Hey!
It's been a month, but things have been busy. If you're interested enough to click on this link, then you're probably interested enough to read this update, so let's go! (In case you aren't familiar with the project, you can see the overview here: (https://www.movementcolor.com/)
My May assignment was to secure a location for my shoot, and to secure a location for the final show. And...neither is done yet. But worry not, we are working the process and magical helpers continue to appear as I need them.
My instincts told me that this would be a project where we would have to go with the flow. Regarding the location for the photo shoot, this is EXACTLY what has happened. The Rothko Chapel was a no-go out of the gate. I shouted out to the world via social media and many other channels for help early on. And help is what I got.
Magical helper #1, my friend Ross, was excellent enough to think hard about who he might know to help with a location. He came up with magical helper #2, Katie. THANK YOU ROSS.
Katie is the real deal - young, successful, fancy New York architect kind of real deal. She was cool enough to spend some time connecting via email then phone to discuss the project, and then fed me a bunch of potential leads for locations. In a nutshell, Katie GETS IT. Her suggestions were exactly what I was looking for - spaces with the architecture style, light and spirit that I am going for with this project. THANK YOU KATIE.
I spent a bunch of the last month researching these options and landed on one that really spoke to me. It is a museum in Denver dedicated to a 20th century abstract impressionist artist, Clyfford Still (https://clyffordstillmuseum.org/). One of many karmic connections is that Still was a contemporary of Rothko, my initial inspiration. I sent in an application to the museum which resulted in an email discussion which lead to the conclusion that the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver...might work.
You see, people with priceless pieces of art have security staff. These security folks don't initially think highly of the idea of trying to protect their priceless artwork while some guy with a camera directs dancers to dance and jump around in front of said priceless art. However, I am passionate and becoming more persistent. The end of this story - in early July, I am jumping on a plane and heading to Denver to meet with folks at the museum. We will try to work out details and see if we can make it work. Yes, let's repeat that. I am getting on a plane in the middle of the week in July to fly to Denver so I can talk to people who work at a museum to see if they will give me permission to take pictures of people dancing in front of art. Sigh.
Enter magical helper #3, Becky. A long-time friend and 10-year Denver resident, she coincidentally reached out to me last week to say hi since she will be in the Madison area this week. Really - I needed someone in Denver and Becky reached out and said hi. Life is cool. I will be meeting up with Becky to see if she has other connections in the area. The Clyfford Still Museum is in the neighborhood of many other fantastic Denver art facilities. My current thought is that we may try to secure several hours in Clyfford Still and then also try to find some similar space close by for a second and maybe third location. The Denver art scene looks vibrant, so we will get there, check it out and soak it all in. THANKS BECKY for any help you will be giving me with the on-the-ground work yet to come.
Helper #4, Josh, was mentioned in my first blog post. He is connected with my first-choice location, the Lageret in Stoughton (http://www.thelageret.com/), Josh and I have met a few times, have had some discussions with the decision maker folks, and are dialing in on if we can use the space on April 21, 2018. Anything can be purchased for a price of course, and we could probably make this happen with dollars, but part of this project is also trying to raise funds for DAIS. There will be an ongoing balance with this project to cover costs, have a great event, but also try to maximize what we can give to DAIS. More on this soon - hopefully my next blog post will be us announcing a final show location and the places where the shoot(s) will occur.
I guess that's about it. I will continue to talk with the Lageret folks, and I will be getting on a damn plane in early July to fly to Denver to scout shoot locations. For a banker in Stoughton Wisconsin, this frequently seems like a fairly nutty idea. A final shout out to my beautiful wife, Kim. She has not blinked at this project. Not once. If you look 'supportive' up in the dictionary, Kim's smiling picture will be there. Not sure why she us putting up with this, but she it. True Love.
More soon. Let me know if you know artistic folks in Denver, and hopefully there are more blog posts to come soon. Cheers, people. Follow your dreams, smile, have a good week.
- Jim