Media
Visual Artists Direct Music Videos
By Elizabeth Carney, Assistant Curator
Music videos offer an incredible opportunity for pop culture and visual art to collide. Artists who we would typically see represented in museums or galleries often collaborate with musicians, lending their aesthetic as visual interpretation for their songs.
Besides often being quite fun, these crossover collaborations offer insights into the connections artists see between their work and music others are creating. And, as viewers, we get to see those connections and original interpretations. This is part of why I like Sam Taylor-Wood’s video for Elton John’s song “I Want Love,” and decided to include it in Staged, a photography/video exhibition on view at the Akron Art Museum through September 27.
First of all, the musician: Elton John. The song has all the makings for a good pop tune—drama, melodrama, sadness, angst, regret, self-deprecation, bared emotions, desire—and is tightly laced with the singer’s huge celebrity.
Next, the director: Sam Taylor-Wood (aka Sam Taylor-Johnson). Known for photograph and video work, Taylor-Wood has exhibited her art in at several museums. London’s National Portrait Gallery commissioned her portrait of David Beckham, a video in which the football star is depicted sleeping. John approached her for “I Want Love,” and she knew the video should be a single shot of someone (but not Elton) lip-syncing the words to the song.
Last but not least, the talent: Robert Downey, Jr. Elton John thought of Downey for this role, but wondered whether the actor would take the job. Downey had struggled for many years with drug addiction, and his wife had just left him and taken their son. John wondered if the song would hit too close to home, with lyrics such as “I want love, but it’s impossible / A man like me, so irresponsible / A man like me is dead in places / Other men feel liberated.” But Downey accepted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufbexgPyeJQ
A few more examples of music videos directed by primarily visual artists:
1. Yoshitomo Nara: “Banana Chips” by Shonen Knife
Shonen Knife is an all-women Japanese punk-pop band formed in the 1980s (“Shonen” translates to “boy,” by the way; “Boy Knife”). The song is so simple and fun, it makes me smile on its own, but the video makes me love it.
Yoshitomo Nara is an artist I’ve known for a long time. Also Japanese, he draws, paints and sculpts anime-like figures that are adorable at the same time they seem to be drowning in their own ennui. Hugely influenced by music, he’s a fan of the band. He designed the cover of their 1998 album Happy Hour and also created a 3D animated video for “Banana Chips.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H8J_A13AMw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wa95CvhESQ
Not enough animated punk pop for you? Shonen Knife covered “Daydream Believer” by the Monkees—and Nara made the video.
2. Takashi Murakami: “Good Morning” by Kanye West
Mentioning Nara tends to bring up Murakami, another well-known contemporary Japanese artist whose work is infused with anime culture. Murakami collaborated with Kanye West to create this animated video. It is rather fun to see West portrayed as an adorable bear cartoon. Murakami also designed the cover for West’s Graduation album.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CHs4x2uqcQ
Kanye West has expressed his love of great anime films, so it’s no real surprise that his music reflects that interest—his single “Stronger” is accompanied by a video (by Hype Williams) inspired by the Japanese anime Akira.
3. Allison Schulnik: “Ready, Able” by Grizzly Bear (2009)
This is a recent find for me. I came across this video in an exhibition of animation art called Screen Play at the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, NY (open through September 13). Projected on a wall, the visuals were almost overwhelming at first—figures in clay melt and reform themselves in grotesque movements of color and ambiguous body parts. The song is very soothing, however, and I find myself endeared to the odd forest creatures that move about and sing forlornly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Puph1hejMQE
Interestingly, this video was labeled differently when on view in the gallery exhibition. There, it was titled Forest.
Grizzly Bear is an indie-rock band from New York. Their other music videos are similarly compelling, sometimes grotesque, always of high production quality. Nice music, too.
4. Robert Longo: “Bizarre Love Triangle” by New Order (1986)
I must say, this is one of my favorite 80s songs, but I only recently watched the video and learned it had been directed by Robert Longo. The video features a falling man in a suit, a theme that Longo investigated in depth in his Men in the Cities series of photographs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkOr12AQpnU
Longo directed a number of other music videos as well, including “The One I Love” by R.E.M., “Boy (Go)” by the Golden Palominos and “Peace Sells” by Megadeath.
