PICTURE THIS (work of art)
Artwork Info
Key Ideas
- This site-specific work is an interactive art installation. Visitors can wander in and around the giant letters that spell out PICTURE THIS on the ground at the NCMA.
- This is an example of conceptual art. The idea behind the work is more important than the final product.
- The letters that make up this installation are embedded with quotations, historical markers, cultural figures, and elements pertaining to North Carolina’s history and natural environment.
- Picture This is part of a larger plan called Imperfect Utopia. It was the first step in creating what is now the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park.
- Barbara Kruger is a contemporary conceptual artist. Contemporary art is art made today by living artists.
Learn More
Picture This was the first of many outdoor art installations made possible by a plan titled Imperfect Utopia: A Park for the New World. This plan served as the starting point for what became the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park. The team responsible for creating and proposing the plan included artist Barbara Kruger, architects Henry Smith-Miller and Laurie Hawkinson, and landscape architect Nicholas Quennell. They presented their work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and two of the people who attended their presentation were Daniel Gottlieb (former head of design at NCMA) and John Coffey (former NCMA curator). Gottlieb invited Kruger and her team to design a performance space in the Museum Park. The space would combine art, architecture, and landscape.
Kruger accepted Gottlieb’s offer. She proposed a series of giant letters made from various materials that would spell out PICTURE THIS on the ground. The project was approved, and Kruger and her team oversaw the construction of Picture This between 1992 and 1996.
This site-specific, conceptual artwork covers more than two and a half acres of the Museum Park. In conceptual art the idea behind the work is more important than the finished art object. Picture This is made up of text, landscape, and structures built from concrete and stone. It includes the Joseph M. Bryan, Jr., Theater, an outdoor amphitheater, or performance space.
According to Kruger, who is a contemporary conceptual artist, Picture This is “textualized landscape.” Each sculptural letter in the installation is three-dimensional and measures 80 feet in size. Many of the letters incorporate thought-provoking statements, famous quotes, and questions. The first “I” in the word PICTURE, for example, features a map of North Carolina. The map references a variety of historical locations and events in the state.
Picture This serves as a gateway to the Museum Park and encourages visitors to look at their surroundings from a different perspective. It is intended to create a dialogue with the indoor works of art and the natural landscape that surrounds the Museum.
Additional Resources
Resources for Teachers
- Read an article about Barbara Kruger.
- Read an article about the Imperfect Utopia plan.
- Watch a video about Kruger’s artistic process.
Resources for Students
- View photos and preliminary sketches of this installation.
- Watch a video about the history of Imperfect Utopia.
- Read an article about the artist.
Images
-
PICTURE THIS
-
PICTURE THIS