The new Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, designed by Cesar Pelli, had its official grand opening last month.
Ziff Ballet Opera House features the Hibiscus Grand Curtain, one of several works of art funded by Miami-Dade Art in Public Places exclusively for the center. New York based artist Robert Zakanitch was commissioned with the creation of a “painting” that functions as a House Curtain. Hand-painting a 60’ x 40’ curtain with fullness, however, would have required an inordinate amount of time and unreasonable funds. I. Weiss suggested the use of digital printing and worked with Zakanitch from concept to completion over the course of three years.
The original art, a 9’ wide by 20’ high painted velour sample, was shot by an art photographer, and the large format negative was scanned to get a digital file with the highest possible resolution. This file was manipulated and resized to the actual scale of the curtain. Several models and approval rounds later the finished art was sectioned to be printed on individual fabric rolls. After the artist added his finishing touches to the panels they were carefully matched and sewn to create the finished piece. I. Weiss was charged with designing the best construction method for a beautiful functional house curtain that enhances the visual impact of the art.
