Picture This

The Museum’s outdoor amphitheater is also a large-scale environmental work of art and the result of a unique collaboration by an artist, architects, and a landscape architect. Integrating art, architecture, and natural elements, the work is built around the phrase *PICTURE THIS*. The giant letters are sculpted in various materials and cover over two and a half acres Many incorporate text that focuses on specific references to the history, culture, and landscape of North Carolina. Creating a dialogue with the indoor works of art and the natural landscape that surrounds the Museum, *PICTURE THIS* serves as a gateway to the Museum Park and encourages visitors to look at their surroundings from an unexpected perspective. A letter-by-letter guide to *PICTURE THIS*: P Formed by a cast concrete retaining wall covered with phrases beginning with please I A map of the state of North Carolina, including replicas of 60 historic roadside markers C A sandbox outlined by a red concrete curb T A blacktop surface bisected by a painted highway line U A sculpted depression in the earth, planted with a variety of ground covers and grasses R Rows of chain link fencing planted with vines E Concrete block walls and aluminum plaques with quotations in relief T Painted areas of the seating and roof over the restrooms and concessions area H Sections of the stage floor and roof I A concrete slab inset with North Carolina’s state motto, “To be rather than to seem” S A curving line formed by piles of boulders