Since the COVID-19 pandemic closed museums around the world, many responded by encouraging people to recreate works of art in their own homes. Many of these artworks were shared using the tag #betweenartandquarantine on Instagram early this spring and it was quite a hit. Let’s have some fun and explore photography with this Quarantine Art Challenge Discussion assignment!
Task 1: Find great art that you like
The only tools you need for this activity are your imagination and a picture of a work of art you like or find interesting. Browse the online collections of some museums and search the keyword field for ideas (for example, “portrait” or “dog”). If you have a certain unusual item that you think would work well—like a globe, an easel, or a special outfit, hat, or activity—you can start by searching for that, too.
Many museums have great online collections with images available to download and use for free: Here are some museums to try:
LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)
The Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Indianapolis Museum of Art
Art Institute of Chicago
The Walters (Baltimore)
The National Gallery (Washington DC)
And of course, you could try a Google Image search for “painting [keyword],” “sculpture [keyword],” or whatever else you like. You must use art from a major museum. If you need help choosing an image, look at the #betweenartandquarantine for inspiration on Instagram.
Here are some examples from last semester’s class. opens in new window
Now that you’ve found your image, pick the objects you’d like to use. Any objects are fine: from a blank piece of paper to your most elaborate hat. You must use at least 3 household items, but you’re welcome to use as many as you like.
Task 2: Strike the Pose and Photograph
Enlist a pet. Get your dogs, cats, bunnies, and even ferrets into the mix.
Make a face, strike a pose. If you’re interested in re-creating a portrait or group scene, pay attention to the facial expressions—they really make it. If you’re reenacting a scene with multiple figures, pay attention to the poses. For a family activity, look for a domestic or dinner scene.
Pay attention to lighting. Try to imagine where the light in the artwork is coming from and orient your composition so a window or lamp is casting similar light onto the scene. Also, you can consider using filters on your camera to recreate the lighting. In bright daylight, windows offer a blue-tinged light, while most lamps cast a warmer glow.
Think abstractly. If you’re having trouble re-creating an artwork’s appearance, try focusing on shapes over colors.
Make it snack-able. Edible art counts too.
Use a smartphone camera or a digital camera to take a photo (if you’re posing, have a member of the household do it for you; if you live alone, use the front-facing camera on your smartphone, or the camera on your computer). You may want to do several and pick the best one. If you want to unite the two photos—the original and the re-creation—into a single image, you can use photo-editing software like Photoshop or use a phone app like PicCollage. Or you can insert each image into a word doc and take a screenshot (that’s what I did, and it’s easy!)
Task 3: Upload your work (inspiration image & your staged recreation image) and answers to the questions below.
Now insert your original artwork and your recreation image into a word or pdf formatted document and upload via the Quarantine Art Challenge submission link.
Tell us three things.
The title of the original artwork and the artist
Why you chose this image
What was the hardest part of recreating this piece
Be sure to make your responses meaningful and use art vocabulary!
Have fun!
This assignment is about art, but it’s also about fun!
I have provided the picture you will use for the assignment!
Also for the hardest part of recreating was getting the right back groud and pose
