Introduction
Proper Placement Studio is an educational media platform dedicated to sharing real, tested knowledge about art handling, placement, and installation through video. Founded by James Geisen, the platform exists to make professional practices more accessible, understandable, and widely shared—without sacrificing care, clarity, or integrity.
My Background
I’ve loved seeing and creating artwork for as long as I can remember. I studied Fine Art at Columbia College Chicago and have spent my entire adult life working in the art world, based in Chicago and traveling throughout the United States.
Over the past 26 years, I’ve worked with galleries, artists, collectors, designers, and institutions—installing, packing, shipping, and placing artwork in environments ranging from small apartments to major exhibitions, museums, and private collections. I’ve also owned and operated a gallery in Pilsen, Chicago, and have collaborated directly with artists to develop installation systems, display solutions, and shipping procedures tailored to their work.
What I love most about this field is its variety. Every day presents a new challenge, a new object, a new context. I’ve worked on projects that were modest and scrappy, and others that were incredibly high-stakes and expensive. Each one requires care, thought, and adaptability.
How I Think About Art Handling
One of the most common misunderstandings about art handling is the assumption that it’s intuitive. It often isn’t.
Many situations are genuinely confusing or deceptively risky, especially for people who haven’t encountered them before. Mistakes are rarely made out of carelessness—they happen because the danger of a situation isn’t obvious until it’s too late.
Professional work comes from knowledge and experience informing every decision. Knowing why something should be done a certain way matters just as much as knowing how to do it.
I’m especially cautious about shortcuts that prioritize saving money when the potential consequences are high and expensive. In my experience, being “cheap” at the wrong moment often costs far more in the end.
Why Proper Placement Studio Exists
I’ve been teaching people one-on-one for years—training art handlers, walking artists and collectors through installations, and explaining why certain approaches matter. Technology now allows that same knowledge to reach thousands of people, and to live online indefinitely.
Proper Placement Studio exists so artists, designers, collectors, and others responsible for artwork don’t have to rely solely on trial and error. The goal is to help people avoid costly, preventable mistakes by sharing information that’s already been tested in the real world.
Why Video Matters
This work has to be shown, not just described.
Art handling and placement are physical, spatial processes. You need to see how tools, materials, and techniques behave in real situations to understand why they work—or why they fail. Video allows for clarity, honesty, and nuance that other formats can’t provide.
All content is filmed and produced by Proper Placement Studio, with me serving as the on-camera educator. The tone is casual and approachable, but the information is precise and intentional.
Approach to Sponsorships & Collaboration
Proper Placement Studio is built on the idea that useful information should come first.
Monetization is important—it allows the platform to grow and remain sustainable—but it never dictates the content itself. I work only with tools, hardware, materials, and collaborators I genuinely trust and would feel comfortable recommending in situations where failure would be devastating.
Good partnerships feel aligned, transparent, and mutually beneficial. They support education rather than distort it.
A Shared Practice
I want Proper Placement Studio to feel like a place people return to—not just for answers, but for perspective. The art world thrives on relationships, respect, and shared standards. This platform is meant to reflect that.
I don’t see myself as someone who knows everything. I’m sharing what I’ve learned through real experience, and I’m always open to better methods, smarter tools, and new ways of thinking.
If you care about doing things well, thoughtfully, and with respect—for the work and the people around it—you’re welcome here.
If you’re a brand, designer, or organization aligned with professional art handling practices and interested in supporting educational content, I’m always open to a conversation.