God Bless

AUCKLAND, Today: First Banksy; now Michelangelo” Kiwis have an appetite for experiencing art up close, says Phantom sales & marketing director Rupert Fenton.

“Just ask Stewart Macpherson of the Stetson Group, who knows a thing or two about putting on show-stopping exhibitions.

“After bringing the works of Banksy to New Zealand in 2018, Stewart was keen to stage another world-class show. He heard about the amazing archive of the Sistine Chapel frescos, painted by Michelangelo in the 16th century and painstakingly restored (and photographed) in the late 1980s.

“Reproduced at nearly life size, these are some of the most celebrated images in history. You will know them when you see them. And very soon, you will be able to see them.

“These magnificent frescos have been digitised at high resolution and blown up to nearly life size. When you walk past them in the special exhibition space set up in Auckland’s Aotea Centre, you will be seeing them almost as Michelangelo saw them.

“Only you won’t have to climb a scaffold.

“Stewart wanted to use the scene from Genesis where God reaches towards Adam – but this didn’t really fit in the upright poster format.”

“Images as powerful as these were crying out for the impact and immediacy of street posters. So Stewart approached Phantom to book a promotional campaign.

The Vatican was consulted about the use of its Sistine Chapel frescos in our frames. Thankfully, we got their blessing.

“But there was one other issue. Stewart and his team really wanted to use the scene from Genesis where God reaches towards Adam – but this didn’t really fit in the upright poster format.

“Solution? Book two Phantom frames side by side, and have God and Adam yearning to touch across the gap.

“The result is a stunning use of street posters to promote one of this summer’s most eagerly awaited events. It opens on 3 January, with earlybird prices for tickets bought before Christmas.”

Stewart Macpherson said: “We chose Phantom to bring Michelangelo’s masterpieces to the street.

“I’ve had 48 years in the business, and I’ve worked with Phantom Billstickers since the early days. If you want to get people excited, sell tickets and promote something special, you can’t go past street posters.”

• rupert@0800phantom.co.nz
• More here