The PopUp Park at Minneapolis Institute of Arts comes to life

Well, 8 months has gone by since I was first approached by the MIA to create a installation piece in the front lobby of the museum.  How those months have flown by!  With many many meetings, revisions of concept, and a steep learning curve into the world of fake tropical plants and astroturf, I am pleased that the PopUP Park at the museum is getting lots of great use out of it.  Having all this fun color in the lobby really has warmed up the space and love how the Stella upstairs really seems to pop off the wall between the colors in the lobby and the painting.  To show some of the progress and overall project thru pics, here are a few for you to see how the park came to be!  These first few are from the opening night on the 19th of January.

Right before opening night

Opening night fun!

Wonderful turnout for opening night

More peeps!

First concepts 

First concepts

Then picking out the plants

Revised drawing

Fairly finalized layout

Couldn't have done the park without Al fabricating the mounds

Before

AFTER!
Yes, I do see you hiding in the corner Mom and Dad!   Great to see them come all the way from North Dakota!

My aunt Deb and uncle Steve

The creation of a PopUP Park

Well, having worked on a number of other interesting art projects, I share with you one of the most recent.  This summer, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts asked if I could help in the creation of a PopUp Park this coming winter to create a space that was a retreat from the elements that typically spring up in Minnesota, ie, SNOW!  That being said, we decided to create a tropical feel to the space that is the main lobby outside of the museum shop and arts cafe.  Having nearly 2200 square feet posed both a project of immense size but also creative placement since we have thousands of visitors that will be interacting with the space on a daily basis.  With that, the final plan was drawn and we are now in the build phase of the project.  Once I return from my overseas adventure, the MIA's PopUP Park will be installed and will be accessible to all!  I can't wait to show you the final images of the park and will let you know of the opening night festivities when they are set.  Until then, here are a few teaser images of the "build" phase and more