Registrars are in charge of insuring the work for its safe arrival, but handlers are the men and women who are physically responsible. It's our job to get the art where it has to go damage-free. Once, an artist created a piece that was too large to fit out the door. John and his crew ended up tearing down an entire wall. Another time, while hauling 500-pound stone sculptures up an ancient freight elevator, the crew barely managed to get the pieces off before the elevator went up in flames.
Improvisation is key.
New York's highways create other obstacles for art handlers. Sometimes I have a piece 500 to 1,000 years old and I'm going down the Van Wyck Expressway, trying to avoid potholes on the way to the airport. The trucks are specially designed with climate-controlled cargo areas and padding so that the crate will arrive at its destination safely. First, the padding is cut to size. Then, the artwork is carefully laid into its custom-made crate.