When I was growing up, there were always two nights a year when I couldn’t sleep due to anticipation: Christmas Eve, and the night before the NCAA basketball tournament. College basketball in March provides the best adrenaline rush in sports – game after game of jubilation, heartbreak, and nail-biting suspense. Tearing up my bracket after the heavy favorite I picked to win it all just got upset at the buzzer by a school I’ve never heard of is a tradition I’ll never grow tired of.
This week, we brought the magic of “March Madness” to the Museum as the staff picked a favorite artwork from the Museum’s collection to go head-to-head in an outrageously heated vote for superiority. After the matchups were set, I could feel the familiar spike in anticipation for the first round ramp up.
Choosing the artwork I wanted to enter in the competition wasn’t difficult. When I started working at the Museum, I was surprised to learn there were several artworks in the collection by one of my favorite artists, Andrew Wyeth. I discovered Wyeth at the Art Institute of Chicago, and his work immediately inspired many of my college projects thereafter. I settled on the work Bert’s Cabin, a great example of the muted color story and “cinematic” sense of drama that I love about Wyeth’s work.
Andrew Wyeth, Bert’s Cabin, 1949, watercolor and ink on paper
After avoiding a first round upset, my selection overcame a great opponent in the next matchup. Bert’s Barn shocked the entire world with an upset win over Andy Warhol’s Rooster. I couldn’t believe it. We were headed to the Final Four.
Andy Warhol, Rooster, ca. 1957, watercolor and ink on paper
With a disappointing Wisconsin loss and my actual March Madness bracket busted yet again, my favorite time of year had lost a little bit of excitement. After my success in the first two rounds of the Woodson Art Museum Artwork Pool, the adrenaline supplied by making a deep tournament run had me back in the game. I won my next matchup in the semifinals and there was just one more artwork standing in between me and the sweet taste of victory. Although we didn’t know which one of our coworkers picked each artwork, I would later find out that I had pulled off another shocking upset in the Finals over Director Matt Foss’s selection Liquidity by Chris Bacon. Bert’s Cabin was the final work left standing. I could envision an entire year of rubbing my boss’s nose in my victory as the imaginary confetti rained down upon me.
Chris Bacon, Liquidity, 2010, acrylic on rag board
