Oklahoma City KEY - Cover Story

Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post Covers Come To Life in All-American Exhibit at Omniplex. Immersive exhibit invites visitors to step into world of famous artist

Visitors to Oklahoma City will want to experience an interactive exhibit capturing a slice of Americana through the works of one of America’s most beloved artists Norman Rockwell.
Rockwell’s America: Celebrating the Art of Norman Rockwell - the largest Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post Exhibit ever assembled – now showing at Omni-plex, as the first stop
of a national museum tour. Experience an interactive exhibit capturing a slice of Americana through the works of one of America’s most beloved artists.

Norman Rockwell, whose career with the Saturday Evening Post spanned almost 50 years, captured in his paintings family life that reflected patriotism, times of change and technological advancements in small town America. Famous for his 322 Saturday Evening Post covers, this illustrator and commentator on American life garnered an audience larger than any other artist in history.

Rockwell’s America: Celebrating the Art of Norman Rockwell showcases the uncanny wit and wisdom of this renowned artist brought to life in full-scale, walk-through diorama recreations of his iconic covers. The 10,000-square-foot full-scale exhibit is a three-dimensional view into the best of America’s past and present through theatrical environments, multimedia experiences and actors. With more than 100 original Saturday Evening Post covers, 40 interactive experiences, life-sized sculptures and an original Norman Rockwell painting, the exhibit blends elements of education and entertainment.

Visitors will enjoy the immersive family experience where guests young and old will be able to step into Norman Rockwell’s paintings and enjoy his vision of the American dream. This is an incredible
opportunity for families to embrace these unforgettable images that have so accurately captured the laughter, triumphs, trials and successes of the 20th century American experience. Children will enjoy the interactive aspects of the exhibition while parents and grandparents will relive fond memories of a simpler time in America.

The exhibit is divided into four distinct areas. Visitors will find themselves engaged in the various sights and sounds of small town life as they stroll through Main Street USA. There, they will have the opportunity to create their own Saturday Evening Post cover, play dress-up in the attic or hear the sounds of a live barbershop quartet. Visitors will also have the opportunity to gossip on
telephones, climb aboard a Ford Model T and learn how Rockwell depicted the technological advances in America and how they changed the way we live.

Leaving Home takes guests to the vast changes that came with kids leaving for college or going off to war. Visitors are taken on the sentimental journey of the American mid-century through a character named “Willie Gillis” and his service to this country. American dedication at home and the advancement of women in the workforce is also highlighted through the image of “Rosie the Riveter” and an interactive look at advances of the assembly line.

Four Freedoms moves visitors into the turmoil of the political world, presidential portraits and the fight for civil rights that dominated the 1950s and 60s.

Home for the Holidays takes visitors to a pastoral scene of a house blanketed with snow and decorated for the holidays. Rockwell’s most famous holiday images surround visitors like a warm sweater, with grandpa playing among the Christmas gifts and a visit from the jolly old elf himself, Santa Claus.

The journey ends in the Tribute Gallery with a display of all 322 Rockwell Saturday Evening Post covers shown in chronological order. The gallery brings the exhibit full circle and allows the visitor to absorb the power and importance of Rockwell’s work in chronicling the American 20th century experience.

Admission to Rockwell’s America: Celebrating the Art of Norman Rockwell is $14 for adults (13-64) and $11 for seniors (65+) and children (3-12) and includes access to Omniplex exhibits and planetarium presentations. Children under three are admitted free of charge. OmniDome Theater presentations can be added for an additional charge.

Omniplex, a Smithsonian affiliate, is located in the heart of Oklahoma City’s Adventure District at 2100 NE 52nd Street in Oklahoma City. Hours are Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (405) 602-OMNI or visit the Omniplex Web site at www.omniplex.org.

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