Dallas Museum of Art

Mapping out the life’s work of artist, Octavio Medellin

Working closely with Dallas Museum of Art, we created an interactive microsite to explore the first-ever museum retrospective of the influential Mexican-American artist, Octavio Medellín.

The year-long exhibition, ‘Octavio Medellin: Spirit and Form’ explores Medellin’s sculptural practice, public art commissions, and legacy to the city of Dallas. The retrospective features a variety of works dotted across multiple sites in and around the city that inspired them.

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Dallas Museum of Art photograph. A large sculpture of an eyeball sits on a green lawn. In the background is a row of manicured trees and various high-rise buildings with brick and glass facades. A group of uniformed people stands nearby the sculpture - in black, with white flat hats.
Dallas Museum of Art photograph. Four rectangular pillared sculptures sit within a park. They are made of intricate tiles displaying green, blue and orange abstract patterns. The stand on a raised gravelled platform within the park. There are people playing and mature trees dotted in the background.
Dallas Museum of Art photograph. A cactus consisting of circular curved green shapes and long needles is growing in the wild. Long dry grass grows in front and around it. There is a blue sky behind, with some wispy clouds.
Dallas Museum of Art photograph. An overhead photograph of the Dallas Cotton Bowl stadium. The stadium is full of spectators. On the pitch, a number of people are make up a flower formation.
Dallas Museum of Art photograph. A red metal sculpture made of long thin beams sits on the lawn in front of the Dallas Museum of Art. The museum facade is made of grey stone tiles and glass windows. Next to the museum is a row of tall trees in various colours, through which you can see the partial view of cars parked and a tall skyscraper in the distance.
Dallas Museum of Art photograph. The image showcases a modern, architecturally striking building with a sleek, rectangular design and a prominent façade featuring vertical metal slats. The building's lower level has a contrasting beige structure with evenly spaced windows, while the upper portion is enclosed by a white frame, creating a floating effect. The surrounding area is landscaped with young trees, and the bright blue sky with scattered clouds.
Dallas Museum of Art photograph. The building features a bold, modernist design with bright orange walls, including a prominent sloping façade reminiscent of a pyramid. A smaller cuboid orange building without windows is in front, and a small purple stepped structure to the left. In front of the building is a pavement, a line of small thin shrubs, and three flags. There is also a purple and orange flag hanging from the right side of the building. The building is set against a vivid blue sky.
Dallas Museum of Art photograph. A sculpture of an abstract dark grey form of including a head, shoulders and arms outstretched holding orange curved shapes. The sculpture sits on top of a light grey stone stand. In the background are two buildings: one with a curved white roof, a glass and brick facade with steps; the other darker brick building, obscured by a large group of trees. This is a low angle photograph, so shows a large expanse of blue sky behind the subject.

I believe that sincere art must be elemental and close to the earth – a symbol of the people. The trend of my art is toward the common people and everyday life, the kind of people and environment I myself come from. It is entirely away from politics and sophisticated ideas.

Octavio Medellin

Medellín around the metroplex

Renowned for his eclectic artworks and explorative approach, Octavio Medellin worked across mediums, often crafting in wood, stone and clay; as well as experimenting with metal, glass, printmaking, pottery, mosaic, and stained glass.

To celebrate his life’s work we created a playful interactive map of the exhibition, which allows visitors to explore and discover the key locations, landmarks and public artworks associated with Medellin’s career.

Dallas Museum of Art illustration. An abstract and figurative imperfect collage style illustration in warm tones of red, orange, and yellow. The artwork depicts an eyeball with a yellow iris with red veins curling around its side.

Bringing Medellin’s Dallas to life

To help bring Medellin’s Dallas to life, we invited illustrator Nicolas Burrows to create a suite of 50+ illustrations of artworks, buildings, animals and furniture.

