Here’s a tour.

At the entrance, we asked people two questions.
1. What do you need to leave behind in order to be fully present in this space?
2. What things do you want to really bring into this space to receive clarity and direction on?

They dropped a stone in a trough of water as a physical representation of leaving things behind. And then we had a wall upon which they could write out the things they wanted to bring into the space.

The first experience on the right was “Be Present : Process.” As leaders, it’s tempting to want to put our hands on everything. But in this experience, participants took one of about 1000, 1 foot pieces of wood and added it to an ongoing sculpture. It called leaders to recognize they had no control over what happened before they got there and no control over what would happen after they left. In our leadership, we must be present in the moment and responsible with the opportunities we have been given.

Another experience focused on “Be Present : Senses.” The idea that as we’re present with God, we’re able to enter into our physical world with renewed eyes. We see the deeper reality behind the tangible. In this area were verses around Sweet, Salty, Bitter, Cold and Incense. The verses were accompanied by Sugar, Salt, Arugula, Ice and Incense. As people contemplated the verses, they were able to connect it to the physical experience of taste and smell.

Behind the tent was a prayer labyrinth. Here, individuals read scripture verses and prayed and contemplated those scriptures as they walked the labyrinth. It was an opportunity to slow down in the midst of a busy, fast paced environment.

The experience, “Be Present : Solitude” was a series of isolation booths that people could enter into for a time a quiet and contemplation. The walls were lined with paper upon which people could write and draw.

In the center of the room was “Be Present : Mystery.” A series of large cubes lit from the inside where the canvas for expression while participants reflected on the mystery of God. The sole instruction : Don’t use any recognizable letters, numbers, symbols or images of real things.

The theatrical production combined live dramatic pieces, dance and an interactive art experience. That’s where Uncover The Color came in.

One of the most prevalent emotions associated with cancer is fear. So, we wanted to create an experience that juxtaposed fear and hope.

When audience members arrived, they were given a program that had a prompt on the back that explained how to participate in the experience. As the audience entered the theater, they were taken through a small room that had a canvas in it. The only light in the room was on the back side of the canvas. Individuals were invited around to the back side of the canvas to write out fears they were dealing with – related to cancer or in life in general. As people wrote on the canvas, other could see their silhouettes through the fabric.

Later in the show, the canvas was rolled into the theater where a dancer painted over the fears with white paint – leaving some of the hopeful words exposed – as the cast members we had already met throughout the show interacted with one another as if passing one another on the sidewalk.

The show ended with a monologue about hope. As audience members left the theater, the canvas was back in the original space – this time, lit from the front to reveal the word “HOPE” painted over where the fears once were.

In then end, we discovered this was a simple yet powerful way to connect the personal experiences of individual audience members with the greater theme of the night as a whole.

Local sketch artist, Thor, even sketched it!

Look around you. What’s there? What can you do with it? The possibilities are endless!

The interview posted here took place between Serling and Mike Wallce in 1959 – just before the premiere of Serling’s popular TV series, The Twilight Zone. The interview focuses in on the role that money and pleasing the public had played in dictating the freedom that Serling had (or didn’t have) as a script writer.

The principles discussed here, very much reflect the conversations held in many church communities around the world. Conversations about what we should or should not say or do; whether or not the question of palatability and relevance is even an important one; and being true to one’s mission despite external pressures to do something different.

So the question for us – as artist’s, speakers, creative directors, teachers – is “are we remaining true to what we have been called? Are we delving into the depths of the good and bad, the easy and difficult, or are we crafting a new, more palatable work because of internal or external pressures?”

Serling, like all artists, had something he wanted to say. It wasn’t propaganda. It was a desire to use the medium of film to bring things into the light where people had to confront them. But as more decisions were being made by commercial sponsors responding to the criticisms of the masses, Serling was forced to consider “pre-censorship” where ”a writer will shy away from writing those things which he knows he will have trouble with.”

It was at this point when Serling moved from writing 90 minute scripts that delved into social issues of the day – like racism and the role of greed in Hollywood – into creating shorter, entertainment based shows. ”We’re dealing with a half hour show which cannot probe like a 90… which doesn’t use scripts as vehicles of social criticism. These are strictly for entertainment,’ Serling said.

In the interview, Wallace asks if Serling has decided to stop making television that is “important.” Serling’s respons : “if, by important, you mean I’m not going to try to delve into current social problems dramatically, you’re quite right. I’m not.”

Does this mean that Serling was selling out? In response to this accusation, Serling replies, “someone asked me the other day, ‘are you becoming a meek conformist?’  And I just answered, ‘no, I’m just acting the role of a tired non-conformist.” And simultaneously, Serling pushes back. He rejects the idea that “you can’t have pubic success and be artistic.”

