Heads up, this will probably be pretty long. Updates, realizations and some online therapy...venture on at your own risk. (Reminder - if you want backstory, you can see several previous blog posts below this one, and also the initial project summary [MUCH changed already] at www.movementcolor.com.)
In July this project received a beautiful home for the final show, got a beautiful city to shoot, met a whole bunch of magical helpers, and got smacked in the face with the crystal clear reality that getting it all done by April 2018 will be really hard.
Three weeks ago, I jumped on a plane and went to Denver. Mission #1 was to check out the Clyfford Still Museum to see if I could shoot there. In addition to that, I hoped to walk, check the city out, and see what else might be possible. The trip exceeded all of my expectations. My walking app registered 30+ miles in three days, and I came away with the guts of what could be a great project.
I could go on for pages on my time in Denver, but things are best boiled down to a few bullet-point highlights:
- My lodging hosts were amazing - a great Airbnb family (wife, husband, three kids and an awesome dog!) in a beautiful turn-of-the century home in North Capitol Hill. The father Brian, also an artist, gave me tips for visiting the town and showed me his studio (www.2520lar.com). Thanks for the hospitality Michele, Brian and family! And you too, Charlie Dog!
- The first full day brought an early coffee date with a new Magical Helper, 'Denver Jenny' (friend of previously discussed Magical Helper 'New York Katie'). One thing this project has gotten me is some great coffees with talented, caring, passionate and beautiful people! Jenny is an architect and artist. We met in a corporate office building (555 17th Street) in the heart of Downtown Denver. There is a Starbucks in the building's lobby overlooking a beautiful art installation that Jenny had created. We spent over an hour talking art and having Jenny rattle off about a dozen potential locations which might make good additional locations to shoot. I no longer needed to worry about what I was going to do for the remainder of my days in Denver! Thank you, Jenny. You are something else.
- My Clifford Still Museum visit exceeded my wildest expectations. I really can't describe it in any effective way. The art moves me deeply, the building is architectural genius and it is a perfect place for my shoot. I had a fantastic tour with Chicago-born Lydia and she seemed to dig the project. I need to get a final a proposal to them, and then hopefully we are in. It's really hard to believe I may be able to shoot in that place. Fingers crossed.
- After Clyfford Still, I toured the Denver Art Museum, Denver Library, Cheeseman's park and a good half-dozen other spaces. All amazing, but none that were good photo fits. What a city, though!
- Some head-shaking karmic connections got me to Wonderbound. They are an innovative dance studio in Denver which I came across on a walk, and that Denver Jenny happened to also think might be a good fit. I have some work to do, but my hope is that they are a potential shoot location and also a possible source of dancers in Denver.
- A tip, a lead and some cold-calling landed me a tour of the Clock Tower. Holy crap, you've gotta be kidding me?!? 20 stories up, a steampunk-esque fully functioning turn of the century four-faced clock tower! The proprietor, 'Clock Tower Jodi', gave me a spectacular tour and is open to a shoot there as well.
- The rest of the trip included more walking, more amazing site visits, drinks with Jordan, a little Kimball Musk and then an uneventful plane ride home.
One of the main galleries, Clyfford Still Musem, Denver.
If I were to predict things as they stand right now, I would see a shoot around January or February 2018 that will hit up to four locations - Clifford Still, Wonderbound, Clock Tower and 555 17th St. Pictures of dancers in motion immediately convey energy and expression in any setting, but dropping the dancers into some of these diverse spots would incorporate art, space, emotion, time and the modern life we all have to fit into. Broad abstract expressionist-type themes is what I am going for and this just might do it. And to tie in the greater-Madison area, we may just bridge things with a couple of shoots around here to fill things out.
So, Denver...I'm coming for you. It's going to be good.
Meanwhile, back in Wisconsin, the struggle was real to find a location to hold the final show. Lots of discussions left initial option #1 in Stoughton as a no-go, so I reached out to my social media clan and you all delivered! I received around fifty suggestions for potential spots, and a clear leader emerged almost immediately, the Chorus Public House in Stoughton, just a few blocks from my initial spot. A few days after receiving the tip the owner, Magical Helper Carol, met me there, gave me a tour and...IT IS PERFECT. We struck a deal, reserved the space and now have a home. You can see more online, but suffice to say, this turn of the century beauty is all I could ask for - classy, original, beautiful light and wood, plus an owner who buys into the project. I couldn't be happier. Check them out here and tell your friends: www.choruspublichouse.com.
In addition to the space, I have had a bunch of additional Magical Helpers lining up for the show...Taco Josh, Cupcake Jen, Beermaster Josh and Accountability Anne have tossed their hats in the ring to help push this thing forward. It's hard to overstate how great the support has been.
So, here we are. Beautiful places to shoot. A spectacular place to hold the show. A bunch of people willing to help. An idea that is ripe and ready to work. All there is now is...a complete shit-ton of work to do. Planning a thing is hard. Doing the work to pull it off is a whole other thing. And as I sit here, I am completely unsure if I can pull it off. I am a husband, a father, a banker. There's Syttende Mai, Norwegian Dancers, dance conventions, dance team, a couple of other photo commitments, keeping healthy, getting some sleep...and so on. These are of course just the whinings of a very lucky man, but I have had a clear realization; if this thing is going to happen, I need to start doing some things differently. Time to work on this project is not going to just materialize. I have to prioritize, communicate, execute, be ready to say no a lot, deal with setbacks and keep on pushing. I am honestly not convinced I can pull it off. August will be key to getting some important items off the list. All we can do it set things up an knock them down.
I can see it. I really can. Like, in vivid detail and in full color. In the immortal words of Alexander Hamilton...Let's Go.