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Digital Imaging Brings Life to Art Vision
 For artist Rosemary Feit Covey, a recent building wrap on a historic art building located just outside of Washington, DC was more than a wide-format graphic accomplished by digital imaging: It was the rallying point for the voiceless of the world.
Covey proposed the building wrap idea to the Arlington Arts Center, a nonprofit venue for emerging and contemporary artists in the Mid-Atlantic region, as the crux of her “0 Project,” an art exhibit that represents voiceless people but is not tied to any particular cause.
The arts center selected the wrap idea among hundreds of applications for its Sculpture on the Grounds series, which temporarily installs outdoor art pieces at the center. Covey, who had never before worked with digital imaging as part of her artwork, was referred to SGIA member companies to print the work and provide her with advice on preparing the image files.
While she was hesitant at first about working with “corporate people,” Covey says the FASTSIGNS® Antioch franchise (Antioch, Tennessee) helped her make the transition from engraving on woodblocks and hand painting on fine papers to fully understanding and creating an image for the building wrap.
FASTSIGNS® Antioch, a digital imaging services company, says the building wrap was its first endeavor into the art world. The company was first approached by HP to donate its time and services for Covey’s 0 Project. With no idea what to expect, the franchise’s owner says the project and its corresponding building wrap evolved as he became more involved.
Covey’s image of a continuous crowd of howling, black-clad, bald-headed men against a grainy gray backdrop had no original drawing, since the artist conceived the piece to be a work with no size limit. She consulted with another digital imaging company and SGIA member — Dodge Color Inc. (Silver Spring, Maryland) — to prepare a computer file large enough so that the panels for the building wrap would meld seamlessly together into one continuous image.
Once the image file was prepared, FASTSIGNS® Antioch printed it on 60 banner panels, measuring 1.5-m (5-feet) wide and 4.5-m (15-feet) tall. It was the first time the franchise had printed Tyvek® banner material on its UV-flatbed printer, resulting in new capabilities the owner had not previously known. FASTSIGNS® Antioch trimmed the pieces and then sent them to Covey, who did the final finishing and directed the wrap installation, which Covey calls challenging.
Since the Arlington Arts Center is a historic building, no nails or screws were allowed to be used. While the wrap was not especially heavy, high winds during the winter required the piece to be secured on brick that was brittle and easily chipped. Installers used a .6-m-by-1.2-m (2-foot-by-4-foot) frame to hold up the pieces. Arlington County officials — who had to approve the public art display — also helped by providing a bucket truck and operator during the installation process.
The building wrap was up on the Arlington Arts Center from October 2007 until March 2008. It was the first time the center had ever been wrapped, says Claire Huschle, the Executive Director. She says the image was “very striking” and garnered local and art media interest.
To get even more out of the 0 Project’s unveiling, Covey had the image printed on the same Tyvek material for 100 masks, which were worn by BosmaDance Co.’s dancers who performed outdoors at the ceremony. In conjunction, the arts center hosted related events and workshops that included a print making one for children.
Covey says she plans to wrap a building in Reno, Nevada with the same banner pieces, with the hope of creating bigger building wraps of the image in the near future.
The building wrap’s image was partially prepared by SGIA member company Dodge Color Inc. (Silver Spring, Maryland). To learn more about the company, visit its Web site at www.dodgecolor.com or call 240.247.1800.
SGIA member company FASTSIGNS® Antioch (Antioch, Tennessee) provided the printing for the wrap. Learn more about the company at http://www.fastsigns.com/210 or call 615.731.3700.
The Tyvek® banner material was supplied by DuPont, parent company of SGIA member DuPont Imaging Technologies. Learn more about the corporation at www.dupont.com.
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