How Inside|Out Was Made

By Roza Maille, Inside|Out Project Coordinator
Inside|Out is finally here! This April marks the launch of the two-year project and now everyone can enjoy the art in the streets and parks of Akron. This spring, there will be 30 art reproductions from the Akron Art Museum’s collection found at unexpected outdoor locations in Downtown Akron, North Hill, and along the Towpath Trail and Summit Metro Parks. Are you curious how we made this happen? Obviously there is no magic art duplicator, so we will let you in on the process.

Inside|Out poster. Inside|Out is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

First, we needed to narrow down more than 5,000 objects in our collection to a selection of only 30 artworks. This was not easy task but we selected a nice variety of visitor and staff favorites that fit with the goals of Inside|Out. We also had to ask some of the artists and their estates for permission to use their artwork in this project.

Joe Levack photographs John Sokol's Man Eating Trees for reproduction for Inside|Out — Joe Levack photographs John Sokol’s *Man Eating Trees* for reproduction for Inside|Out, with Collections Manager Arnold Tunstall.

The next step was to then make sure we had high-quality photos of each artwork in order to get the best reproduction possible. Some of the selected artworks needed to be re-photographed in order to get the appropriate resolution for the reproduction.
In the spirit of this community project, we wanted to use local businesses whenever possible to construct the frames, fabricate the reproductions and to provide professional installation services. The frames were custom made by Jon at Hazel Tree Interiors. We selected a style and color of molding to accompany the reproduction and from there each frame was constructed to the exact measurements of each artwork. All of the reproductions included in Inside|Out are made one-to-one scale of the original artwork. The frames were then sent off to be clear coated in order to protect them from the weather.

Jeff, from Central Graphics, with Roz, making last minute adjustments — Jeff, from Central Graphics, with Roza, making final adjustments prior to printing

William Merritt Chase, Girl in White, reproduction being printed at Central Graphics — William Merritt Chase, *Girl in White,* reproduction being printed at Central Graphics

The high-resolution images of the artworks were sent to Central Graphics where they were printed on large-format printers, weatherproofed, and mounted into the frames. We even got a sneak peek at a couple of the images during the printing process.

Bill and Denny of K-Lite Signs installing John Sokol's Man Eating Trees (reproduction) — Bill and Denny of K-Lite Signs installing John Sokol’s *Man Eating Trees* (reproduction)

After everything was assembled, we were able to start installing in the predesignated locations. Bill and Denny from K-Lite Signs did the installations for us. You will find both wall-mounted and free-standing installations around town. Here is our first installation in North Hill, The Artist and His Wife by Elmer Novotny with the owner of Giovanni’s Barber Shop.

Elmer Novotny, The Artist and His Wife (reproduction), installed at Giovanni's Barber Shop in North Hill — Elmer Novotny, *The Artist and His Wife* (reproduction), installed at Giovanni’s Barber Shop in North Hill

On the first installation day, the International Institute of Akron took one of their English classes outside to incorporate the artwork into their lessons. Here the teacher is using The Seine at Andelys by Abel Warshawsky to help his students learn names of colors.

Clients and an educator at the International Institute of Akron using Abel Warshawsky's The Seine at Adelys (reproduction) for an impromptu English lesson — Clients and an educator at the International Institute of Akron using Abel G. Warshawsky’s *The Seine at Andelys* (reproduction) for an impromptu English lesson

The art will find new homes during each season of Inside|Out. In the fall, look for the reproductions in three different neighborhoods: West Hill & Highland Square, The University of Akron & University Park, and Cuyahoga Falls.
Learn more about Inside|Out.
Share your Inside|Out discoveries and experiences on social media using the hashtag #InsideOutAkron.