Museum Project- "Picture This" Museum Proposal

Photorealism is a somewhat newer, contemporary art movement. Although it is especially prevalent in the United States, there are photorealism artists all over the world. At its peak between the mid 1960's and 70's, this type of art grew in popularity as more and more artists defied ordinary photography and challenged the crisp detail attained in actual photographs. The idea of taking a picture and moving it to canvas or other support, was a novel trend acquired by painters determined to mimic the beauty the simple push of a button on a camera could acquire. Normally, images are transferred via grid techniques or projecting slides onto the support, and this gives artists the ability to recreate intricate details from the photos using paint and technical expertise. Evolving from pop art, this genre existed as a counter to minimalist art movements and abstract expressionism in the United States.

          I would like to expose the community to photorealistic art because I believe there is a deeper meaning behind painting pictures of pre-existing photos. I appreciate the determination artists have when creating this type of art. The painter is basically competing against technology to prove that human beings can capture a moment just as well as a camera can, which to me is a beautiful feat. When a viewer can look at a piece of artwork created by a photorealist painter and must think twice about whether or not it is really a painting, something incredible has been accomplished. Unless you look up close, it can easily be mistaken for a photograph. I believe it is essential for people to understand that this is more than copying a photo onto a canvas; this is showing how skillful artists truly are. It is not easy to play with the viewer’s eyes the way these artists do, and I believe we all need to gain an appreciation for their talent. People need to have access to art because it is a great opportunity to understand the artistic abilities people possess, and the unique way each person thinks and expresses himself or herself. All artwork has a deeper meaning. The more we study a piece or analyze it ourselves, the more we can get out of anything from a painting to a pencil drawing. Furthermore, a lot of people enjoy visually stimulating their senses; viewing art like this is a great way to do this because one is forced to really ponder how incredible the human body is. It is amazing to think that a person can recreate a photograph taken from a camera with only a brush and paint in hand.

           

         The museum I am proposing to construct will have an entrance fee of $10. Twenty-five percent of each ticket will go to an organization I will create called “Picture This.” This organization will provide a chance for college-aged students interested in art, to take photographs and work on photorealistic painting techniques while building relationships with people throughout the country (U.S.A.). This program will be about 2 months long and take place during the summer. The remaining 75% of each ticket will go towards the upkeep of the museum. When it comes to bringing in new art, I will personally work with artists, making sure they understand my aim to give students not only an educational art experience, but also a chance to interact with people and environments they are not used to. I am hoping that I can strike good deals with artists and it will be fairly easy to encourage them to show their paintings by showing them that my museum is not only displaying their talent but also being used as a tool to enhance learning in young people. I would hope to find new pieces of artwork for each room every 6 months if I can.

           

            I will primarily advertise on college campuses and downtown areas. In the city, I will primarily use catchy posters, yet a few bus banners would also be ideal. These posters and banners will have different black and white pictures of photorealism artists against bold, colorful backgrounds. The name of the museum, "Picture This" will also be included with information about the museum and a witty quote from an artist will be printed as well. I also hope to visit various college campuses, as well as meet high school seniors around the state of Georgia, and maybe even the surrounding states. On these tours I will hopefully be able to encourage students to gain a greater appreciate for art even if they are unable to come to the museum someday.  Beyond this, I will have a Facebook page devoted to the museum.

            I will have a small staff of around 20 people that I will carefully select myself. They may or may not be established artists, yet I will only choose people passionate for creativity and who appreciate the work that goes into photorealist art as much as I do. I will allow each person to rotate giving tours so that every one can enjoy the experience of teaching.  However, I will select specific people for different jobs from “art collector” to “travel coordinator” when I tour schools. The tours in the museum will be available every hour from 8am-5pm, Monday through Saturday in groups of up to 20. Each ticket will included a guided tour in order to receive an educational experience, yet guests are free to walk back through once finished. Afterwards, visitors will be given the chance to take a photo with Louis K. Meisel’s (man who coined the term “photorealism”) statue around the exit of the building. This will be printed out as a postcard for them to remember the visit.

           

            My museum will portray the unique history, as well as notable pieces, of the photorealistic period, which continues still today. The paintings displayed will be from a wide variety of artists ranging form North American painters to foreign ones. The building itself will be separated into different rooms by frosted glass, each one a different color based on the environment the art portrays. There will be five rooms: “Life in Motion”-paintings exhibiting city life, “Suburbana”-paintings depicting quiet, peaceful suburban environments, “So Real I Can Taste It”-paintings of food, etc., “The Simple Things”-paintings of little things that bring us joy, and lastly “Humanity”-paintings of different people from all walks of life. Each room will have 5-10 pieces of art expressing each subject or idea. The rooms in the museum will be a comprehensive representation of the variations of what different artists feel are important to focus on. 

