krēˈāt issue 10

/krē’āt/ mountain arts + culture quarterly

Published by Breckenridge Creative Arts | ISSUE NO. 10, Spring 2018

/krē’āt/

contents

: to make or produce

features

: to cause to exist

THE ART OF SCIENCE

: to bring into being CATALYSIS /krē’āt/ is an online magazine published quarterly by Breckenridge Creative Arts. Each issue profiles a creative individual or business, cultural organization, event, and object of art in a thoughtfully curated visual journey that aims to highlight and promote the greater creative community of Breckenridge.

Creative Director Robb Woulfe, Breckenridge Creative Arts

Editor + Content Writer Erica M. Davis

Art Director + Designer Kate Hudnut, GatherHouse Inc.

Contributing Photographer Liam Doran

EXPERIMENT IN RESIDENCE

‘Hormesis’ photos provided by Megan Gafford; WAVE photos by or provided by Audiopixel, Creos, Sean Deckert, Tom Dekyvere, Justin Gitlin, Julie Hughes, Stephanie Imbeau, Joe Kusumoto, OGE Group, Porté par le Vent and Regis Proulx; artists-in-residence photos provided by Dena Peterson, Anya Rosen, and Secret Love Collective

Cover + Back Cover Artwork Photos by Liam Doran Special thanks to the Town of Breckenridge for its generous support. @breckcreate // breckcreate.org

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departments Foreward

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Around Town ATOMIC CONTRAST

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Portrait KATE HUDNUT, DESIGNER

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Scene ART BY ALGORITHM

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Objectified THRONE

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Conversations INDEPENDENT FILMS YEAR-ROUND

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Sourced

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Additional Photo Credits Keystone Science School photos by Joe Kusumoto;

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FOREWARD /krē’āt/ spring 2018 Our spring issue of /krē’āt/ places art at the table with science, engineering, and math, manifesting a space where one pollinates the other to produce a range of creative outcomes. From the artful happenings deep inside a decaying lump of uranium and the luminous feats of engineering to grace our signature festival, WAVE: Light + Water + Sound, to the good works of Keystone Science School—we investigate the curiosities that lie deep at the intersections of art and science.

These reflections take us to places infinitely small—the cellular building blocks behind one artist’s inspiration—to cosmic enquiries pondered far and wide. Through the manifold perspectives of global, regional, and local artists—many of whom call Breckenridge home during their short but inspired stays with our artist-in-residence program—we cross-pollinate, revealing much about our home, and our place in the world.

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FEATURED ORGANIZATION KEYSTONE SCIENCE SCHOOL

Keystone Science School offers outdoors and science-based programming for children and adults; with the help of local partners, it also infuses art into the curriculum.

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The art of science

Keystone Science School connects

creativity, community + scientific inquiry

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here’s a movement among advocates of STEM education—which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics—to add “Art” to the mix, making it STEAM. The goal is to recognize the importance of creative thinking, in addition to applied arts such as design, architecture, and photography, in STEM projects.

But for Ellen Reid, executive director of Keystone Science School, it goes without saying—the “arts” have always been there. “We are not an arts organization, but we value art,” she said, naming a Girls in STEM retreat where they did stop-motion animation, as well as a summer camp adventure photography component, as examples.

Long a pillar of the local community, Keystone Science School (KSS) offers a wide range of outdoors and science-based programming including summer camps and field trips at its 23-acre campus, in addition to after school

programs and educator training. It operates year-round, with winter field trips such as snow science available onsite for school groups, and after-school CATCH Camps at local schools.

“We incorporate science into everything we do,” said Reid—whether that means an overt focus on a topic like water science, or the scientific process incorporated into other experiences—such as piecing together clues to hunt down the pink gorilla, their unofficial mascot, during Adventure Week.

Within that, KSS aims to develop leadership, collaboration, creative problem solving, and civic engagement among its young charges.

“I like to say we are building the next generation of well-rounded, thoughtful adults,” Reid said.

“One of the ways we do that is by inspiring curiosity and critical thinking.”

Curiosity of course knows no bounds, and can lead to many meaningful outcomes, whether

inspiring a process of scientific inquiry, an artistic exploration of a concept, or both. And that’s just one of the places where art and science intersect.

Another good example is the “design thinking process,” Reid said, referring to a methodology that begins with empathy—What do people need?—and progresses through steps including ideation, where multiple creative ideas are generated, followed by building, testing, and adjusting initial designs based on what is learned to bring an idea to fruition.

