Snap! Had a fantastic kick off event at the Kress building downtown yesterday. I drove to the site straight from work and thus arrived rather early. The techs from Paintscaping.com were busy setting up the projector, computers and miles of cables. I decided to take the escalator at the Plaza Movie Theater to a second floor balcony which had a view over the assembling crowd. As I sketched the sun popped out from behind a skyscraper and beat down on me for two solid hours. Just as I was getting ready to add color washes, it set. I painted everything but the facade of the building, waiting for the projection to begin.A young couple going to a movie asked me why there was such a crowd. I explained a little about how Snap is a week long celebration of photography. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from the building projection. There were video camera crews all around me and photographer's flashes fired off periodically, illuminating the gathering dusk. I of course smugly held the belief that a sketch still holds it's weight in gold.
The main event was spectacular. Phillipe Bergeron was the artist in charge of coordinating all the computer graphics in the projection. Be sure to watch the video! Of course after several hours of sketching, the projection took just five minutes. I chose to just paint in some flames quickly to set the warm colors against the increasingly cool night. Hundreds of cell phones lit up shooting video of the building, illuminating the crowd below me like stars. The video doesn't have quite as strong an impact as watching the event live. I was deeply impressed. Snap is turning out to be a world class arts event. Be sure to head out to the Snap "Homegrown" opening tonight at the Orlando Museum of Art curated by Stephanie Latscu and Heather Comparetto. It coincides with 1st Thursdays and is bound to be an equally spectacular event. Happening from 6-9pm admission for non-members is $10. Show your support for all the visual arts. Become a creative activist.
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