The Big Easel - Goodland, KS
Posted by: 
beagle39z
N 39° 20.275 W 101° 42.293
14S E 266880 N 4357766
The Giant reproduction of van Gogh's "3 Sunflowers In A Vase" is located in a new scenic parkway visible to traffic along the I-70, which is the major highway connecting New York to Los Angeles. A souvenir shop with educational exhibits on the history of Van Gogh, as well as the sunflower, will eventually be located on the premises.
Waymark Code: WM77FN
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 09/14/2009
Views: 34
The Van Gogh Project is a series of Big Easel paintings based on Vincent van Gogh's Sunflower Paintings. Each sculpture consists of a colossal hand-painted reproduction of one of the seven Sunflower Paintings, measuring an impressive 24 by 32 foot (7 x 10 metres), which rests on an 80 foot (25 metre), 40,000 pound (17,000 kilogram) steel easel. The first Easel was erected in Altona, Canada on October 17, 1998. The second was finished and erected on November 8, 1999 in Emerald, Australia. The third easel was successfully proposed to the city of Goodland and the State of Kansas, USA. Construction began in the spring of 2000. Discussions are currently underway in South Africa, and Japan for future sites.
The intent of this project is to reproduce all seven of Vincent van Gogh's Sunflower Paintings in seven different countries spanning the globe. These seven paintings were originally created by Vincent van Gogh during his stay in Arles, France between the years 1888-1889.
The seven sites selected by Cross have a connection to sunflower agriculture or connection to Van Gogh himself. The project will serve to make the cities involved sister cities. The sites will range from rural to urban, with populations ranging from several thousand to several million.
Sunflowers USA Association and numerous volunteers worked diligently to ensure the easel went up on schedule. Each painting takes approximately a month and a half to complete, which involves 10 to 12 hour work days.
In 2004 the Goodland Rotary Club purchased a light to illuminate the painting at night and in the fall of 2006 began construction of the walkways leading to the painting and the development of the tri-angle area beneath the giant easel, utilizing approximately 9,100 paving bricks.
The paving bricks used in the project were reclaimed from the renovation of the Goodland city streets, bricks that were manufactured and laid in the mid 1920’s, making these paving brick’s over 80 years old and adding a touch of authenticity and historical perspective to the project.
The project was started in the spring of 1997. When complete, the project is expected to be included in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Although other locations have considered the Big Easel project, there have been no new giant van Gogh paintings since the construction of this painting in Goodland.
Price of Admission: 0.00 (listed in local currency)
Height of object in feet: 80 feet tall
Size of a typical object of this: 102 inches
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