Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/765720
22 P E R S P E C T I V E | J A N UA RY / F E B R UA RY 2 0 1 7 in print Above: Judy Garland (as Dorothy) in Munchkinland from THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939). The architectural background is partially constructed and partially painted on the landscape scenic backing in the distance. A UNIQUE FRATERNITY by Thomas Walsh, Production Designer and Apprentice Scenic Artist This article was originally written by Mr. Walsh as the Foreward to The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop. A young man's hand plunges a metal scoop into a square tin of vibrant ultramarine blue powder and transfers the finely ground color into a five-gallon bucket. The long metal paddle of the paint mixer slowly rotates, changing a foul-smelling liquid, the binder, and the toxic powder into a magical elixir. These vivid colors are spread over an immense white surface of sized cotton muslin, resulting in a transformation from an empty void into an ocean of great scale, depth and radiant light. Rich in its character and mood, this is a narrative still life to be seen and at the same time to go unnoticed by its intended audience—quite a challenge given that this painting is thirty feet tall and one hundred feet wide. continued © MGM/The Kobal Collection at Art Resource NY