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Seeing In Situ

Seeing In Situ

I know youve all been excited about the Typography for Illustrators posts, and Ill keep going on those,  but it just so happens Im on the road this week, so Im going to post on a topic relating to traveling: getting away from the computer, and getting in front of some art in person. And the closer you can get to seeing it in situ (in the place it was created or meant for) the better.

Muchas Medea poster (Getting up close to an original print can be as swoon for us designers as getting close to brushstrokes is for you painters)

Now, before we start, I know that some people have advantages in this regard - some of us live in awesome places like NYC, which has more museums and galleries than any person can see in a lifetime. And some of us can afford to travel to places to see amazing art in far-away places. I am acknowledging my privilege. However, there is original art in museums and galleries very close to most people reading this blog. And you should make it a part of your life to periodically get out and see it.

Municipal House, Prague. Did you know Mucha designed a whole building? Me neither! And I wouldnt have known about it unless I had gone to the Mucha Museum. You dont get much more in situ than that.

Why? Three reasons. One, you lose so much of the artists process in reproduction. Whether its in books or on the web, you cant see brushstrokes and printing artifacts. And those bits of process is what an artist really learns from. You know how you can tell a working artist in a museum? Theyre the ones nose-distance away from the piece. Theyre the one walking up to it at different angles to try to catch the surface reflecting in the light. Theyre usually the ones making the security guards in a museum super jumpy. Trust me, the guards at the Mucha Museum today were really happy to have me the hell out of there.

Muchas jewelry sketches

Two, its an inspiration shot to the guts. You know how you know youre an artist? (Besides the crippling self-doubt and relentless desire to burn your portfolio at least 5 times a year?) You go see a masters work in person and it makes you want to run out of there and get home and MAKE SHIT RIGHT NOW. It doesnt even have to be a master in your own medium. The inspiration just literally burns you up inside. This is really important to remember when youre feeling burnt out. When you need to reset a book or internet searching is like methadone to a heroin addict. You need to get to the source, get to that art in person, and rub it into your gums. Metaphorically, of course.

Unless I saw this in person I wouldnt have realized it was life-size. Also, god, those berries!

Three, you are going to stumble on work you didnt expect to see and it could affect you (and your work) in epic ways. Of course youre going to go see the pieces you expect to see in the museum you go to visit — thats why youre going. But Ive never gone to a museum or an exhibition of an artists work and not been surprised by something I didnt know was going to be there — or didnt even know existed. I was in Paris at an Art Nouveau exhibit at the Museé dOrsay, and I found a poster there I had never seen before by an artist I didnt know, and it became such a favorite I now it tattooed on my arm. Today at the Mucha Museum I saw a bunch of Muchas reference photos and I had no idea how gorgeous they were. Theyre absolutely artworks in their own right and I bought a book of them to take back home with me.

Some of Muchas reference photos

So next time youre feeling stale try to plan some time in front of some original art — whether its a local gallery, museum nearby, or even a friends studio. Itll always pay back the effort of going in person exponentially.

That type! Swoon! But more lovely is the accidental variation in the printing inks, which you never get to see in repro, because they tend to even out and clean up the art.

Now Im going back to the Mucha hunt through Prague…if Im not back in time for my next post, Ive expired from Art Nouveau overload, and died happy.

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