New Order has made several other collaborative music videos, including “Blue Monday” directed by William Wegman and Robert Breer—yes, it includes Wegman’s iconic weimaraners.
5. Andy Warhol: “Hello Again” by The Cars (1984)
Andy Warhol absolutely loved celebrity and pop culture, and was deeply a part of it as a multimedia artist. His video work was fascinating. I wouldn’t by any means classify this music video for a song by The Cars as one of Warhol’s best, but it is interesting to see what he came up with for this TV-destined collaboration with one of the hot bands of the time. That is indeed Warhol playing the part of the bartender, by the way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXpJ0bM5zbM
6. Damien Hirst: “See the Light” by The Hours
Slightly disturbing in content, just like much of Hirst’s artwork. Hirst was artistic director for this music video, which includes elements you might have found in the major exhibition of his work that circulated a few years ago. You may know him from his (in)famous 1991 sculpture, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, a shark suspended in a formaldehyde tank. Other work involves medicine cabinet-like sculptures and various animal parts.
In this video, a woman inserts herself into the showcases of a fashion store, which take on an eerie clinical quality. It seems a bit melodramatic at the same time it is serious, with heightened emotions and metaphors that typify many music videos—making it an excellent ending to this brief list.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI8mZVp3bG4
Did I miss a favorite artist-directed music video? Tell us in a comment.
Inscribed Books at the Akron Art Museum
by Stefanie Hilles, Education Assistant
Imagine this. You visit the Akron Art Museum and fall in love under the “roof cloud” (the museum’s 327 foot long steel cantilever that joins the old 1899 post office building with the new 2007 Coop Himmelb(l)au structure). No, not with some beautiful stranger you exchange eye contact with across the museum’s lobby (although that would be pretty exciting too). Instead, you fall in love with a beautiful artwork. Maybe you’re a fan of American Impressionism and succumb to the charms of Abel G. Warshawsky’s pure color technique in The Seine at Andelys showing in the McDowell Galleries (and also installed as a reproduction at the International Institute in North Hill as part of the Inside|Out project). Perhaps you prefer your artists a bit more surrealistically inclined and become entranced by Art Green’s Delicate Situation in the Haslinger Galleries. Or possibly, landscape photography is more to your liking and you discover Robert Glenn Ketchum’s CVNRA #866 (from the Federal Lands Series), on view in the Arnstein Galleries as part of Proof: Photographs from the Collection.
Like the start of any epic love affair, you are captivated. You have to know more. So, you head in to the museum’s Martha Stecher Reed Library to do some research. The librarian hands you your desired books and you dive right in. Much to your delight, the books are autographed. The Akron Art Museum is full of surprises.
Abel G. Warshawsky: Master-Painter, Humanist by Louis Gay Balsam came into the library’s collection in 1959 at the bequest of Mrs. Minna Wachner, whose generous gifts to the museum also include two oil paintings: Le Pont de la Cité, Martigues by Warsharsky and Landscape by William John Edmondson. The book, which is mostly dedicated to fifty black and white lithographs reproducing the artist’s work, was published by the Carmel Valley Art Gallery that, while no longer in existence, was once near to the artist’s Monterey, California home where he lived after his return from Paris in 1939. Dedicated to Billie Wachner, “Who is a dear sweet and wonderful friend [sic],” Abel signed with his nickname, Buck, as well as the longer A.G. Warshawsky.
Art Green: Tell Tale Signs accompanied an exhibition of the same name at the Corbett vs. Dempsey Gallery in Chicago, held from December 9th 2011 through January 21st 2012. While the exhibition focused on work created years after Delicate Situation, the interview at the beginning of the text explains some of Green’s recurring images, namely, the ice-cream cone and the flame that are found in Delicate Situation. Green states, “The image of the ice cream cone interested me because it is so idealized, not because of any specific symbolism. I like opposition and the flame offers that here” (p. 5). Another autograph can be found in Art Green, published by the CUE Art Foundation in 2009 to accompany the first solo exhibition of the artist’s work in New York since 1981. This exhibition was curated by Jim Nutt, who, along with Green, was a member of the Chicago artist group, “The Hairy Who,” that consisted of five recent graduates from the Art Institute of Chicago known for their grotesque subject matter and carefully finished style.
