Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media
Most art exhibits at most museums rely on a key rule: look, but don’t touch. However, a local art exhibit encourages quite the opposite: reaching out and touching the art on display.
The exhibit Art Unleashed at the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts in Spring invites kids and visitors of all ages to walk right up to the art and feel the contours of recreations of famous works, such as Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Mona Lisa” and Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”
Or they can put their hands on sculptures of an oversized rabbit or run their hands across the fibers of woven textiles hanging on display.
But the exhibit is not just about letting kids indulge their hands-on impulses. It also allows adults an opportunity to experience art in a different way — including the visually impaired who might not otherwise get to encounter some of these famous works in a typical museum.
They can feel The Mona Lisa (something that would get you arrested at the Louvre in Paris). Each piece is accompanied by a full placard in braille describing it.
In the audio above, Houston Matters producer Michael Hagerty takes a tour of the exhibit with curator Samantha Aguilar and watches some kids interact with the art up close.
Art Unleashed is on display through August 30. Admission is free.
EXHIBIT PHOTOS:
Signage for the “Art Unleashed” exhibit at the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts includes an abstract fabric work with the word “joy” hidden amid the design. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media)
The “Art Unleashed” exhibit includes fabric sculptures visitors and kids can rearrange and climb on. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media)
Houston Matters producer Michael Hagerty touches the tines of the pitchfork in a contoured recreation of Grant Wood’s “American Gothic.” (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media)
A contoured recreation of Grant Wood’s “American Gothic.” (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media)
A contoured, three-dimensional recreation of Vincent van Gogh’s famous painting, “Starry Night.” (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media)
A closeup of the ridged detail of a reproduction of “Starry Night.” (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media)
Houston Matters producer Michael Hagerty touches the face in a contoured, bronze recreation of “Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Mona Lisa.” (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media)
Contoured reproductions of the famous painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer at the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts in Spring. Visitors are encouraged to touch the textured artwork. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media)
An oversized sculpture of a rabbit that visitors are encouraged to touch that’s part of the “Art Unleashed” exhibit at the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts in Spring, Texas. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media)
A sculpture paying homage to the famous woodblock print, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” by Japanese artist Hokusai. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media)
Signage for the “Art Unleashed” exhibit encourages visitors to (gently) touch the artwork and includes full descriptions of the pieces in braille. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media)
The Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts in Spring, Texas. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media)
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