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| The
Museum of Air and Air Art | |
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) | |
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) | |
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) |
| 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) |
| 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) | |
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' |
| 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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