Pacific students work to recreate Haggin Museum classics
A revival of the classic J. C. Leyendecker art paintings has been featured on the Haggin Museum’s Facebook page, and students at the University of the Pacific and local photographer Shumesa Mohsin created the ad campaign.
The University of the Pacific offers a media promotion class through the conservatory of music where a nonprofit is selected as the focus for students to create a project, and this year’s selection was the Haggin Museum.
“After meeting with Susan (Obert, Haggin Museum director of development) and learning about the Leyendecker photos, we were inspired to make that the subject of our media campaign,” said Kathrina Morales, a student at the University of the Pacific.
The group also did an updated shoot of historical sites in Stockton that showcased the difference between the building structures over time.
According to Morales, the focus of the project was on the modernity and diversity with both the Kellogg’s Kids ad and the historic buildings.
“We really focused our media campaign on the Haggin's Facebook page, because that is its best-performing media platform,” Morales said.
The motivation to promote the images through social media stemmed from the desire to increase viewership at the museum, which has seen a decline in visitors.
The ad campaign launched on Facebook on Nov. 26 and has received shares by the museum's Facebook followers.
“A lot of millennials lack an interest in arts. We are really trying to connect with our own generation,” Morales said.
Obert was amazed at how quickly the group came up with the idea and the excitement of rejuvenating the classic artistry created by Leyendecker
“They came up with everything and they did a phenomenal job. They completely took this and ran with it,” Obert said.
The Leyendecker collection is one that holds considerable importance to many Stockton natives. The collection consists of nearly 60 original Leyendecker canvases assembled between 1952 and ’59.
Leyendecker’s menswear commissions brought him his greatest fame, but he was also known for his Kellogg’s Corn Flakes illustrations featuring cherubic infants enjoying bowls of cereal.
His collection was acquired by Earl Rowland, who was an artist and a professor at Stockton’s College of the Pacific (now University of the Pacific). He curated the collection for the museum, as gifts that were endowed by the Leyendecker family and companies that he had created pieces for.
“We enjoyed learning the history of the collection and how much it means to the people of Stockton,” Morales said. “The comments that they left on these photos show us how much pride they have for their community and its history.”
As a group, the students decided to keep the process student-centric and recruited Mohsin to take the pictures for both the recaptured images of Stockton and the children eating cereal.
“I reached out to Shumesa after seeing her work for our homecoming rally, I knew she would deliver amazing photos,” Morales said.
Lodi native Mohsin was keen on accepting the project as it allowed her to diversify her portfolio.
“I was excited and nervous to take on this project because I don’t normally do architectural shots, so photographing the buildings was difficult because my lens was too short,” Mohsin said.
Mohsin enjoyed the experience and was surprised to learn the significance and history of Stockton as she explored the city’s archives.
“I really felt inspired to take on a project like this about Lodi,” Mohsin said. “I would really like to compare photos and see places like the Sunset Theatre back in their day.”