May #Phillips95 Challenge: Architects of Design

Mondrian No 9_architecture_side by side

(left) Piet Mondrian Painting No. 9, between 1939 and 1942. Oil on canvas, 31 3/8 x 29 1/4 in. Gift from the estate of Katherine S. Dreier, 1953. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC (right) Photo: Emily Conforto

We’re celebrating our 95th anniversary with a year of monthly challenges and giveaways! This month’s challenge takes inspiration from Piet Mondrian’s Painting No. 9, at left above. The ample white areas can be read as either flat surface or limitless space, and the colors, placed near the edge, draw the eye away from the center. As a result, the image hovers, as though weightless, in timeless silence or suspended energy. Mondrian believed that colors expressed spiritual light as well as emotion.

YOUR CHALLENGE: Explore your city’s architecture with Mondrian’s concepts in mind. Take a photo of your favorite building and share with #Phillips95 for a chance to win two tickets (+ two free drinks!) to Phillips after 5 on June 2. We’ll announce winners May 25.

#Phillips95 Soutine Caption Contest Winners

soutine_woman in profile

Chaim Soutine, Woman in Profile, ca. 1937. Oil on canvas ,18 13/8 x 10 7/8 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1943 © 2015 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, NY

For this month’s #Phillips95 challenge, we asked you to caption Chaim Soutine’s Woman in Profile. Congrats to these three winners!

“I wonder if I should listen to this entire performance or go to the bathroom now.” —Gail F.

“1:15 pm – Message Read
6:20 pm – Chaim Soutine is online
3:00 am – Soutine is typing…
3:01 am – …hey you, what are you up to?
3:02 am – ‘woman in profile’ face”
—Luis Q.

“She’s thinking, ‘How did I get to look so much like Judy Garland?'” —Travel Gal

And bragging rights to these Honorable Mentions:

“I so hope Chaim doesn’t give me fish lips.” —Kristin J.

“Chaim…I’m really tired of sitting here for you every day, it better be better than a Rembrandt!” —Margot K.

“I’m snowed in and there’s no chocolate in the house.” —Sharon M.

Kurtis Minder (February 16 at 2:39pm): She is irritated that she just bought an apple watch and a newer, improved model is already out.” —Kurtis M.

Interestingly, a number of people were reminded of celebrities or friends when they saw Soutine’s female sitter, including Coco Chanel, Liza Minnelli, and Judy Garland. Does this woman remind you of anyone?

Thanks to everyone who participated in February’s challenge! Check back each month in 2016 for new challenges in celebration of the Phillips’s 95th anniversary and chances to win prizes.

February #Phillips95 Challenge: Penny for Your Thoughts

soutine_woman in profile

Chaim Soutine, Woman in Profile, ca. 1937. Oil on canvas ,18 13/8 x 10 7/8 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1943 © 2015 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, NY

Portraits play an important role at The Phillips Collection. For our second monthly #Phillips95 social media challenge (celebrating the museum’s 95th anniversary), we consider Chaim Soutine’s Woman in Profile (c. 1937). The Russian artist renders his subject with an expressive face, characteristic of his portrait style. We want to know what could have her lost so deeply in thought.

YOUR CHALLENGE: What is the woman in Soutine’s Woman in Profile thinking? Respond in the comments section here, or to our social media posts on Facebook, Twitter (@PhillipsMuseum), or Instagram (@PhillipsCollection) with #Phillips95 for a chance to win four tickets the Phillips.

We’ll announce winners Tuesday, February 23. Don’t be afraid to get creative and humorous with your answer!

 

Need inspiration? During our Made in the USA exhibition in 2014, we asked visitors what Thomas Eakins’s Miss Amelia Van Buren was thinking. See these previous blog posts for some of the responses we received to get your ideas flowing.