Behind the Scenes: GBSS Phantom Gallery

Now that the GBSS phantom gallery at 321 Main has been announced and unveiled, I thought I might give you all a glimpse into the process that went into building the frontage presence.  We've worked on getting a phantom presence downtown for over two years, so when our labor paid off with oppotunity, we figured the only thing to do was labor some more.  Perhaps due to our unfortunate economy, perhaps other things, but out downtown area has a lamentable number of vacant storefronts.  The best way, in our opinion, to keep these from being eyesores and signs of weakness is to fill them with art.  "Phantom galleries," as these types of window mini-exhibitions are called, are also a great opportunity for young artists to get exposure, and for the citizens of La Crosse and the surrounding areas to get exposure to new and unique art.

Once we found the right people to work with downtown, we quickly began to put together our presence.  We knew that since this was the first one in town, and since we wanted this phenomenon to grow despite other landowners likely being reluctant to share their vacant spaces with artists, our presence had to be top notch.  We wanted to use the space to share a high caliber of art, and inject downtown La Crosse with a challenging level of art making and art works.  

First, we built a modular wall system that allows us to have a mobile white-wall gallery sturdy enough to display all kinds of art.   Mobility was a big requirement.  If the space is rented out, then we need to be able to move the display to another space rather easily.

Here you can catch a peek at some of the tools that went into the construction process--standards that are essential to any good art studio.

Our finished wall is over 20 feet long, assembles easily and rather quickly, and breaks down to all fit into a full-sized truck bed.

Here is the white-wall before some finishing touches (taping, ratcheting, etc.)...

...and here is the wall with art installed.  Don't think you're off the hook, though, this art is gonna change quickly and often, so try to walk by any time you're downtown.