That process underpins another Girls in STEM offering, “Build-A-Thon,” which challenges participants to design and build model homes for a given climate by incorporating engineering and mathematics to make the structure work, as well as design elements to make it aesthetically pleasing, explained Lizzie Meyer, the group’s community programs director.

“Although we often treat art and science as different disciplines, many significant innovations have occurred at their intersection,” noted Deb Kelleher Spiers, who serves on the board of directors for both Keystone Science School and Breckenridge Creative Arts (BCA).

“Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing, ‘Vitruvian Man,’ is a wonderful example. Einstein’s theory of relativity influenced the Cubists in art. Animated filmmakers employ both digital science and artistic vision,” she said.

The two organizations teamed up starting in 2017, with KSS offering science-based family activities at the Breckenridge International Festival of Arts (BIFA) and WAVE festivals.

Last year, KSS teachers led a bird walk in conjunction with the “Birdmen” act during

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BIFA, and “Water Aquatics for Kids” to study macro invertebrates in the Blue River during WAVE. Last summer was also a first for a budding new relationship between the Breckenridge Arts District and Keystone Science School’s CATCH Camps—a series of affordable, 3-week summer sessions that explore a scientific concept.

Through weekly field trips to the Arts District, campers had the opportunity to engage in creative projects designed to support and extend the science themes they were studying.

“One week the kids went to the pottery studio, where they not only learned about clay and slab construction, but worked on their aquatic ecology knowledge,” said Annie Markuson, KSS’ school-based community programs manager. “Each child cut out the shape of a trout, textured it, and learned what the different colored scales do for those fish,” she explained. “We had visited the fish hatchery in Leadville, so it was a good way to tie the entire week’s knowledge together.” Another week they made dream catchers, to tie into a theme of “dreaming big,” where the children were encouraged to set goals and push themselves to reach them.

“Some children don’t love the outdoors, or science,” Meyer admitted. “This gave them another outlet. Here we were able to have students for whom art is really their passion, who were able to explore.” Ultimately, she explained, “the key is to find many ways for the students to relate to the greater theme.”

Some children might be drawn to constructing a birdhouse, for example, after understanding what the bird needs. “For others,” she said, “it might be about making a birdhouse that looks nice, that the bird wants to go to.”

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Keystone Science School will offer children’s workshops again this spring at the 2018 WAVE festival—one on making solar ovens, and another on making thermo-chromatic slime, which changes color when exposed to hot and cold. The CATCH Camps are scheduled to return to the Arts District campus this summer, and KSS is planning workshops on geodes and lichens as part of the “Trail Mix” series at the 2018 Breckenridge International Festival of Arts.

Partnerships are essential to Keystone Science School’s ability to serve youth and educators, Reid said, naming a long list of partners including government, education, and nonprofit agencies, and lauding the community’s support in “helping kids get quality out-of-school care” through the CATCH Camps. Last year, KSS served approximately 7,600 youth and educators. “We couldn’t extend our mission to thousands of adults and kids every year without that support,” she said.

The BCA partnership came about in part thanks to Becca Spiro, director of learning and engagement, who taught Girls in STEM and other topics at Keystone Science School prior to her role with Breckenridge Creative Arts.

“The quality of our staff and the commitment they have to getting kids excited about science and learning is a huge piece of what we offer,”

said Reid, who recently took part in a strategic planning process that defined “people, place, progress” as the organization’s focus for the next three years. “We get a lot of staff who are just starting out, and we want them to stay in education,” she said. To that end, KSS will continue to increase its focus on professional development moving forward.

Meanwhile, she said, much of what draws children back year after year—her own kids included—are the connections they build with their counselors, teachers, and mentors.

“Sure the curriculum is interesting, but they’re not just coming for that—they’re coming for the relationships, for their friends,” she said.

Ultimately, the experiences serve to connect young people to the world around them, whether through science, art, relationships—or all of those things combined.

“We want to inspire people to be curious about the world, to ask questions, to seek answers—and to not necessarily believe everything they read or hear,” Reid said. “We want to grow the critical thinker that’s innate in all of us, to be able to navigate the world—and science is the lens we do that under. You can’t do an experiment without asking questions, wondering, gathering data. That’s very transferrable to daily life.”

