For my girlfriend’s birthday, I wanted to make a scale model of her favorite installation at the Art Institute of Chicago - Chagall’s America Windows. The three stained glass panels were a gift to the city and celebrated America’s cultural and religious freedom, detailing the arts of music, painting, literature, theater, and dance.
For the model, I laser cut everything out of acrylic and wood and painted them to be seamless. The three stained glass panels were printed on clear vinyl and applied to acrylic. They are lit and diffused from behind by LED panels powered by batteries. The model glows the same blue as at the Art Institute since the pillars and wood base are to the same scale as the real life installation. The lightbox model becomes a perfect miniature representation of Chagall’s gift to Chicago, and in turn, a gift to my beautiful girlfriend.
