Picture yourself wandering through the brightly colored art environment of Pasaquan. Everywhere you turn, you see an elaborately painted structure with eye-catching oranges, yellows and blues. Imagine now, what if you spent the night here?
Franklin Vagnone has.
In part one of a special two-part series of public programs, Vagnone joins Intuit to recount his “One Night Stand” at this artful, expansive environment constructed by visionary artist Eddie Owens Martin, or St. EOM.
Franklin Vagnone is a Public Historian who leads the highly respected international cultural consulting firm Twisted Preservation. In addition, he is CEO of Old Salem Museums and Gardens and the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. Through his One Night Stand series, Vagnone attempts to shift our understanding of historic house museums away from the perception that they are solely public venues to a more intimate and tactile appreciation of these museums as places of private, domestic life.
Vagnone describes his One Night Stand series as his attempt “to highlight more nuanced and latent understandings of these places as vessels for life, social issues, politics, and habitation – not merely as decorative arts objects and collections artifacts.” He spends the night in the historic bedrooms, using the furniture and experiencing the combination of behaviors and interactions with a home in ways that only an inhabitant can understand.
This program is free to join! To show your support to Intuit, please consider the pay-what-you-can option when you complete your reservation. Your contributions help ensure the sustainability of our public programs and support guest lecturers and teaching artists.
Two hours before the event, Intuit will email the Zoom link to those who RSVP on Eventbrite. Please check your junk folder; unfortunately, these emails are sent there sometimes.
More about Franklin Vagnone
Prior to his current practice, Vagnone was the Executive Director of the Historic House Trust of the City of New York and The Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks. He is a co-author with Deborah Ryan of the bestselling museum-related book Anarchist’s Guide to Historic House Museums. His next book, One-night Stands: Sleeping Around in Historic House Museums, is planned to release in 2021-22 (post-COVID-19 times).
Vagnone’s Twisted Preservation blog is read in over 90 countries. His professional practice concentrates on marginalized narratives and cultural institution innovations. His work has been recognized through numerous awards. Most recently Franklin was selected as the 2019 American Institute of Architects Advocacy Award Recipient and the Museum Association of New York (MANY) state’s prestigious Individual Achievement Award (2016).