Life Imitating Art
Online Challenge
Over the centuries, artists have captured their respective views on life in their art. At the onset of the COVID pandemic in spring 2020, the Albany Museum of Art challenged people in Southwest Georgia who were sheltering at home to use everyday objects around the house to recreate masterpieces for Life Imitating Art.
The local challenge was based on the Getty Center and Villa’s home art challenge that asked people to recreate a Getty online collection artwork using three objects from around the house. The Getty challenge was inspired by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and an Instagram account called Between Art and Quarantine.
During the height of the pandemic lockdown, Southwest Georgians recreated famous art pieces for the AMA’s online contest. Look below the Gallery to see how you can add your own take on a masterpiece.
The challenge is never over!
Even though the lockdown is over, you can still take the challenge. Do your own Life Imitating Art challenge and we’ll add you to our gallery.
Email your photos and info HERE.
Here are some suggestions if you take the challenge:
Incorporate children and pets as models.
If you’re recreating a portrait or group scene, pay attention to facial expressions in the original and try to capture the same expression(s).
Try to position yourself so that the light is similar to that in the original artwork.
If you have trouble recreating an artwork, take an abstract approach using objects to approximate the colors and shapes.
Shoot more than one—multiple photos will help ensure you get one you like. You can always delete the others.
Unite your photo with the picture of the original. If you don’t have an app like PhotoShop, there are free apps such as Layout or PicCollage that you can download onto your smartphone.
If you want to share your Life Imitating Art work internationally, in addition to the #AlbanyMuseumOfArt tag, include the hashtags #betweenartandquarantine and #tussenkunstenquarataine with any Twitter or Instagram posting.
Above all else, have fun playing the challenge game!