Jordan Knecht // jordanknecht.com OFF Cinema // facebook.com/oldtownfilmfest Unsilent Night // unsilentnight.com Shadowtrash Tape Group // shadowtrashtapegroup.com /KRĒ'ĀT/

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/around town/

Atomic contrast Nuclear radiation a medium for diverse perspectives

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ormesis is the hypothesis that low doses of a toxic agent may be beneficial to human health—a concept RedLine artist Megan Gafford challenges visitors to contemplate while being exposed to a mild dose of gamma radiation emitted from a chunk of decaying uranium ore.

that read background radiation to create a tonal chorus of chirps; and “Pushing Daisies,” a collection of live flowers Gafford grew from seeds exposed to radiation by an oncologist.

Her upcoming exhibition, “Hormesis,” runs at Gallery@OMH in Breckenridge April 5 to May 20. The title work, of the same name, utilizes a particle detector to reveal the subatomic world of the uranium’s slow radioactive decay, and video to project the resulting condensation trails on the walls, revealing the beauty of this mysterious and oft-feared phenomenon.

“Breckenridge has a higher radiation rate because of all the soil that’s been overturned in our mining history,” said Nicole Dial-Kay, director of exhibitions and special projects for Breckenridge Creative Arts. Thus “Subatomic Chorus” may be quite active. She stressed that radiation exposure from “Hormesis” will amount to less than that emitted from a smoke detector. “It’s really about playing with people’s perceptions and fears—no one’s actually ever in danger,” Dial-Kay said.

Accompanying installations include “Subatomic Chorus,” a set of sensitive Geiger counters

“My art is inspired by my passion for science,” said Gafford, whose work often questions

preconceived notions about the natural world, such as the belief that uranium is bad, or bad for us. “Science is the conviction that we ought to try to prove our ideas wrong, over and over again, until we fail to prove an idea wrong so many times that we can feel some confidence in it after all,” she said.

At the same time, she noted that “science is a completely amoral tool, and it comes with no manual on how to use it to answer the question of where, precisely, scientific progress leads. I spend a lot of time wondering about the blind nature of science, and I use my artwork as a way to ask people to wonder about it with me,” she said.

Juxtaposed with Gafford’s work will be “Off Country”—a multimedia film, photo, and oral history project by Eric Stewart and Taylor Dunne that examines landscapes of nuclear weapons mining, production, and testing in the American West—to be exhibited during the same timeframe at Gallery@BRK, inside Breckenridge Theater.

“Off Country” centers on the former Rocky Flats Plant outside Boulder, the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, and the Nevada Test Site. The clips and imagery to be exhibited in Breckenridge will ultimately form a feature-length, bilingual, black and white film of the same name, featuring interviews with anti-nuclear-weapons activists and impacted individuals—like the radiation-exposed ranchers and Native people near the site of the Trinity atomic bomb test—whose voices are for the most part ignored by mainstream history.

“We want our project to be balanced, but there is a non-balance in what has been reported,” said Stewart, describing his personal politics as being opposed to both nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. The dominant narrative celebrates the atomic age, describes nuclear energy as safe and clean, and emphasizes “the amazing things science can do,” he explained.

“I think that’s a false paradigm. It has forced people to live with environmental injustice and contamination. We are intentionally creating a counter narrative to this.”

For the same reason, the filmmakers are not including any footage of bombs, or the iconic mushroom cloud. “We don’t want to fetishize that history,” said Dunne.

Ultimately, the project speaks to the American West identity—one exemplified by “systems of land use that we can polarize in terms of national parks and national sacrifice zones,” explained Stewart, pointing to the current debate over Bears Ears National Monument as an example. “These two types of land use define how we look at the West,” he said.

“It’s a unique niche of American identity— less focused on the individual and more on our collective identity, and how that is informed by resource extraction and the National Park system.”

“The artists in both of these exhibitions talk about nuclear science—a potentially controversial subject matter—from very different perspectives,” Dial-Kay said. “For Megan, it’s a material to play with; for Eric and Taylor, it’s incredibly personal and political.

Together they should make for a very interesting juxtaposition.”

Megan Gafford // megangafford.com Off Country // off-country.com Gallery@OMH // 136 S. Main St. // Free admission // Mon + Tue, 3-8pm; Thu + Fri, 3–8pm; Wed + Sat, 9am–8pm; Sun, closed Gallery@BRK // 121 S. Ridge St. // Free admission // Hours vary /KRĒ'ĀT/

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/portrait/

Kate Hudnut

Designer, GatherHouse, Inc. Background Home: Frisco Family: Husband John, daughter Charlotte (11), two 17-year-old cats Education: Parsons School of Design, Paris, France (BFA); University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA; Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, Lyme, CT Why Breckenridge? I am a city girl who came to Breckenridge to visit my boyfriend “for a season” 24 years ago.

