrap mounting board. Each template has the positions for the brackets on the frame as well as the corresponding positions for the wall mount clips. I use the template to position the clips on the frames in consistent manner then I use the same template to determine the wall clip positions. By using a level, I just have to determine the center point of each frame on the wall and mark that with painter’s tape. Most of the frames in the office were hung with their center point being 63” which is higher than museum standard but visually it fit the space better. So, for each frame I would measure the wall at the floor level to find the center point. I then measured up to where I wanted the top of the frame to be (63” + 1/2 the frame height) and that determined my center point. I lined the template’s marked center point with the mark on the wall and aligned it with my level. I then marked the two drill holes and I the frame would be aligned. I found it best to mark the bottom T-lock drill hole with the frame on the wall and tracing the edge of the lock bracket on the bottom of the frame. Aligning the T-lock is the hardest part, and more than once I was a fraction off, but luckily usually close enough a hammer could correct the alignment. I got smart the second day and put all my tools on a cart to speed up the process.
This panel below was the prominent piece in the old office’s lobby. These panels are each 40” x 60” aluminum prints. The old office had a slightly curved wall which was a problem to hang on. We chose a flat interior wall in the new office which was much simpler to deal with. These pieces hang on strip of grooved wood and then I secure the bottom of them with a removeable mounting adhesive. Surprisingly they are from a single image my lab cropped into a panorama and then made three prints out of it. The camera was a Canon PowerShot G12 with a 10MB one inch sensor. It showcases the incredible capabilities of digital technology, especially considering this is now old technology. The image is of the Balboa Peninsula looking South towards Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach. When my son was a freshman in high school his PE class was surfing, and it was first thing in the morning. I would park near their surfing spot then walk the stand with my camera until his class was over. This image came from one of my walks.
And finally, the of the office exterior. RSM is one of the first tenants in this building and the entire complex is still under construction. The modern design of the space really fits photography artwork, I am proud of how well the collection looks here.
