PMA Ambassador Michaela Flint's #GettyMuseumChallenge

Last week, the PMA’s Visitor & Member Experience team shared their department newsletter and we were excited to see Michaela Flint’s takes on the Getty Museum Challenge featuring some of our favorite works from the PMA Collection.

Sir Joshua Reynolds’ Portrait of the Lady Elizabeth Somerset, 1777, and Michaela Flint’s #GettyMuseumChallenge version.

Flint’s take on Benjamin Paul Akers’ The Dead Pearl Diver, 1858

Tell us about the works you chose to recreate? 

I chose Portrait of Lady Elizabeth Somerset as one of my recreations because the young girl looked similar to myself. I was intrigued by her rosy cheeks and I knew I wanted to recreate them. I chose The Dead Pearl Diver is because it’s one of the most iconic sculptures in the museum. I wanted to put on a funny and relatable twist to the work. 

What materials did you use? How did you set up the shots? 

Mostly bed sheets, my own clothing, and a box of wine. I used a lot of books and my laundry basket and my tripod. It surprisingly worked out fine. 

What is your favorite Getty challenge photo you’ve seen? 

Christian Martinez, Renaissance Lasagna Noodles. Imaginary Insect Tulip, Spider, and Common Pear in Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta, (1561-1562) I love the humor behind this recreation. If I chose this piece to recreate I would have used real tulips and pears. But the Christian chose a completely different direction with tomatoes, lasagna noodles, and eggs.  

What are you the most excited about once the museum opens? What did you miss the most? 

What I am most excited about once the museum opens again is to see the Carrie Moyer and Sheila Pepe’s show, Tabernacles For Trying Times. I think since the pandemic the show will take on a whole new meaning regarding the sense of a gathered community.  Honestly what I miss the most is normalcy. I want to wake up and know that I have to go to a certain place at a certain time. It'll take a while for that to come back but at least I get to see my co-workers and return to my favorite job.