So, ask yourself, have you become a meek conformist? Or have you become a tired non-conformist? Are there areas you’ve compromised taking risks and being bold for the sake of how you think people will receive you and your work? Are you pre-censoring yourself?

Or maybe it’s possible that Serling was on to something. A producer who once worked with Serling said, ”Rod is either going to stay commercial or become a discerning artist but not both.”

But Serling says that, he doesn’t “think calling something ‘commercial’ tags it with a kind of odious suggestion that it that it stinks. That it’s something raunchy. That it’s something to be ashamed of… If you say that ‘commercial’ means to be publicly acceptable, what’s wrong with that?”

After all, it wasn’t the tax collectors and sinners that found Jesus’ message to be offensive. It was the religious elite whose power and authority he undermined and threatened who took the most issue with his message.

Perhaps the overall message is that we must be true to which we have been called. Serling believed that he could create honorable work while maintaining a voice in the hearts and lives of the masses. The ultimate question for us is, “are we being obedient?” and “is our work an honest expression of that which is in us?” Because, ultimately, outcome is not the gauge of success. Obedience is.

 Part 2

Holly Harris, the creator of Canvas Coalition and its principle choreographer, says this about the piece : “This composition confirms the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven as God’s people discover and experience His far-reaching presence.”

Enjoy and be inspired!

Speak from Canvas Coalition on Vimeo.

Their first podcast, released on August 1, is a conversation on how to watch movies. It helps us go from simply watching movie and determining that it is “good” or “bad” or even that “I like it” or “I didn’t.” Their goal is to help us become movie watchers who pay attention to the details of story and character development.

If I liked a movie… what specific things did I like about it? Were there techniques employed through the dialogue, visuals or cinematography that added to the power of the story? Were there things that obstructed it?

The second podcast, released this week, is entitled, “Don’t be afraid of failure.”

You can visit their website here : http://newamericanstorytellers.com/
Find their podcast on iTunes here.

Here are some pictures from the experience!

You can read about Josh Owens’ interactive art piece called Broken Materpiece, here. After participants smashed hundreds of plates, several artists from Cru made a beautiful mosaic out of the pieces.

This experience was built around the idea of surrender. While this one was crafted specifically for this conference, you can read about a variation of it here.

And a brand new experience built around relationships involved hundreds of nails and thousands of rubber bands.

We are so thankful for the opportunity to create with the people of Cru and look forward to working with them and their partners all over the world in the coming months!

Do Good is a great organization that mobilizes students to serve and love well both locally and globally. So, when designing the experience, we wanted to help participants ask questions of themselves and one another around their reach and impact.

We started with some personal introspection around what we do and why we do it. We invited people into moments of confession and honesty around the internal motivations and things they acknowledge need to change in their own lives in order to step into greater effectiveness in their service and message.

One of these experiences invited individuals to step into this three sided canvas box, lit from the inside and bring the truth “Into the Light.” (You can see more info on this experience and instructions on how to build this box here.)

We also explored the need for love to be the foundation of our words and actions in this experience called “Foundation.” The 600 blocks here were stacked by participants 2-3 at a time while considering the importance of the foundation of the structure they were building.

Then, after participants asked questions about themselves, they asked questions about the world around them. “How am I investing in the lives of the people close to me that I see every day” and “What is my impact around the world?”

In this experience, individuals were invited to write an area of brokenness from their lives on a glass tile. Then, with great ferocity, they smashed the glass tile in a large wooden box.

Josh took those broken pieces and used them to created a beautiful mosaic. It demonstrates that beautiful things can grow even out of the difficult and broken moments of our lives.

Over the last two years, we have had the opportunity to partner with many organizations and events to create stimulating, interactive and contemplative creative experiences. After seeing, literally, thousands of people engage with these unique pieces, we’ve decided it’s time to focus in and continue to develop this side of who we are.

We are thankful for the dozens of visual artists, designers, musicians and photographers we have worked hand in hand with to provide you with great art at affordable rates. And we look forward to continuing to work with these artists in the future. We hope to eventually relaunch the stock art section of the site in a way that helps end users better put to use the art that is available. More on that when the time comes!

So what does that mean for this site? It is becoming a forum for discussion around the role of interactive art as well as a place where we showcase pieces we have created and inspiration we have found along the way. Maybe this is something brand new for you, or maybe it’s something you’ve been thinking about for a long time. Either way, we value your contribution to the conversation!

More than “doing” these things, we want to be a resource for asking and trying to provide answers to the question “why is art and interactivity important?”

While we’ll continue to build relationships and work alongside faith-based organizations, we’re also thankful for the opportunity we’ve had to partner with other civic and cultural organizations as well. It’s been exciting to see where we’ve been, and we’re very excited about where we’re going!

Thanks for your support along the way. We hope to partner with you soon – whether in conversation here on this site or in creating a live, interactive experience where you are!