In 1986, the Akron Art Museum commissioned Robert Glenn Ketchum to photograph the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area (CVNRA). Many of these images, taken over the course of several years and throughout different seasons, were later published in Overlooked in America: Photographs by Robert Glenn Ketchum. Compared to the understated signatures contributed by Warshawsky and Green, Robert Glenn Ketchum’s autograph takes on an almost landscape-like quality, with sweeping, flowing organic lines. Ketchum’s book uses the CVNRA as an example of national parks in general, exploring how man and nature interact and how the government manages its federal lands. The CVNRA series can be read in conjunction with another museum commission. In 1979, Lee Friedlander (whose work is also included in Proof) was contracted to photograph the industrial landscape around the Akron/Cleveland area, popularly known as the rust belt. In comparison to Friedlander’s bleak emphasis on desolate factories and the urban landscape, Ketchum’s landscape photographs demonstrate the natural beauty of the Akron area.
What is it about an autograph that seems to impart some extra knowledge about a person? Sometimes it’s what the person says in an inscription, as in the case of Abel G. Warshaswsky, that gives some insight into the artist’s life. Other times, it’s the style of the handwriting. Whatever the case, it’s an interesting and delightful surprise to discover these autographed works because you seem to get just a bit more information about the artist, something more human than what is captured in the descriptions and analysis of their work.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A Lamp to Light the Way: Museum as Memory-Maker
by Amanda Crowe
While it may be every parent’s quest to be young again, time is a continuum and the creative underpinnings of childhood impermanent. Throughout the past several weeks of children’s programming, I have witnessed amazingly engaged parents and caregivers embracing moments of luminosity with their little ones simply by being present.
I am told that for some, “art museum” has become part of their child’s vernacular. A hug-your-teddy-bear, meaningful kind of place, where, when given a choice whether to go to the park or go to the museum, “go-art-museum” wins out! Why? For many of my baby and toddler friends, the museum has become a familiar creative playground for practicing “firsts” and building joyful memories.
Beyond a child’s typical “first” art exploration of brushing globs of paint onto paper, children are splashing, building, singing, stretching, listening, crawling, touching and stumbling while celebrating their first artistic and imaginative experiences, not just with parents, but with new friends—in the museum lobby, among the latest color-saturated paintings and in the studio classroom.
And what are parents and caregivers doing during this swell of activity? They are preserving the memories, capturing the essence of their children’s wonderings and ideas, and planting a seed for tomorrow.
Find upcoming programs for children and families at Akron Art Museum.
Download the Live Creative Brochure.
Altered Landscapes Showcases Innovative Contemporary Approaches to Landscape
by Janice Driesbach, Chief Curator
The museum’s Judith Bear Isroff and Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Galleries offer ideal opportunities to bring together thematic exhibitions from our collections. These galleries are particularly well suited for featuring works on paper and photographs that are vulnerable to light, and so cannot be on view for extended periods of time. When I first started thinking about the exhibition that became Altered Landscapes, I was eager to showcase relatively recent gifts that we had not had yet been able to share. These included Meridel Rubenstein’s Temple Tree, Vietnam and Yun-Fei Ji’s Three Gorges Dam Migration, both donated in honor of former director Mitchell Kahan on the occasion of his retirement.
I appreciated how Rubenstein’s incorporation of unconventional materials into the photograph, including vegetable ink and mica, were beautifully employed to convey how the ancient tree had been honored. It was also clear that, with the construction of the surrounding temple, the landscape’s original context was transformed centuries ago. In contrast, the soft colors and traditional format of Yun-Fei Ji’s scroll invite us in to view the tragic consequences of a much more recent change—the construction of the Yangtze River dam that buried thousands of villages and displaced more than a million people.
