Maybe we’re on lockdown, but apparently not our creativity. In fact, with all this time in our hands, some people are surely using it to challenge themselves on the creative side. The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles challenged art lovers to post photos of themselves recreating their favorite masterpieces from home and the outcome is just epic.
The Getty Museum challenge, where you have to recreate your favorite work of art with 3 things lying around your home, was inspired by the Tussen Kunst en Quarantaine (Between Art and Quarantine) Instagram account from Amsterdam. And the Getty’s not the only one inspiring people to show their love of art during quarantine: the Pinchuk Art Centre in Kyiv, Ukraine is doing the same.
More info: Getty.edu | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | PinchukArtCentre.org
1# Getty Museum Challenge Of “The Kiss” With My Lady Friend. Masks Added For Pandemic Effect
According to the Getty’s representative, the museum still keeps on getting challenge submissions. “They keep coming! More than 100 a day,” she said.
“The online challenge has reached many people around the world who may not be in a position to visit Los Angeles or Getty. We hope they’ll be inspired to come when they get a chance,” the museum representative told us.
She also confirmed that many of the museum staff are working at home, while a number are working on-site to “ensure the collections and grounds are safe and well maintained.” The representative also revealed that everyone’s eager to get on-site to see their coworkers and work with the collections once again.
2# Untitled Eugene Von Blaas (With Quarantine Essentials)
Annelisa Stephan, assistant director for digital content strategy at the Getty, said that they have “lost count” of all the photos that people have sent them. According to her, the submissions number “many thousands.”
“In addition to the ones posted publicly, there have been hundreds and hundreds more DM’d to us! We didn’t expect such a reaction in our wildest dreams—we thought a few people might enjoy the activity, but it clearly struck a chord!” Annelisa revealed.
“People have been so creative and so supportive of other people’s creations, cheering them on, laughing, and celebrating their favorites. We’ve received creative responses from the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia,” she said. “We’ve also been thrilled to see kids of all ages getting into the act, and high school teachers organizing their art history students to incorporate the challenge into their classwork. It’s a great way to look at and learn about art while being creative with constraints.”
3# Girl With A Pearl Earring
4# Suspicious Van Gogh Getty Museum Thingy (Me)
Another Getty representative told Bored Panda that the museum is always developing new online resources. One of the newest additions was a video of the Getty’s “wonderful but now-shuttered Michelangelo exhibitions.”
The Getty is still closed because of the coronavirus, however, the museum is helping its local community out. In fact, the Getty donated thousands of gloves and hundreds of masks to UCLA Health to help out doctors and nurses fighting Covid-19. Since then, the museum is looking for new ways to help both the local and global communities.