The rules of the Getty challenge are very simple: you have to choose your favorite work of art, then pick 3 things lying around your home, and then recreate the art with those things. It sounds hard with only 3 things, but some people are using them very creatively.
Bored Panda reached out to the Getty to hear more about the museum's challenge and the number of submissions they've gotten.
According to Annelisa Stephan, assistant director for digital content strategy at the Getty, they've "lost count" of all the photos that people have submitted to them. She says that they number "many thousands."
"In addition to the ones posted publicly, there have been hundreds and hundreds more DM'd to us! We didn't expect such a reaction in our wildest dreams—we thought a few people might enjoy the activity, but it clearly struck a chord!" she said.
"People have been so creative and so supportive of other people's creations, cheering them on, laughing, and celebrating their favorites. We've received creative responses from the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia. We've also been thrilled to see kids of all ages getting into the act, and high school teachers organizing their art history students to incorporate the challenge into their classwork. It's a great way to look at and learn about art while being creative with constraints," Annelisa shared the museum's enthusiasm at the reaction the challenge has gotten.
According to representatives at the Getty, the museum is continually developing new online resources. In fact, later on today, the Getty will be posting a video of their "wonderful but now-shuttered Michelangelo exhibitions."
The Getty’s social media lead, Sarah Waldorf, told Yahoo Lifestyle that the museum’s social media inboxes have been “flooded” with re-creations of masterpieces ever since they announced the challenge on Wednesday, last week.
“Our audience told us loud and clear that they wanted to see beautiful artworks, learn more about art from home, and find delight on social media,” Waldorf said. “We wanted to offer up a creative challenge to find refuge from the uncertain state of the world and to spark excitement to get creative—no extra materials required.”
The Getty is closed because of the coronavirus, however, the museum is helping out as much as it can. A week ago, the Getty donated thousands of gloves and hundreds of masks to UCLA Health to help out medical professionals on the frontlines in the fight against the illness. Since the museum donated its entire supply of protective equipment, it continues to look for ways it can be helpful both to the local and global communities.
Are you up for the art challenge, dear Pandas? What’s your favorite work of art that you’d like to recreate? Are you planning to take part in the Getty’s social media challenge? Let us know in the comments below.