Certainly as we head into our parks and the countryside today, there is little that has not been impacted by the human presence. Much that may strike us as pristine wilderness is in fact second- or third-growth forest and shelters numerous invasive species. In addition, since the invention and proliferation of photography, the detailed views that artists spent extended time rendering can be captured and disseminated instantaneously. The role of the artist has changed and Altered Landscapes allows us to present some of the ways contemporary artists have responded to this traditional subject.
I take particular delight that as the exhibition came together we were able to include other artworks that have not been on display before. These include Randall Tiedman’s Limbus Patrum #7, a gift the museum received just a few months ago. A lifelong Cleveland resident, Tiedman developed his impressive composition from imagination, informed by his intimate understanding of the industrial landscape. In contrast, Wayne Thiebaud, painted River and Slough, a view of his beloved Sacramento Valley, in his studio from sketches made on the spot. And, Joseph Yoakum was probably inspired to depict Mt. Banda Banda in Great Dividing Range near Kempsey Australia by a magazine illustration rather than firsthand observation—all very different approaches.
With artwork ranging from Mark Soppeland’s glitter-laden sculpture Bridge over a Strange Place to Lilian Tyrrell’s powerful Disaster Blanket, Altered Landscapes truly brings together a wide range of styles and media in addressing its theme. It is my hope that visitors will enjoy making comparisons and that they consider extending their visit by wandering into our C. Blake McDowell, Jr, Galleries on the first floor of our 1899 building. There they will see earlier interpretations of landscape subjects, including outstanding Impressionist and Tonalist paintings and early 20th-century views of our region.
Meet Theresa Bembnister, New Associate Curator at the Akron Art Museum
by Theresa Bembnister, Associate Curator
When I think back on my first month in Akron, one word comes to mind: snow.
OK, I’m kidding. Sort of.
It’s been six years since I last lived in Northeast Ohio. In 2009 I left for an internship in New York after graduating with an MA in art history and museum studies from Case Western Reserve University. Last month I left Manhattan, Kansas, where I worked as associate curator at Kansas State University’s Beach Museum of Art, to fill the position of associate curator at the Akron Art Museum. In those six years I’d forgotten how harsh the weather here can be.
But winter in Northeast Ohio is filled with anticipation. As I walk and drive around Akron, with the sidewalks, roads, tree branches and buildings covered with snow, slush and ice, I can’t help but look forward to spring and the changes that come with it. What will the melting snow reveal? How will the city look and feel when the grass is green, the trees have leaves, and more and more residents venture outside?
Just as I eagerly await experiencing Akron after the temperatures rise and the snow subsides, I’m excited to get to know the museum’s collection and its audiences. Delving into the library’s artist files and catalogs to conduct research for the museum’s recent acquisitions meeting has given me the opportunity to gain knowledge of the collection. I’m eager to see upcoming exhibitions like Staged and Proof which will highlight some of the excellent photographs in the collection that have not been on view recently, as well as introduce audiences to exciting new acquisitions. I’ve also begun to familiarize myself with artists and cultural institutions in Akron and the region by attending gallery openings, viewing exhibitions and conducting studio visits. I’m impressed by what I’ve seen so far.
I’m also impressed by Akronites’ sense of ownership in their museum. I’ve been blown away by the positive responses I’ve received from people when I’ve told them I work at the Akron Art Museum—from the cable guy installing my internet service to the clerk setting up my bank account. They shared memories of past exhibitions and the summertime concert series Downtown at Dusk. The turnout for the Inside|Out kick-off meeting demonstrates that community members are invested in partnering with the museum to improve the quality of life in their city. I can’t wait to see reproductions of work in the museum’s collection while walking in my neighborhood this fall.
I’m filled with anticipation for all that the museum, the city and the region have to offer as the weeks go by. I look forward to developing a deeper understanding of how I can serve the collection, museum audiences and the surrounding community through my curatorial practice. I’m glad to be here in Akron.
