Swatch x Art Institute of Chicago Concept
Imagining an addition to Swatch's museum collaboration collection, using four notable works from the Art Institute.
The Idea
While browsing through Swatch's various art museum collaborations, I thought it would be fun to create one for one of my favorite paintings, Hopper's Nighthawks. After checking that one didn't exist already (sadly, it did not), I mocked one up. From there, I decided to choose a few other notable works from the Art Institute of Chicago and imagined them together as a Swatch collaboration release.
The project culminated in presenting the four watches in a way reminiscent of how they are displayed in the museum: by using their actual frames or a similarly designed one for a cohesive yet individual look. Below are some quick notes on the design process and some of the smaller details found within each watch.
Nighthawks
I thought this painting fit well for a watch design, as having the subjects within the watch face evokes the same sort of sense of isolation and being trapped that the painting conveys. For the hands, I chose a more modern syringe style found on watches in the 1940s when the painting was made. For the top strap, the "Phillies" signage made for a fitting strap detail. Finally, the reddish-brown color of the case and strap keeper keeps with the somber color palette in the painting.
Paris Street; Rainy Day
The next painting from the Art Institute I picked was Paris Street; Rainy Day, with there being many interesting details to pick out for the design. Among those is the umbrella that fits well within the curvature of the dial, the cobblestone street that makes for a nice textured look on the bottom strap, and the corner building leading to the sky as a top strap detail. For the case color, I picked out a shade of green similar to that of the light post in the background to complement some of the more beige and muted tones. Finally, I chose spade hands for the watch face, reminiscent of pocket watches of the era.
American Gothic
A Swatch x Art Institute collection wouldn't be complete without American Gothic. The infamous subjects of course made for a perfect watch face. For the strap, I opted to use the brown pattern from the woman's apron for the full strap, complementing the blue sky.
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
I used Seurat's well known painting to round out the concept collection. As a nod to Cameron's existential moment in Ferris Bueller, the little girl as the main subject within the watch face was an easy choice. Like Paris Street, the same spade style hands, this time in pink, were chosen based on the time period of this painting. With lots of other elements of the painting to choose from, I opted for the top strap to feature the man with the top hat and cane, with the woman seated next to the water for the top strap, along with the running animals at the bottom of the painting for the lower strap.
Final Thoughts
What began as a personal curiosity about a single painting and how to incorporate its core elements into a small, wearable package eventually evolved into replicating that process for more paintings within the framework of a concept Swatch x museum collaboration. It was a fun exercise to be able to examine each painting to determine the main identity and atmosphere of each work, and then translate that to fit within a 41mm watch while still maintaining the identity of the painting.
Thanks for taking a look, and I look forward to sharing some more projects soon.