Not just another Elvis sighting
Veronica Duran
SOUTH COAST PLAZA -- Sales soared at the Orange County Museum of Art
store in South Coast Plaza Monday, as Elvis fans bought up clocks,
T-shirts, calendars and other memorabilia on the 22nd anniversary of The
King’s death.
Since mid-June, the art museum, on San Clemente Drive in Newport Beach,
has displayed an exhibit titled: “How Great Thou Art,” with photos from
Graceland by Ralph Burns. And the museum’s South Coast Plaza shop has
carried the Elvis memorabilia.
But Monday was the biggest sales day since the opening of the exhibit,
said Brian Langston, director of marketing and public relations.
The black and white photographs of Elvis Presley fans that adorn the
walls of the museum have attracted hundreds of people since the June 19
opening, Langston said.
Some people, he said, go to the art museum just to view Burns’
photos.”People were impressed with the degree of reverence depicted in
the photographs,” Langston said.
But of course, crowds attend the exhibit out of respect for Presley and
“respect for the power of an icon like Elvis to inspire love and
adoration so many years after his death,” Langston said.
Jennifer Wells, a Laguna Beach resident who attended the exhibit’s
kickoff, said she was fascinated with the cult of Elvis and Graceland and
even more fascinated to see how people arrived at Graceland in droves.
“[The exhibit] is less about Elvis and more about the types of people who
make the pilgrimage to Graceland,” Wells said. “It was humorous and had a
voyeuristic quality to it.”The museum, which displays a variety of art
topics, changes the theme every two months.
“We try to provide a variety of aesthetic experiences to South Coast
Plaza visitors,” Vine said.
About 200,000 people show up every year for the shows at South Coast
Plaza, Langston said.
“How Great Thou Art,” will be on display until Aug. 22.
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