Immerse Yourself in Beauty Reigns
by Gina Thomas McGee, Associate Educator
How do you experience an art exhibition? You look, of course. You enter the galleries and spend time taking in the colors, textures, and lines of the works in front of you. Maybe you even read the label. During the Beauty Reigns exhibition, the museum invites you to take your experience a step further, and we’ve come up with some tools to help you do just that.
First, you can pick up a copy of the gallery guide as you stroll through the exhibition. This guide (a work of art in itself!) will let you in on the mysteries of the artistic process. The sketchbook-like booklet was created by local designer, artist, and educator Micah Kraus. He was inspired by the artwork in the exhibition and the aesthetic of Field Notes notebooks. The guide looks like an artist’s sketchbook and it can become one, as there are blank pages in the back dedicated to your personal sketches and doodles.
As you finish looking at the exhibition and reading your gallery guide, you’ll be directed to a studio that has been constructed just outside of the gallery doors, in what we call the “video box”. Here, you’ll find a wealth of materials that will allow you to try out the techniques and processes you saw on display in the galleries. Continuing the theme of working with local artists, the studio includes an instructional film with original music and animation by Akron Art Museum staff member Gabe Schray, whose talents go far beyond his work in the museum’s External Affairs department.
Finally, you can take a walk through an artwork. Literally. The museum commissioned local artist Jessica Lofthus to create a large-scale interactive artwork for the lobby inspired by Beauty Reigns. The piece is a walkable labyrinth that takes cues from the patterns, textures, and shapes found in the exhibition. Walking the labyrinth will add another dimension to your museum experience as you physically wind through the curves and turns of Lofthus’ design.
So, visit the museum. Look. Make. Create. Feel. Take in the exhibition with all of your senses. It promises to be a Beauty-full experience.
2014 Highlights
By Mark Masuoka, Executive Director and CEO
2014 has been a year in which we sought to connect the energy that drives great art to that which drives our great city: the energy of ideas. In every exhibition, program, event, and conversation, we strove to stimulate ideas and encouraged everyone to look at what they already do in a new light, and to recognize the ways in which we all Live Creative. What follows is a brief recounting of what we did to Live Creative, to reach out to our community and to initiate a new civic presence that will revitalize the cultural health and wellness of Akron. Thank you for being a part of the Akron Art Museum in 2014; join us for all that we will do in 2015.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/yBMe-5VR85w]
Jamie Burmeister’s Message Matters began a yearlong love affair with Akron. The project’s blinking lights were switched on in the east stairwell of the art museum’s 1899 building on February 14, 2014, sending out the Morse code message LUV U to the community.
La Wilson: Objects Transformed was the backdrop for the artist’s 90th birthday and a mini retrospective that assembled works from the art museum’s collection and from private collections throughout Northeast Ohio. The works in the exhibition spanned her fifty-plus year career and brought together her family, friends and fans to celebrate her art and her life.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/4MEZ84SUyHc?list=PLrHrA-MfpQNLsNCILsOx-9kulIz5gs01o]
Tony Feher’s Buoy brought renewed attention to the museum’s world-class architecture and begged the question, What the heck is that red thing hanging from the museum’s roof?
Invitation to Stare was also an invitation to share the museum’s renowned photography collection. The exhibition highlighted recent acquisitions and the museum’s long-standing commitment to photo portraiture that deserved a long hard look.
Butch Anthony: Vita Post Mortum featured the unconventional mixed media works that revealed the inner life of an unlikely art star.
Community Conversations became the art museum’s rallying cry and provided an opportunity for the art museum to seek public opinion. The conversations also allowed us to explore the nontraditional role of community facilitator and social organizer in an effort to better understand what is uniquely Akron.
Diana Al-Hadid: Nolli’s Orders created a new focal point for visitors as they entered the museum’s Sandra L. and Dennis B. Haslinger Family Foundation Galleries. The room-sized sculpture proposed a new form and function for the gallery and offered a memorable art experience.
VIEW Magazine underwent a cover-to-cover overhaul, aesthetically revitalizing its look, feel and flow through its new design that connects the art museum’s online and digital experience with its seasonal print publication.
