Art with a twist

Click on the above slideshow to see all of the photos.

Residents of American House Senior Living Communities recently took part in the Getty Museum’s Social Media Challenge to liven up their quarantine situation.

The Los Angeles museum posted the challenge on Twitter in March, asking people to recreate works of art with objects and people in their own homes. “Choose your favorite artwork; Find three things lying around your house; Recreate the artwork with those items; And share with us,” the museum tweeted. 

The challenge was inspired by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Instagram account #betweenartandquarantine. Getty adapted the challenge using digitized and downloadable artworks from its online collection. 

Alyse Wagner, American House communications manager, said the company’s life enrichment department was looking for creative ways to adapt residents’ favorite activities in a safe manner. Inspired by artwork challenges surfacing on social media, they invited residents to participate in “Art with a Twist.”

American House residents recreated works of art from famous artists, including Norman Rockwell and Vincent van Gogh, sometimes adding a nod to current times in their photos with tablets and face masks. American House offers independent living, assisted living, memory care, respite and hospice care services in communities across the Midwest, New England and the Southeast.

Darcy Santos, corporate director of life enrichment, said 51 residents participated in the challenge.

“This was a great program for social distancing, as each resident could participate without ever leaving their rooms,” Santos said.

Following federal, state and local health guidelines, each community’s life enrichment director acted as a photographer when entering rooms or art locations. Some residents even took part from their balconies so they could participate as a group without ever coming in close contact with another resident.

“The residents chose their own works of art to create,” Santos said. “Some of the life enrichment directors provided the residents with books or links to famous works of art online, but each resident decided on how they wanted to create their masterpiece.”

Residents went into great detail recreating their pieces. One recreated “The Saturday Evening Post,” and another recreated a van Gogh piece and even included the drawing in the background in his recreation.

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