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The
Museum of Air and Air Art
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The
Szevauhagen-Bailey-Murphy Museum of Air and Air Art
opens this Monday with its owners, promoters, and those set
to lose millions if the exhibition fails, already proclaiming
it as one of the most exciting air and air art displays in
modern exhibition history.
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Oil
on canvas: 'Air of the Himalayas' ($38,000)
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Over 5000 items, all holding air, and 350 pictures of 'personal
interpretations of air' are set to entertain visitors
from Monday 4th August 2003, when the doors open at 9:30.
(In
a special agreement with the museum we have placed some of
the pictures of air art in this article, along with the catalogue
price.)
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Watercolor:
'Liberian Midnight air' ($10,400)
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The
museum is divided into 5 general themes. One of the most emotional
themes being that of War.
The
War section includes almost 400 items under the heading 'Bottles
of air from the war zone'.
Some
of the oldest bottles of air have been preserved since the
Napoleonic Wars by the method of 'putting them in a dark place
and completely forgetting about them'.
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Sand
and air stuck to canvas using glue: 'Beach volley
ball air' ($25,000)
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One
of the newest bottles has only just been flown over from the
Baghdad Museum of Ancient Unlootable Civilization last
Thursday. This bottle was recovered by curators using moderately
excessive violence, after it had been looted no less than
4 times previously by 'unauthorized personnel'.
Not
that this new museum is just filled with old bottles of air,
although 92% of it is.
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Oil
on canvas, applied using 'breast of a 24 year
old': 'Nudist colony air' ($56,040)
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There
are also canisters, oil barrels and a growing celebrity section,
which includes a pair of arm bands once inflated personally
by Adolf Hitler at a pool side in Munich in 1937 (the
lipstick marks are still visible).
The
theme of celebrity inflated artifacts is expected to
be one of the most popular sections in the museum.
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'Madonna's
bath room air' ($100,500) (Shown actual size)
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Celebrities
have provided a collection of intriguing items for the collection.
Madonna has donated a party balloon she inflated with
her own lips during her Christmas 2002 revelry, Cher
a pair of inflatable lips, Celine Dion an inflatable
dining set, and Dolly Parton a single inflated breast.
The
exhibition becomes even more poignant still following the
recent death of Bob Hope who spent most of the last
year of his life puffing up a life sized inflatable Bing
Crosby and Dorothy Lamor, his two co stars in the
'Road to' movies. The intention was to have his picture taken
with the inflatable duo for his 100th birthday, but this was
not to be. The half inflated duo will be on show after a respectful
delay following Bob Hope's funeral.
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Still from documentary 'How to store air in bottles'.
This picture is entitled 'How not to store air
in a bottle because the top has been taken off'
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Other
exhibits include one from Ouday Hussein who donated no less
than 84 inflated condoms.
There
is a strong education element to the museum, with visitors
encouraged to watch a 30 minute documentary on how to store
air effectively in bottles.
It
is believed that air can be preserved indefinitely in a bottle
as long as the bottle does not break or remains unopened.
Briefing:
How to capture air
Air
is generally captured in bottles using a technique similar
to that employed by butterfly catchers, but without a net.
Air
collectors wave an open necked bottle, head first, in the
air for up to an hour (in a circle from left to right) filling
the bottle to the top before securely fastening it with a
screw-top or cork.
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