John Suau conceived and created THE BIG PICTURE, the inaugural exhibit of the new DC History Center. The project presented an opportunity to open a new gallery space in a restored historic landmark building that was being restored by Apple with an unknown timeline.
Design Challenge
As outlined above, the project had a short and moving timeline. The restoration began in August 2017. The entire operations of the Historical Society were relocated to the Newseum including the majority of the collections. The remainder were relocated to offsite storage facilities. The target opening date was December 2018. However, building renovations were difficult. As in most historic restoration projects, surprises were found and delays ensued.
Working with a very tight timeline, there were also limited resources available. John Suau created new funding opportunities for local companies to sponsor, with THE BIG PICTURE as a big part of the package. The unknown reopening date prevented the establishment of a stable environment for collections. The design solution would require an exhibit with reproductions with maximum visual impact and broad programming options.
Exhibit Content
Since he started in March of 2014, John Suau had been fascinated with the Capitol Photo Service collection of the Historical Society. With over 3,500 panoramic images dating from the early 1900s, Suau worked closely with a photo editor and contract researchers to select 70 images that would best serve for this exhibit. These images were curated and reproduced in various formats, from large analog screens to digital formats for touchscreens. The results provide dramatic and diverse stories that convey the rich history of Washington, D.C.
“In the first half of the 20th century, photographers recorded milestones using panoramic technology. Very few people alive have seen them. Until now.
THE BIG PICTURE reveals how these craftsmen captured DC history. From Rudolph Valentino’s visit to the White House to the 1924 World Series Championship, these magnificent panoramic photographs document visiting celebrities and moments of great pride.
They celebrate the District of Columbia’s highs, acknowledge its lows, and reveal everyday life. THE BIG PICTURE presents more than 70 of the resonant images to take you back to the Washington you remember and the one you never knew. Come see these images–-several of which are blown up so large that you’ll feel like you’re a part of them–for a completely new experience of Washington’s past. THE BIG PICTURE is the context for today’s richly diverse DC, the familiar, the surprising, and the beautiful.”
Design Solution
John Suau found the solution in the creation of giant light boxes for mounting (and backlighting) large reproductions from a huge collection of panoramic images. Five of them were enlarged to over forty feet long and nine feet high.
To complement the large images, the exhibit includes additional digital images. Several are featured on the opening digital screen, rolling across the screen slowly. Four groups of over a dozen more images are presented on touchscreens. These allow visitors to “pinch and zoom” so they can examine the rich details of the giant images. The exhibit includes over 70 different images. The photographs portray people, places, and events throughout the 20th century.
The design concept was based on a visit to the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis. A state-funded institution, they had recently opened a new exhibit, Panoramas of the City. A similar history exhibit that featured panoramic images of St. Louis, the format was ideal for the new exhibit in the DC History Center. The Historical Society boasts over 100,000 panoramic images in the Capital Photo Service collection. Using these large analog negatives, the images could be magnified to huge prints thanks to the originals’ resolution. They provided a fascinating window into the history of urban life in the 20th century.
The majority of the Historical Society’s images are documentaries of school groups, dances, meetings, reunions, and White House visits dating from the early 1900s to the 1990s. The Capital Photo Service Collection was a part of the Historical Society. The Fred Schutz Collection, which holds the oldest collection of Washington panoramic images, are part of the Panoramic Images Collection. Thanks to a partnership with Panoramic Images, the exhibit included some of the most dramatic and iconic images of Washington, D.C.
…the real draw right now is the DC History Center’s inaugural exhibit, “The Big Picture.” They don’t get much bigger. Because the negatives are so large — eight inches high — they can be blown up super big. A few have been printed on seamless fabric nine feet high and 40 feet wide. The fabric is mounted on curved light boxes. The effect is mesmerizing.
John Kelly, The Washington Post, May 12, 2019