Art Medium: Graphic design Latest project: BCA’s WAVE 2018 creative Favorite creative space: Early morning walks in town—any town Source of inspiration: Travel, near and far Creativity is: The intersection of inspiration, procrastination, and a deadline

Insights Personal hero: Frida Kahlo Favorite book: “A Moveable Feast” by Ernest Hemingway Favorite restaurant: Park & Main Song in your head right now: Title track from “Stranger Things” Unique home or office decor: Fishers Island Sound Nautical Map Favorite movie: “Out of Africa” Favorite causes: The arts, education, and supporting local families Favorite way to spend free time: Dinner parties with friends and family

Confessions What keeps you up at night? Old cat meowing Pet peeve: A messy kitchen First job: Florist First choice for a new career: Travel writer, philanthropist What do you do to recharge your batteries? Get outside; drink really strong espresso Guilty pleasure: Cashmere scarves, binging on British crime series

Originally from Stonington, Connecticut, Kate Hudnut, 47, began studying fine art at the age of 8.

Together she and her husband John founded GatherHouse, Inc in 2004.

GatherHouse // gatherhouse.com

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FEATURED EVENT WAVE: Light + Water + Sound

The 3rd annual WAVE festival, May 31-June 3, features playful, interactive sculptures that transform local nightscapes into spectacular light and sound experiences.

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Catalysis 2018 WAVE festival ignites interactions, meditations on place

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rtists from around the globe converge on downtown Breckenridge May 31 to June 3, 2018 for the third annual WAVE: Light + Water + Sound—a 4-day festival from Breckenridge Creative Arts that employs cutting edge digital technology to investigate intersections of art and science while transforming local nightscapes into wonders of light and sound.

Far from simple eye candy, the outdoor installations seek to kindle community connections as people interact with the artworks and one another, while explorations of water and ecological topics inspire meditations on our place in the world.

“WAVE exemplifies the idea that art is for everyone,” said Robb Woulfe, president and CEO of Breckenridge Creative Arts (BCA), which puts on the annual festival. “The large-scale, interactive artworks are freely accessible to all, and inviting in a way that traditional gallery exhibitions often are not. This creates unique opportunities for interaction and collaboration among diverse members of our community.”

‘Angels of Freedom’ by OGE Group One example is “Angels of Freedom,” a series of ornate light-works representing angel wings and halos created by the Israel-based OGE Group, a studio founded by architects Merav Eitan and Gaston Zahr.

“We love the idea of simplicity and that things work themselves, without explanation,” said Zahr.

“So while thinking of a new light art installation for Jerusalem—a very contested city, where so many different religions come together—we looked for something that unites, that is universal and appealing to everyone,” he said.

During the WAVE festival in Breckenridge, as in Jerusalem, visitors can pose with the wings, snap photos of one another, and share the images online for the world to see.

“Our times are fast-living and many people get left behind or feel this way, when they do not have enough money or many friends or do not check their social media every few minutes,” Zahr said. “It’s very painful to see, that often even kids are not getting the warmth and care they deserve. Or the elderly, or disabled, or homeless—you name it. That’s why we wanted to give everyone a pair of colorful wings—to make others see.”

Zahr describes the work as emotional—both for the person standing in front of the wings, and for the camera-wielder who tries to capture “the exact moment of transformation.” Either way, he said, “you cannot miss their smiles and happiness.”

“It also contains a lot of humor and silliness,” he said, “but I think the message works.”

‘Impulse’ by Creos Festivalgoers will find a similarly playful piece in “Impulse,” a series of illuminated see-saws that emit sound sequences and varying light intensities when set in motion. Created by a team of Canadian artists/designers, the result is a community-activated musical instrument that doubles as a visual spectacle and public play space for children and adults alike. “‘Impulse’ represents a feat of design-thinking, illustrating not only creative vision but also the math, science, and engineering required to create a functional object,” said Woulfe. “Ultimately, the art is in the interaction—the transformation of public space into a stage for creative play.”

