Camera obscura

In the process of breaking down the cannons of historical tradition to escape the convention of a picture in a frame the contemporary environment has allowed artists to experiment with a wide range of less formal methods of presentation. Pinning raw unmounted and unframed works on the wall may reference an avant-garde sensibility, but it also carries some risk to the work. However, before deviating from tradition, it can be useful to understand the reasons why certain things are done and the methods of doing them. Gaining an insight into historical tradition places an artist in an empowered position where they can make informed decisions appropriate for them, where they can decide if a work is to be hung in an archaically sound way or in a more flippant manner.

enhance a prints presentation ( give a work a clear visual space to sit on, and also aesthetically contain it)
create a means of securing the work to the wall
provide a secure base for the work to sit on so it does not curl or wrinkle due to heat and humidity fluctuation
provide protection from the environment ( which could be as simple as keeping the dust and insects out or humidity off the surface of the work in a domestic situation – or meeting some stringent museum preservation standard.
Provide protection when storing, viewing or transporting work