Get Creative with #Artlympics

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artlympics examples

(left) Phillips employees try William Merritt Chase’s Hide and Seek for the #BestArtRemake category (right) Eating fruit from Paul Cézanne’s Ginger Pot with Pomegranate and Pears fits in the #BestWhatever category

It’s the final weekend to participate in the #Artlympics, a self-declared “absurd competition to enjoy museums in a new way.” Through Sunday, September 29, the #Artlympics invite you to head to any museum in the world and submit Instagram photos of your experience in categories like Best Art Remake, Best Art Caption, and Best New Art Series. Do you bear a striking resemblance to that dashing portrait of a 19th-century gentleman? #BestArtSelfie. Has that one sculpture always reminded you Star Wars? #BestNewArtTitle. Do you have a fun picture idea that doesn’t fit into any category? #BestWhatever. The sky is the limit—so head to the Phillips this weekend and get creative! Phillips staff created a few examples above for inspiration. Follow along to see what others around the world are coming up with.

Behind the Scenes of the 2013 Staff Show

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In addition to the Van Gogh Repetitions exhibition, Phillips preparators have been busy this month installing for the annual Staff Show.

Phillips preparators install works of art for the staff show and adjust lighting.

(Left) A Phillips preparator measures and hangs artwork. (Right) Lights are adjusted to highlight a piece.

The 2013 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show will be on view September 23, 2013 through October 20, 2013. The show features artwork from Phillips Collection staff. Please join us for the opening reception on October 10, 2013 from 5-8pm.

Emily Bray, Young Artists Exhibitions Program Coordinator

A Phillips preparator installs the title wall of the staff show.

Vinyl is installed as the finishing touch.

What is chine-collé?

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The museum has four works that use the chine-collé printmaking technique and three of them are currently on display.

Stuart Davis, Place des Vosges, 1928, Chine colle lithograph on paper 10 1/2 x 14 1/2 in.; 26.67 x 36.83 cm.. Acquired 1930. The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.

Chine-collé,  succinctly described in the Tamarind Book of Lithography: Art and Techniques, is a printmaking process in which a very thin sheet of paper is printed on and simultaneously mounted to a thicker backing paper. The thin paper can receive a better impression, but is too fragile to stand alone. The combination of the thin paper and the heavier backing creates a fine impression and a stable supported ground. Additionally, sometimes a pleasing contrast can be created through tonal differences between the two materials.