Louis Grell: The Lost Murals
Advisor Information
Amy Morris
Location
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
6-3-2015 2:00 PM
End Date
6-3-2015 3:30 PM
Abstract
In the city of Toledo, Ohio a historic building known as the Paramount Theater was destroyed in 1965. With the destruction of the theater so too was the artistic murals that decorated its grand lobby ceiling. Designed by Louis Grell, a Chicago artist known for working on the Chicago Theater, the murals highlighted the extravagant surroundings of the lobbies’ interior. With only a handful of black and white photographs left and no video or color images to record its splendor I set out to reconstruct the ceiling using modern 3D modeling and animation software. My goal of this project was to create an accurate representation of what the ceiling would have looked like in the past. Using the few remaining photographs and collecting other schematic information from several literary sources I attempted to replicate the ceiling using a 3D modeling program called Maya and the photo editing program Photoshop. With the help of these programs I was able to reconstruct a basic black and white model of the ceilings’ layout and artistic motifs in greater detail than what can be viewed in the surviving photographs. While only the ceiling has been reconstructed with this project; the Toledo Paramount Theater is one of many historical buildings in the United States that has, and could continue to benefit from virtual reconstruction.
Louis Grell: The Lost Murals
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
In the city of Toledo, Ohio a historic building known as the Paramount Theater was destroyed in 1965. With the destruction of the theater so too was the artistic murals that decorated its grand lobby ceiling. Designed by Louis Grell, a Chicago artist known for working on the Chicago Theater, the murals highlighted the extravagant surroundings of the lobbies’ interior. With only a handful of black and white photographs left and no video or color images to record its splendor I set out to reconstruct the ceiling using modern 3D modeling and animation software. My goal of this project was to create an accurate representation of what the ceiling would have looked like in the past. Using the few remaining photographs and collecting other schematic information from several literary sources I attempted to replicate the ceiling using a 3D modeling program called Maya and the photo editing program Photoshop. With the help of these programs I was able to reconstruct a basic black and white model of the ceilings’ layout and artistic motifs in greater detail than what can be viewed in the surviving photographs. While only the ceiling has been reconstructed with this project; the Toledo Paramount Theater is one of many historical buildings in the United States that has, and could continue to benefit from virtual reconstruction.