Oakes Brothers Bring Their Innovative Drawing Technique to the Getty

Ryan and Trevor Oakes will draw in the Getty’s Central Garden and engage visitors

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Nov 05, 2014

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Visual artists and twin brothers Ryan and Trevor Oakes will return to the Getty Center November 8–December 22, where they will employ their novel approach to art and optics by executing a drawing of the Getty’s Central Garden and Getty Research Institute.

The Oakes, according to the New York Times, “have developed one of the most intriguing breakthroughs in the depiction of physical reality since the Renaissance” — drawing a picture of a scene as the human eye views it with a set of self-designed tools. Using a spherical metal easel and paper, as well as a plaster head cap to steady their vantage point, the brothers draw images that are incredibly accurate in proportion and perspective.

While one brother draws, the other often interacts with visitors, answering questions and offering an up-close view of their unusual artistic technique.

“Getty visitors and staff alike were mesmerized and delighted by Ryan and Trevor’s creative process when they last visited in 2011,” said Toby Tannenbaum, assistant director for Education at the J. Paul Getty Museum. “We look forward to welcoming them again, and to seeing the completed drawing.”

The Oakes explored their mutual fascination with binocular vision throughout grade school and during their time at The Cooper Union’s School of Art in New York City. Since graduating, they continued their dialogue through a body of jointly built art pieces that address human vision, light, perception, and the experience of space and depth.

Their previous public art projects include a large-scale drawing that debuted in Chicago’s Millennium Park in the summer of 2009, and was installed at O’Hare International Airport, as well as work in the Palazzo Strozzi Museum in Florence, Italy. The Oakes’ artwork is held in the permanent collections of The Field Museum and the Spertus Museum in Chicago, as well as the New York Public Library. They have exhibited and lectured across the United States and abroad, most recently at the National Museum of Mathematics in New York City. More information at www.oakesoakes.com.

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