"Innovate and Educate"

Founders Collection:  Commissioned Artwork for Research Triangle Foundation Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

ROBERT HANES (AND GEORGE SIMPSON)

This still life photograph represents innovation and industry in Research Triangle Park, and the foundation of RTPs' relationships with UNC at Chapel Hill, Duke University, and North Carolina State (College) University.

This slightly more modern still life highlights a few industries located in RTP like aerospace, agriculture, medicine, technology, and life sciences. School spirit for UNC, Duke, and NCSU are also hinted at through the color palette.  Land documents show early companies that invested in, and grew in, Research Triangle Park.

Robert Hanes (shown here) as the first chairman, alongside George Simpson as the first executive director of the Research Triangle Committee, were champions for higher education and the visionaries behind RTP becoming reality through partnering with these three research universities.

Mr. Hanes served as a trustee of The University of North Carolina, the Morehead Foundation, Salem College, and Winston-Salem Teachers College, in addition to his lifetime of influential posts in banking, major corporations, and civic leadership roles.

Mr. Simpson earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from UNC Chapel Hill and dedicated his life to the human factor.  He realized it would be the people and their innovative ideas that would make RTP successful.

Project Overview

I want the viewer to see a traditional still life scene at first glance. Then, upon closer inspection they’ll see fine details and hidden objects that make up the true complexity of the photograph. The title of each piece hints at the deeper meaning within the scene, while the accompanying story brings into view the true symbolism of each image.
I hope the striking colors and composition will force you to stop and stare. More importantly, I hope that it draws you back many times as each viewing reveals something new.

The bronze bust of Luther Hodges, and the oil paintings of Archie Davis and Robert Hanes are pillars of this collection of photographs. Individually these men accomplished great things, but together they wrote the history of the Triangle Region and State of North Carolina. This collection of still life artwork celebrates North Carolina, Research Triangle Park, and its founders’ legacies and common love for the state of NC.