Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Davis.
Hi Jonathan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
This business started as a side gig to my fabrication business. A friend of mine used to run it, but was getting into a new career and didn’t want to drop his clients, so he asked if I would take care of his clients for art installation. Apparently I was good enough at it that the people I did installs for quickly referred me to their friends. Just through word of mouth the art installation grew into its own business before the end of the first year!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road was surprisingly smooth at the beginning! More recently there have been some struggles and upsets. Both of the people who were working with me regularly for installs moved out of Texas earlier this year. It has been tricky to replace their skill-sets. Art installation is mostly algebra and geometry. That being said, there is a lot of other background knowledge that makes it all go smoother, from compositional theory, to construction. It can be tricky to find that balance between art appreciation, math, and the practical skills needed to do the work, that make for the best employees.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have a pretty varied background! I have degrees in Fine Art and Psychology from UTSA. I’ve had dozens of shows for my sculpture, and even won awards in some juried shows in other states. Right after I graduated I got hired by Robert Diaz DeLeon of Flux Metal Studio. Robert taught me quite a lot about fabrication, and I got to build some really cool stuff at the Pearl Brewery District, and inside Hotel Emma.
After working at Flux, I started my own fabrication business, Iron Moose Co. where I build high-end custom furniture. I work in steel, stainless steel, brass, copper, aluminum, and any kind of wood. I also have some limited background with construction processes, like framing, electrical, and plumbing. I’m not an expert in any of those fields but I know enough to know what to watch out for when I’m trying to install hardware into walls, ceilings, and floors. In addition to all of that, I spent some time working at a custom picture framing shop, where I learned how to build frames, and install art into those frames.
I guess, all of that is to say, that I have an excellent background when it comes to installing artwork. It’s a simple process to me and I’m able to draw on skills with compositional theory and standard guidelines for art hanging that I learned in art school, as well as my own artistic background that I can sometimes leverage to tell a story with your art display. Then on the practical side of things, I’m familiar enough with residential and commercial construction to know when specialty hardware is necessary, and how to not pierce anything important, like water lines or electrical wiring. Getting more into the weeds here, but my fabrication background gives me the math to put your artwork right where you want it, and allows me to fabricate novel mounting solutions and put things on the wall maybe shouldn’t be there. The background I have with picture framing means that I can sometimes field-repair artwork and frames, or at least give suggestions on where to take the artwork for proper repair/restoration.
It’s a weird combination of skills, but with regard to art installation, they all kind of dove-tail together perfectly.
Any big plans?
I think it would be really neat to try and create a set of standards for proper art installation. I’m not exactly certain how to go about doing that. I have been called out on a number of jobs to repair and/or re-hang artworks that quite simply had not been put up properly. I’ve seen incredibly beautiful and valuable artworks damaged, and in some cases irreparably destroyed. Ceramic pieces installed on brittle acrylic cleats that snapped off, pieces hung across from south-facing windows that are now UV damaged, or mirrors, or other heavy pieces put up on wire, causing the corners of the frame to break. There are appropriate ways to put up all of these things and protect against UV, but installers, and their clients need to know what they are if they want to avoid those risks.
Pricing:
- We charge $100 per hour, per installer
- Each installer can generally put up 5 – 8 pieces inside an hour
- We bring an array of standard hardware to put up artwork
- We have step-stools and ladders that we always bring, and scaffolding we can bring out for a fee
- Our website has a form for free estimates for your art installation project
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Startinstallation.com
- Instagram: @startinstallation
