An All-Inclusive Presence
Hello friends! This is a funding appeal intended to facilitate the production of a major project: a live video/concert fruit of the collaboration among three Ithaca-area artists: Peter Dodge, composer; Bryan Root, filmmaker; and Fernando Llosa, visual artist. A short feature film may also be in the works.
The title of the piece —An All-Inclusive Presence— was originally given by Fernando to a limited edition book containing an essay and a set of images selected from a large body of ink paintings made between 2004 and 2013. At the heart of that work pulse two essential and intertwined observations. One is that our long-standing identification with limited, contradictory, and extremely divisive forms of personal and tribal consciousness has alienated us from the mystery of life, the fundamental source of the human presence in the cosmos. And the other is that, unless we somehow manage to overcome this estrangement from our natural and common ground, we will continue to live in increasingly worse forms of the same cultural, interpersonal, and psychological conflict we have already suffered for thousands of years.
Early in 2016, Peter accepted Fernando’s invitation to compose the original score that would accompany a video animation of a new selection of that same group of paintings. The problem of whom to trust with the animation was instantly resolved given that both of them were well aware of Bryan’s excellent work in that field. Peter had already composed and performed music for some of his pieces. The fact that Fernando’s paintings had been made on glass with the express purpose of digitizing them for the production of large-scale prints, made that particular body of pictorial work ideal for video animation. Needless to say, we could all agree on the central message conveyed by the original book version of An All-Inclusive Presence.
Please click on the link below to see a very brief and tentative sample of this work in process. The hour-long live concert presentation of the piece (divided in three sections each prefaced by the reading of a brief text), will be set against the visual background provided by the dynamic video rendition of well over a hundred different images.
We are happy to announce that, through the generosity of the many friends who made donations or bought artwork, this funding appeal has, in only a few weeks, already yielded almost half of the US $6,000 we need to complete the digital animation and musical composition components of the production.
We have little doubt that once this final stage of production is completed, the two or three experimental, large hall performances we envision at this point will prove to be a beautiful and arresting experience capable of eliciting deep reflection and lively dialogue among those who attend.
On what do we base this trust? Well, to begin with, on the fact that art and music have a proven capacity to present complex and difficult issues in a beautiful, captivating manner. Beyond that, we feel that An All-Inclusive Presence is a piece of art with the power to move and transform by confronting head-on the unsustainability of humanity’s chronic and conflictive division along cultural and personal lines, and the absolute necessity of a prompt and drastic change in how we conceive of ourselves and how we relate to one another. We feel strongly that the very survival of the species depends on our personal willingness to transit away from the exclusive and relative protection of contradictory cultural and personal associations and disassociations, and into the open embrace of life indivisible. This is not a frequent topic of conversation or in the daily news, but the fact is that the miracle of our shared existence is the only source of profound meaning that is already present in all human beings, regardless of our relative social and economic standing, and our location in space and time.
We would like you to think of An All-Inclusive Presence as a necessarily limited, but heart-felt echo of life’s unfathomable intelligence and love quietly begging us to free ourselves of the dangerous constrictions of self-centeredness, tribalism, and sectarianism. The urgency of a proper response to this call is why we feel this project deserves completion and, for that purpose, your kind support.
We do not assume we necessarily merit an outright donation from you, and so are ready to offer something concrete in exchange. During the length of this appeal (October to the end of December 31, 2016), and only for the purpose stated in this appeal, you may get 25% off the purchase of any painting, stone poem, photograph, or hand-bound book by Fernando. For a $50.00 donation, you will receive a 13 x 17” print of one of the Sumi ink paintings that are part of the production.
The studio is at 32 Elm Street Trumansburg New York
To see some images representative of the type of art that Fernando will make available at a significant discount (with the mention of this appeal, and until the end of the year), please go here:
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call (607) 387-9691.
If you are not interested in acquiring a piece of art, but want to support our project, please make a check out to Fernando Llosa (or Unbound Art & Fine Books) and mail it to this address:
32 Elm Street Trumansburg NY 14886
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Some information about the three artists collaborating in this project
Bryan Root
Bryan studied painting and film at Tyler School of Art and graduated with a BFA in 1986. His post-graduate filmmaking got him into the directing program at The American Film Institute where he made 4 short films in two years, won a scholarship, and attained his MFA. He spent the next 15 years working in the Los Angeles film and television industry.
He made a web-based narrative farce, spacerex.com, which he set aside in 2003, to make "Dirty Habit," a low budget feature he wrote, directed, and edited. While that film was at film festivals, Bryan moved his family to Trumansburg, New York, near his home town of Ithaca. He has made short films for musicians, and features for a social networking site. He has also worked freelance for National Geographic, The Smithsonian Network, PBS, and Action News.
His collaboration with kinetic artist, Bob Potts, and composer, Peter Dodge, became a YouTube sensation and led to worldwide exhibitions and sales of Pott's work. Bryan's animation of paleo-artist John Gurche's busts of human ancestors went viral in 2015. In only three days, it received 32 million views, and has since then permeated to the utmost backwaters of the web.
In his personal work, Bryan is greatly concerned with the subconscious mind and the subliminal power of image and film. Always balancing technique and pragmatic narrative concerns with personal reverie and transcendent creative experience, he strives to get out of the way, and let the material speak for itself.
For more information, please visit Bryan website at this address: http://www.motherlode-pix.com/
Peter Dodge
Peter has been a professional musician for more than 50 years and a composer for 30. He graduated from Ithaca College in 1975 with an Applied Music degree (performance/trumpet).
He began performing his own music in the early 80’s, utilizing synthesizers and tape loops to create multi-layered soundscapes.
He has collaborated with choreographers (Nancy Gaspar, Lonna Wilkinson, Judy Brophy, Bernadette Fiocca, Jill Becker); performance/ritual artists (Cly Boehs, Dinosaur, Watchface, Leeny Sack); poet/storytellers (Peter Fortunato, Katherine Blackbird, Regi Carpenter); filmmakers (Jay Craven, Gene Katz, Photosynthesis, Peter Carroll, Bryan Root); and music ensembles (Spirit Horses, Wonder Cabinet, Cloud Chamber Orchestra); on the internet, his music accompanies illustrations of the kinetic sculptures of Bob Potts filmed and edited by Bryan Root.
Peter’s work ranges from dense noise collages to high altitude salon music, and usually features some combination of piano (grand and toy) and various wind and string instruments.
Fernando Llosa
Fernando is an artist, writer, and bookmaker who lives and works in Trumansburg with Kim Schrag, his accomplice in life and art. The possibility of a radical revolution in human consciousness is his central concern. You can find out more about him and his work here: http://unboundart.com/
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