     The lobby will have white, frosted glass on the left and right walls, while the main desk will be placed in front of a wall with a collage of black and white pictures of photorealist artists with their signatures on each photo. On the two glass walls, I will have a sleek, metal timeline against a black backdrop showing development of photorealism up until today. This timeline will include specific artists as well. Overall, the lobby will be a nice contrast to the colorful rooms seen throughout the rest of the tour. The rooms will progress towards the back of the building, each one portraying a different idea from types of environments to things as specific as human expression. Also, since the building is round (as described earlier), the shapes of the rooms will be irregular, yet they will each have an open floor space for guests to wonder around and look at the walls.
     The first room after the lobby will be “Life in Motion.” This room will have a grey lighting depicting the darker, hectic lifestyle experienced in the city. Examples of paintings in this room include:

·      Richard Estes- Times Square (2004); oil paint on canvas

·      Tom Blackwell- Madison 79^th NYC (2009); oil paint on canvas

 

The next room will be the “Suburbana” room. The green lighting will bring a natural, pure look depicting the feeling of life removed from the bustle of the city. This room will focus more on the household and warm aura of a small town. Examples of paintings in this room included:

·      Don Eddy- Pots and Pans (1972); acrylic paint on canvas

·      Robert Bechtle- Jetta (2003); oil paint on canvas

The third room will be the “So Real I Can Taste It” room, bringing simple paintings of food to life through fantastic, technical prowess. This room will be yellow, since yellow is related to food and said to stimulate hunger. I am hoping that this room will really work on visitor's emotions, and make them feel like they could take a bite out of the painting itself because it is that realistic. Artwork in this room will include:

·      Luigi Benedicenti- Fragolosa (2011); oil paint on panel

                     

                 

·      Tom Martin- A Wok Full (2010); acrylic paint on aluminum panel

                 

The fourth room, “The Simple Things,” will move into the more personal realm and include everyday objects and things that signify things that bring people joy. This room will be purple, depicting the sense of desire human beings have for entertainment, trinkets and toys, since purple is tied to wealth. Art in this room will included:

·      Charles Bell- Chicago (1980); oil paint on canvas

         

·      Audrey Flack- Wheel of Fortune (Vanitas) (1977-1978); oil over acrylic paint on canvas

          

The last room, the “Humanity,” will depict different people and their personalities. This room will be blue to portray a sense of depth for human emotions, since blue is strongly tied to sadness. Each piece of art will show a different person expressing a different emotion, from happiness to anger. This room will have art including:

·      Chuck Close- Phil (1969); synthetic polymer canvas

           

·      Alyssa Monks- Smirk (2009); oil pain on linen     

           

           

Each of these paintings will be encased in an air-stabilized shadow box built with special glass protecting the painting from aging due to the lights in the room. The boxes will be built into the frosted glass in the wall. A black frame will border each box in order to cause the viewer to focus on the artwork itself. Not only will these boxes be safe for the artwork, but also aesthetically pleasing. Also, a black plaque with silver writing including the artist’s name, title of the piece and year the painting was created will be placed to the side of the shadow box. This plaque will also include a little information on the artist and his or her inspiration for the piece. Although the floors of each room will be black tile, in the center of the space there will be a single unique, rectangular prism-shaped black sculpture with an inscription on the top that matches the color of the walls in that room. Each inscription for each room will have a quote from an artist explaining why he chooses to paint that specific idea portrayed in the space. This sculpture will be about 3 feet high as so draw attention to the viewers yet not take away from the beauty of the paintings on the wall.

This museum will be built on the outskirts of Atlanta, GA along a major highway so that people from within, as well as outside of the city, can easily access it. Its placement in a less crowded, yet somewhat busy environment will seclude the building from other structures, also making it more noticeable. The structure of the building itself will also be unique. I hope to construct the building in a short, cylindrical shape, like a nearly flat can of spaghetti sauce. It will appear as if a single strip of blank, photonegative prints is wrapping the building. Although the shell of the building will be made out of concrete, the part forming the prints will be made from recycled plastic. One of the tiles will have the museum’s name on it: “Picture This Exhibit,” written in silver cursive on a royal blue background (the only tile with color). Outside, I will plant turf and place 5 plastic benches throughout the grass near the front entrance. Potted flowers will rest on both sides of each bench, and each one will have flowers colored based on one of the five rooms inside the building. The plastic benches, although clear, will have the same tint of color represented by the flowers beside them. The different colors in the benches will be a great contrast for the black and white building. Finally, etched into the concrete walkway leading to the entrance, will be the names of photorealist painters. This pathway will also finger off towards each of the five benches. The last major detail is the statue of Louis K. Meisel, the man who coined the term “photorealim.” He will have a tall, grey statue outside the back of the museum, and another set of five benches (each a different color), will surround the path circling it.

I would hope this proposal was approved not for my own good, but for the sake of teaching other people about the beauty of art unlike any other. There is something magical about how well photorealist painters can recreate photographs with merely a paintbrush in hand. I firmly believe that all art, especially modern art like this deserves attention and appreciation.