Trenton Doyle Hancock: Twenty Years of Drawings exhibition began with a two-week installation process that handed over the museum to Trenton to continue his creative process by re-contextualizing his work by drawing, writing and painting directly on the walls of the art museum.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/1MF4lRswPaU]
Live Creative began as a way to brand the art museum’s education program and quickly grew into the art museum’s current mantra. We are not just asking people to be creative, but to find ways every day to live creative. It’s more than just a catchy tagline; it is a way of life. #LiveCreative
Inside | Out brought Raphael Gleitsmann’s painting Winter Evening out of the art museum’s McDowell gallery and into the community. Perfectly installed in downtown Akron at the site of its inspiration, the painting brings to light what Akron was in 1932 and what it can be in the future. #InsideOutAkron will bring more art from the art museum collection into Akron neighborhoods in 2015.
Director's Holiday Message
At the Akron Art Museum, we are reflecting on the people who have touched our lives, the accomplishments of 2014 and the excitement we have for 2015 and beyond. We could not have been successful without you. Thank you for continuing to engage in the ongoing conversation with us about the vital role the museum can play in the cultural health and wellness of the city. We believe that the museum can be the catalyst for positive cultural, social and economic change, and with your input we will continue to create opportunities in the community for meaningful, quality art experiences. Art is for everyone. Ideas are for everyone, and whether you are a high-frequency culture seeker or an occasional visitor, the Akron Art Museum can enrich your life and imagination, and in return enrich ours.
On behalf of the Akron Art Museum, I wish you a happy and healthy holiday season and a creative New Year.
Mark Masuoka, Executive Director and CEO
Take a Journey to the Past with Inside|Out
By Roza Maille, Inside|Out Project Coordinator
Picture this: You’re walking down the street and then suddenly…whoa! Is that the painting I saw at the Akron Art Museum last week? How did it get out here?
Don’t worry. It’s not the real painting, but a reproduction so realistic it’ll make you do a double take. That is just one of the ways the Akron Art Museum will engage the community with its new public project, Inside|Out.
We are so excited about this project that we decided to give the city a preview of what’s to come! We have installed a framed reproduction of Raphael Gleitsmann’s painting “Winter Evening” at an outside location across from the historic Akron Civic Theatre. It will be on view from December through February, accompanying other great downtown winter events such as First Night and ice skating at Lock 3. We would love to see the residents of Akron interact with the art, so we are encouraging visitors to take pictures in front of the new installation and post them on social media using the hashtag #insideoutakron.
“Winter Evening” is a great piece of Akron history! Gleitsmann lived in Akron for most of his life and painted this lively scene of downtown Akron in the early 1930s. It’s hard to tell from the seemingly bustling atmosphere but it was painted during the Great Depression when 60% of Akron residents were unemployed.
The image is positioned so the viewer can get a modern-day perspective from the artist’s vantage point. Some of the buildings depicted in the painting are still standing today, most notably the city’s first skyscraper, now called the FirstMerit Tower.
But wait, there’s more! Inside|Out is a two-year project, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and is set to officially launch in the spring of 2015. The Akron Art Museum will embark on this community outreach project by taking 30 high-quality reproductions of artwork from the museum’s collection and placing them in the streets and parks of the city of Akron and surrounding areas.
About ten framed images will be placed in each of the six individual communities that are being targeted for next year. There are two, three-month installations set for each year: three communities for spring/summer and three different communities for summer/fall. For the second year of the project, we will extend our reach by adding ten more images and two more communities, installing 40 reproductions in eight communities, total.
The images will often be clustered within bicycling or walking distance, to enable residents to discover art in unexpected places. The communities in which they are placed will be encouraged to take ownership of the art in their neighborhoods by creating activities and events around these temporary exhibitions. All of the art displayed in the streets will be on view at the museum so residents will be able to visit the “real” artwork.
Are you interested in learning more about Inside|Out? Please attend the community meeting at the Akron Art Museum on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 5:30 p.m. The meeting is free and open to the public. Museum admission is FREE every Thursday. Please email the project coordinator, Roza Maille at rmaille@akronartmuseum.org if you plan on attending.