Getty Museum Challenge: Recreate A Masterpiece With Stuff From Home

Got nothing to do? Virtual museums, YouTube time-eaters, TikTok not doing it for you? If you’ve burned through the good (and the bad) stuff on Netflix or don’t have the bandwidth to, as well-meaning people suggest, read a book or learn a new skill, turn to the Getty Museum Challenge.

We think it’s the most perfect mix of high- and low-brow lockdown entertainment, as it rules require you to first, select your favorite artwork from the vast catalog of the J. Paul Getty Museum in California and then, recreate the piece using three things found at home. Easy. And weird.

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We challenge you to recreate a work of art with materials at home. It's easy: . ???? Choose your favorite artwork ???? Find three things lying around your house ???? Recreate the artwork with those items To find artworks, check out our online collection: getty.edu/art/collection Tag #betweenartandquarantine and #tussenkunstenquarantaine in your creations! . . Challenge inspired by @Rijksmuseum and @tussenkunstenquarantaine #museumathome #stayathomechallenge #artselfie

A post shared by Getty (@gettymuseum) on Mar 25, 2020 at 9:26am PDT

Since the challenge was issued by the American museum two weeks ago, it has gained momentum on social media, with thousands of supporters—the art lovers, the DIYers, the trapped—making surreal images out of the mundane.

Look up #betweenartandquarantine on Instagram to spy unhinged minds, foggy and confused from lockdown madness, refocusing to create reproductions like the following:

A still life of tulips and pears becomes a still life of lasagna and eggs. A spotted mare is an arrangement of deliberately crumpled clothes. A nuanced forest scene starring a rabbit is now a snap of the backyard starring a doggo. And Vermeer’s “Girl With a Pearl Earring” becomes a pug wrapped in fabric. 

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A post shared by Getty (@gettymuseum) on Apr 6, 2020 at 5:39pm PDT

“The challenge was inspired by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and a brilliant Instagram account called Between Art and Quarantine, but adapted with the invitation to use digitized and downloadable artworks from Getty’s online collection,” says The Iris, the official blog of the J. Paul Getty Trust, which also notes how the movement is “a bright spot for us during this tough time, and we hope for you as well.”

In short, it’s a happy occupation that won’t turn your brain into mush the way TikTok does. We promise. Now, where did mom hide the ramen noodles? We want to recreate a Greek antiquity statue.

See more below:

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A post shared by Uliana Slinko (@uliana_slinko_) on Apr 7, 2020 at 5:49pm PDT

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A post shared by ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????? - ???????????????????????????? ???????????? (@domaine_lejeune_pommard) on Apr 8, 2020 at 4:11am PDT