Working closely with Nic, we developed an abstract and figurative style of imperfect collage illustration that will appeal to all. Playing with exaggerated mark-making techniques, the illustrations reflect the craftsmanship and philosophies that underpin Medellin’s work. The overall feel echoes his spirited, childlike love for craft.

Dallas Museum of Art illustration. An abstract and figurative imperfect collage style illustration featuring various landmarks, buildings, and cultural elements in warm tones of red, orange, and yellow. The artwork includes churches, modern and historic architecture, animals, and symbolic imagery, all depicted in a flat, graphic style with playful details.
Dallas Museum of Art map mock up. A landscape folded map showing the various landmarks associated with the career of Octavio Medellin is shown on a purple background. The top two-thirds of the map contains an illustration featuring various landmarks, buildings, and cultural elements in warm tones of red, orange, and yellow. The illustrations have an abstract and figurative imperfect collage style. Below the illustration, there is a key to the ten landmarks and reference to the illustrator, Nicolas Burrows. In the lower right corner there is a call to action QR code prompting readers to 'Discover more with our interactive map'. Dallas Museum of Art exhibition mock up. A four-sided printed leaflet is shown at an angle on a coral background. The leaflet contains information about the Octavio Medellìn exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art. The first side of the leaflet is divided into three. A photograph of a red sculpture on a lawn in front of a pale grey building is shown at the top, followed by information and ways to 'Get in touch' with a cut out of a sculpture of a figure holding a dog. Underneath this there are logos of the museum and exhibition's supporters and detailed information about the museum. The second side of the leaflet shows two photographs of Octavio Medellìn, followed by an introductory summary about his career in purple all caps text. Next there are two paragraphs of smaller print which describe the exhibition in more detail. Underneath this is a prompt and QR code for visitors to 'Discover more with our interactive map', which sits within a white box. The right side of the leaflet is folded over, showing the cover for the exhibition. The Dallas Museum of Art's logo is in the top left hand corner. Octavio Medellìn's name covers the majority of the page in large all caps over two lines of purple text. Between these these two words there are two cuts of figures. There is an abstract coral-coloured shape behind them. The 'Spirit and Form' exhibition name and dates is below this in smaller text.

A vision of inclusivity

Championing Medellin’s ethos, the website is designed to land with a broad demographic: an inclusive space for people from all walks of life to learn and be inspired. So often shrouded in elitism, art exhibitions can easily feel unapproachable to those on the outside. We wanted to combat this by making the site joyous for all to use; a tactile digital experience that connects with the sculptural qualities of Medellin’s work through playful interpretive illustrations.

The navigation around the site helps to break his work up in a digestible way for all to enjoy. Whilst the playful user interactions and bold colour palette connect this artist of huge cultural significance with a new, younger audience; keeping his work relevant to this day.

Dallas Museum of Art iPhone11 mock up. Three iPhone screens are shown on a warm cream, textured background. All screens relate to the interactive map of the Octavio Medellín exhibition. They all show the website link at the top of the screen 'spiritandform.dma.org'. The first screen lists a menu in large white all caps text 'Home, The Map, About, Contact' on a coral background. There is an option to choose either English or Spanish in the top left of this page, and icons linking to four social media platforms underneath. The second screen shows a close-up of an illustrated map, featuring various landmarks, buildings, and cultural elements in warm tones of red, orange, and yellow. The illustrations have an abstract and figurative imperfect collage style. The top two-thirds of the third screen also shows the map, zoomed into the illustration of the Dallas Museum of Fine Art. Information about the museum is shown underneath in a white box. The Dallas Museum of Art logo is shown in the top left corner of the second and third screens, with a coral hamburger menu to the right.

Fiasco were amazing to collaborate with, and were truly innovative in their approach to our interactive map creation. They came up with amazing creative solutions, as well as providing real time brainstorming and troubleshooting along the way. We’re thrilled with the result — and the interactive museum engagement with both our members and the public!

Lizz DeLera, Creative Director at Dallas Museum of Art

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