When ArtPrize approached us about helping them to announce their new biennial “Project” series, we knew it would be a unique creative challenge: create a film which built public excitement about an event without a legacy or existing visuals. Furthermore, the advertisement needed to help ArtPrize disrupt a widely beloved pattern of yearly festivities in an effort to champion a new format of artistic celebration.

Change is good, but it is rarely accepted without pushback. This effort was no exception. To be successful, the film needed to be informative yet ambiguous. It needed to inspire the imagination, yet remain simple, abstract, and unexpected. Most challenging of all, the concept needed to be developed, produced and mastered in ten days.

Following a deep-dive development session with the ArtPrize team, Gorilla director Jason Baker presented a concept that utilized water, inks, and alcohols to create a simple, yet mesmerizing visual aesthetic. Air blasts and color inversion created effects which were both ambiguous and inspired –– a technique which was intentionally unpredictable. The visual approach struck a cord, and the team quickly moved into the production phase.

Within days the Gorilla crew was in-studio filming blooms of beautiful, unrepeatable patterns, each made consistent only by the physical constraints of the medium. It was a visual expression which effectively mirrored ArtPrize’s announcement of a new form of citywide artistic celebration. Editing, sound design, and color grading quickly followed.

The “Project #1” film was released in conjunction with ArtPrize public announcement and received a theatrical premiere at the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, MI.

Follow the link to watch the video and learn more about ArtPrize Project [1]: https://www.artprize.org/blog/artprize-gets-ready-for-next-decade

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