The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art opened their doors to the public in January, kicking it all off with a black tie New Years Eve Gala. The museum asked MODE to design an invitation for the night that would celebrate the beginning of a new year and welcome a new cultural institution to Charlotte.

We wanted to do something memorable and celebratory to mark the occasion. The idea was to capture the festive nature of the evenings events in a refined and sophisticated manner while reinforcing an element of the Bechtler brand, the vividly colored Swiss Red square.

We took the unique opportunity to utilize the 10,000sqft, of then empty, gallery space to create an installation. We set out to create a three-dimensional version of the square in space, as seen from a single vantage point. The square would only be visible from one fixed location, a view from any other angle or perspective would reveal the varying heights and focal depths used to create the illusion.

The installation required a twenty cubic foot helium tank to fill the approximately twenty five, oversized 24″ red balloons. The balloons needed to be not only oversized but also perfectly round to create the proper visual effect and aesthetic. We referenced the type balloon used in Albert Lamorisse’s, classic short Le Ballon rouge (The Red Balloon). We then established our vantage point and began to place the balloons in-frame one at a time, moving balloons front to back and up and down. The result was a near perfect square and that revealed itself through a series of cards outlining the evenings events; Save the Date cards went out prior to the event showing only details and cropping of the final composition.

The following are outtakes from the process as well as the final invitation. Thanks again to the Bechtler for the opportunity to do something truly unique. If you have not yet visited the museum you need to make it a point to do so–it is a brilliant new addition to Charlotte’s cultural landscape.