The Drum’s design project of the week: Oscars Art Gallery
Ahead of the 87th annual Academy Awards taking place in Los Angeles this weekend, the Oscars collaborated with creative agency 180LA and 15 professional artists from around the world to create a limited series of artwork entitled Oscar Art Gallery.
The artwork taps into the iconic value of the Oscar statuette, which stands as the central focus for each art piece, and is surrounded with artistic interpretations of the advertising campaign Imagine What’s Possible.
Spanish artist Blastto, Geoff McFetridge from Los Angeles and Thai artist Pomme Chan each created a piece of the artwork which are customised and applied to key points throughout Oscar season.
The work was adapted for nomination and speaker announcements, and will further be amended for use on social media, broadcast telecasts, the red carpet, the Oscar stage and as out-of-home posters at Hollywood and Highland.
English artist Steve Wilson is among the artists who contributed to the series and said his design was heavily influenced by the art deco glamour seen at the beginning of the golden age of film.
“I liked the idea that I could look back to the past but draw it with such a modern, technical and digital aesthetic,” he said. “I think this represents modern film making and modern day creativity of any kind. While the possibilities of today are now endless with what modern technology has to offer, so much is owed to the past and what has gone before."
Four videos accompany the art work, entitled And The Oscar Goes To, Holding Oscar, Everybody Speaks Oscar and Happy Valentine’s Day, and use authentic footage from the Academy Film Archive that showcase notable Oscar moments throughout the decades.