Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Gets New Plaza & Claes Oldenburg Sculpture

Good to be back on assignment.

It's been a while since I worked on a story.

On Saturday, October 3, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) in Philadelphia celebrated their new courtyard, Lenfest Plaza, and their new outdoor sculpture Paint Torch by Claes Oldenburg, which is a 50 foot paint brush standing on its end with its bristles pointing towards the sky.

There was sone slight rain, but it didn't dampen the spirits of the hundreds of art lovers who came to see the new plaza and the new sculpture.



Claes Oldenburg (right)

 
After the lighting there was a dinner at the Academy at which I got to interview Mr. Oldenburg.Each table had a blank canvas and various materials (crayons, markers, paint, feathers) to get the creative juices flowing at each table. The wife and I had blast with our table-mates, 2 PAFA Alum. You can see our masterpiece to the right.



Our Masterpiece

The wife also walked away with a new piece of art, a commemorative shovel from the groundbreaking of Lenfest Plaza designed by artist Jessica Sasha, that was being auctioned off.

Get down to PAFA. See Paint Torch...



and whatever other pieces will be displayed (on a temporary basis) at Lenfest Plaza.

In the meantime, you can read my Weekly Press Story here, or watch the video below.

(Photos by K. R. O'Connor & A.N. O'Connor)