Imagine being able to relive each and every one of Brett Favre's NFL-record 257 career consecutive starts for the Green Bay Packers. Well, pretty soon you might just be able to.
In recent years, New York artist and Wisconsin native Tim Laun has put this idea into motion, proposing a “Favre Era Cyclorama” which would feature a circular bank of 200-plus television sets, one for each game in Favre's record streak.
This exhibit would essentially be a time capsule of Favre's career, as Laun intends to include every second of every game, complete with audio.
Currently, Laun's concept is on display at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. This piece, entitled "Model for Cyclorama," depicts what his final piece will look like.
Though the blueprint for this shrine to Favre isn't anything to admire, more awe-inspiring works fill Laun's Packer-themed exhibit.
The exhibit also includes five lithographs that come from a 2000 game between the Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The “Favre” lithograph, which shows two shots of the quarterback — one taken by Laun himself and the other what Laun believes viewers saw on their television sets. Side by side, it appears as though one image of Favre is handing the ball off to the other.
The lithographs are fuzzy and grainy, almost as if they come straight from a grandmother's old television set. Although this makes most of the images rather unclear before reading the description, it adds to their allure as unique photographic works.
But the main attraction for Laun's exhibit is the centerpiece, titled "Tim Laun: Sunday, September 20th, 1992." It was on this date that Favre's predecessor Majkowski suffered a strained ligament in his ankle. "September 20th, 1992" illustrates the devastating, yet historic injury that ended Majkowski's career with the Packers by combining 30 laminated panels into one large image. Laun's piece shows Majkowski after his injury lying facedown on the field, clutching his ankle. This tragic end signals the beginning of a new era — the Brett Favre era.
Hopefully "Sunday, September 20th, 1992" will be just as symbolic for Laun's career, as his concept for the Favre Era Cyclorama has been in the works since early 2004. Maybe Laun is waiting for Favre's career to come to an end before he starts his work, but let's just hope his proposed piece doesn't go the way of Majkowski's career.
Laun will appear at the Madison Museum of Modern Art Thursday, Sept. 20 — the anniversary of Favre's first game as a Packer — to conduct a discussion about his piece, "Tim Laun: Sunday, September 20th, 1992."
