Skip to main content

Color-fy Your Favorite Movie / TV Show

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will be closed Monday, May 13, to prepare for the visit of Antiques Roadshow. We will return to normal hours of operation Wednesday, May 15.

Color Field, our outdoor summer exhibition, features large, colorful sculptures against the backdrop of the North Forest that encourage us to consider the impact color has on our lives. One of the sculptures featured in the exhibition is a large color palette called Back to Kansas by artist Spencer Finch.

Each color on the palette represents a different color found in the film, The Wizard of Oz, such as the blue of Dorothy’s gingham dress, the Yellow Brick Road, the emerald city of Oz, all the way to the colors of the flowers along the path and the outfits of the munchkins. During the day, changes in the light affect the artwork’s appearance. Between sunset and dusk, the colors slowly appear to fade to gray, which appropriately catalogs Dorothy’s journey from the Technicolor Land of Oz back to the sepia tones of Kansas (Back to Kansas – get it?).

“Even though it’s a totally abstract grid of color, it’s also in some ways an abstraction of the film,” said Finch.

Spencer Finch, Back to Kansas (2015) - now on view in Color Field

Spencer Finch, Back to Kansas (2015) – now on view in Color Field

Keeping this concept in mind, we wondered what these abstractions would look like for other popular films and TV shows. As an homage to Finch’s work, we created 4×4 color palettes that reflect some of the most memorable colors and moments of some of today’s popular films and TV shows. Take a look and enjoy!

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

 

Star Wars: A New Hope

 

Avengers: Infinity War

 

Stranger Things

 

Game of Thrones

 

Try it yourself! Which colors would you choose to represent your favorite movie or TV show?

See Back to Kansas at Color Field! When you purchase your ticket for Color Field, you will receive a guide that has all the colors of Finch’s Back to Kansas listed on it. Visit the exhibition in the North Forest, open now through September 30. Get your tickets here.