Accidental Historian install.

Posted on by Thor

At the Orange County Regional History Center, (65 E. Central Blvd. Orlando, Florida 32801) I watched as a large cartography sketch by J.O. Fries was projected on a wall  for the Accidental Historian. This Central Florida sketch shows Lake Holden and Lake Jessup. Fries filled book after book with these detailed drawings were done as he paced off the woods and back roads by foot. The land was graphed off into a grid and then details were incorporated with old school pen and ink on paper. Trees look like arrows and wetlands are fields of dashes. His job was to document every mile and yard of the barren Central
Florida landscape. His hand drawn maps documented lakes swamps and dirt
roads that then dominated the landscape. Today Google satellite views
show the same landscape littered with strip malls and suburban sub
divisions.

I helped hand draw one section of this huge wall display. It involved working on each panel while on hands and knees. After a while the repetitive nature of the marks made became second nature. Quite a few different History Center  staff took turns adding to the large hand drawn map, yet it all pulls together in the exhibit.

Because I am interested in family history I was fascinated by the diaries on display and he funeral books citing caused of death for Orlando citizens over the years. Fries daughter wrote intimate diaries in her native tongue which I believe was Swedish. Transcriptions detailed how her family adjusted to the Florida climate.

This is a fun show with many Instagramable selfie moments. The opening of the show had a large image of the Lake Eola fountain half of the image is drawn by me with the rainbow colored amphitheater in the background and the other half is a photo form the 1920s by T.P Robinson.

The exhibit is up through January 20, 2020.

Other events surrounding the exhibition:

First Friday Lunch and Learns

History Center staff offer a behind-the-scenes look at the museum and share their research.

Also a public exhibition of the shortlisted design team submissions will take
place from October 3 to October 9, 2019 at the Orange County Regional History
Center in Orlando, Florida. This will be accompanied by a digital
exhibition of the shortlisted teams’ proposals on the onePULSE design
competition website. The public will have an opportunity to share their
comments.

The six shortlisted teams (in alphabetical order) are:

  • Coldefy and Associés with RDAI, Xavier Veilhan, dUCKS scéno, Agence TER, Prof. Laila Farah
  • Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rene Gonzalez Architects with Raymond Jungles, Inc.
  • heneghan peng architects, Gustafson Porter + Bowman, Sven Anderson & Pentagram
  • MASS Design Group, Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Sasaki, Sanford Biggers, Richard Blanco, Porsha Olayiwola
  • MVRDV, Grant Associates, GSM Project and Studio Drift
  • Studio Libeskind with Claude Cormier + Associés, Thinc, and Jenny Holzer

VIP Opening of Accidental Historian

Posted on by Thor

The evening of September 21, 2019 was the VIP reception for Accidental Historian at the Orange County Regional History Center (65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801). This is the first exhibit to feature sketches from the Orlando Urban Sketchers group. 

The premise of the exhibit is that artists,
bloggers, urban sketchers, photographers, and more could be historians without even realizing it. In this exhibition, created patrons, learn how individuals who are
absorbed in documenting the world of today accidentally become some of
Central Florida’s finest historians for the future. You can catch a glimpse into
some of the museum’s favorite collections that were created capturing the moments more
than 100 years ago.

The Accidental Historian features both historic and
contemporary work and collections, including drawings by the renowned
artist and teacher Ralph Bagley, Urban Sketchers Orlando, poetry by
Orlando’s inaugural poet laureate Susan Lilley, audiovisual work by food
blogger Ricky Ly, historic images by photographer T.P. Robinson, and
more.

A pillar of my sketchbooks from eight years of my daily sketching are in a glass case in the center of the room. The corner of the room is designed to look like an open spiral bound sketchbook and reproductions of sketches done by members of Orlando Urban Sketchers are scattered across the spread along with biographies and information about the artists.

I knew going into the reception that I wanted to sketch the huge transparencies that had been printed of a shuttle launch. They were framed in light boxes which made them glow as bright as an actual launch. A wall was dedicated to the people of central Florida over the years and a sketch I did of a flea market blues performer fit in snugly.

This exhibit is on display through January 19, 2020. Be sure to stop by the History Center and check it out.