This event happened in January but it was such a transition for me that it deserves to be in the blog. I’ll start from the beginning of this particular installation; Thanksgiving 2019:
Thankful. While eating turkey with the family, my first fractal animation completed its two days of rendering for Dream Machine HTX an immersive art experience by Bambull Black that has me (and many other amazing installation artists) pushing into some odd, old and new realms:
I studied animation at Art Institute but quickly after graduation abandoned it when the technology let me down. Built in plug-ins for cool effects were so wompy and full of bugs…I figured, let me develop my artistic skills and message while the technology catches up to my needs.
10+ years later, I realized the tech has reached the point where available software can bring my dreams to life, without all the headache.
Its time to expand.
To realize our dreams.
If the previous dream is over,
Time to dream a new one.
Then the shit hit the fan.
After the last minute cancellation of the original December show date due to city code violations for the venue’s incomplete bathroom re-construction, the show had to be rescheduled the following month in a different location. This change caused all kinds of complications for our installations. Even still, we pushed through to put on a great show…
We were all set up and running the day of the event after previous successful tests nights. In spite of all that, one installation was ruined by strong winds when Fire Marshall required it be moved outside. My installation almost didn’t recover the unforeseen as well.
It went perfect for a while, then right as the show was peaking my projector auto-shut down.
(It was too high up for the remote or anything to reach it.)
I was crushed.
BUT I HAD A BACK UP PLAN.
WHEN YOU ARE PREPARED FOR THINGS TO GO WRONG,
YOU SET YOURSELF UP FOR VICTORY.
You might think I’m into positive thinking. Maybe I am. But I also think of all that can go wrong. Then I prepare for it. The reason I succeed is because I don’t allow for the worst case scenario to play out without formulating a plan with how to handle it. After all, I study order and chaos.
My Back-Up Boy immediately filled the wall with some beautiful lights and YE Torres did some hypnotic dance while we improvised a new setup. Then my projections came back up again an hour later thanks to my awesome team (Jose Gustavo & Chelsea Ezike). So grateful. Y’all are literally my saviors.
You gave me new life when I died.
Here’s video from before, during, and after the show as proof that I lived. I died. And was reborn like the Atlas beetle in my drawings and dreams.
But then it got even better…
Bambull Black (the art collective responsible for Dream Machine) put on such a good show that we made local news. I also made the glowing moon globe and geodesic painted mannequin legs that got featured on the headline image plus a shout-out from Houston’s top premiere e-newspaper, Byline Houston (the new Free Press Houston)! Read the whole article here.
The other artists got some great mentions as well. I’ve made new alliances, and have learned so much from the whole experience. But last year was my worst ever dealing with my father’s death. I had to push myself to believe in me again in the new year. In the first month, this show rejuvenated me. It proved to me that if I work smart and hard, I can still be victorious. More has come my way since then and I’m having the best year I’ve ever had in my career.