That idea underlies “Catalyst,” a project for which BCA recently received funding by the National Endowment for the Arts, allowing it to expand the number and reach of interactive and participatory public artworks in 2018, both at WAVE and the Breckenridge International Festival of Arts this summer.

‘Place/d’ by Stephanie Imbeau Also to be exhibited at WAVE is “Place/d,” a new, site-specific work by Stephanie Imbeau that uses the simultaneously protective and fragile qualities of umbrellas to create shelter-like forms that explore “place” as a point in space, and “placed” in the sense of a caused positioning.

To be hewn of donated, recycled umbrellas and illuminated at night, the work will arch across the bridge from the Riverwalk Center to Blue River Plaza, and connect via a “breadcrumb” trail of elements through the festival’s footprint up Washington Avenue to the Robert Whyte House in the Breckenridge Arts District.

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“This piece is inspired both by the river rocks and the community that is built around the river,” said Imbeau. “The river’s movement and the history of dredging is a causal factor for the location of rocks along the shores.” At the same time, she explained, Breckenridge was built where it was because of the river’s location, and the town grew as people chose to “place” themselves there. “I’m interested in the intersection of the two—of intention and causation,” she said.

‘Interphase’ by Cacheflowe Another original piece, entitled “Interphase,” comes to the WAVE festival through a creative collaboration between coder/musician Justin Gitlin and AudioPixel, a group known for large-scale LED installations. Gitlin, who is known as Cacheflowe, produces experimental electronic music and works in “creative coding,” a field that uses software as a tool to produce everything from 3-D models and cross-disciplinary artworks to interactive installations.

The work’s title, “Place/d,” is admittedly self-reflexive as Imbeau—who is half Canadian, grew up in South Carolina, and now makes her home in Berlin, Germany—also thinks about “the confluence of intention and causation in where I’ve made my home(s) thus far,” she said.

Gitlin worked as a programmer on the team that produced “Dancelab,” a wildly popular exhibit at the Denver Art Museum in summer 2016, in which guests’ movements were recorded and projected alongside dancers from Wonderbound dance company to create an algorithmically choreographed music video.

She works with umbrellas in part because they are widely recognizable, and thus can serve as a sort of “egalitarian symbol of shelter.”

They also evoke how we establish ourselves in a community. “You can create a home for yourself by renting, buying, or even physically building a space for yourself,” she said. “The important thing is that we take specific or intentional actions that allow us to carve out a personal place in which we feel comfortable.

These dwellings become an extension of our physical bodies as we stake our claim within our communities.”

Community members can join Imbeau in assembling the structures in May while she is in residency at the Arts District, and are later invited to bring their own interpretations to the finished work, which she hopes will be “a celebratory and vibrant addition to the festival” that people can relate to on a number of levels.

For Breckenridge, Cacheflowe will create “a musical instrument with user interaction where anyone can walk up and make music,” he explained. The music will drive LED-illuminated water fountains to create a spectacle of light, sound, and water that “reacts to the music being created on the fly,” he said. Gitlin will also offer a free community workshop on creative coding at the Arts District as part of WAVE. ‘Aura’ by Julie Hughes Meanwhile, inside the public Gallery@OMH, contemporary artist Julie Hughes—who showed an ominous work at the 2015 Breckenridge International Festival of Arts depicting ghostly white, beetle-drilled aspens bordered by menacing dark swarms—returns with “Aura,” a peaceful meditation consisting of tens of thousands of hand-made, circular plastic canvases suspended in a 3D display of color and light.

Her process involved brush-painting circles on large sheets of clear archival mylar, followed by acrylic “pours”—a method she likened to “orchestrated puddles” in which “paint is allowed to spread and move, and the pigment disseminates in a really interesting way.”

“I want the viewer to feel it’s almost like a space they can walk into,” she said of her planned installation, which will be lit from different directions. The transparent material “creates opportunities for color-filled shadows that feel like auras,” she said.

While her earlier work was “about being a small person in a large world,” her current work represents the evolution of that concept, influenced by personal life changes. “This is still about our relationship with nature,” she said, but it explores “the sublime,” a concept in which “nature is so vast and incredible it is in some ways impossible to capture.”

“There’s a macro-and-micro thing going on where you have this vast expanse that feels like it might be tied to cosmology, and you have these little units that feel cellular,” she said of “Aura,” which opens May 31 and runs through July 29. “I am interested in the idea of all things being energy, of all things being connected, that the same sort of elements that make up the stars are found in our bodies—that’s a really beautiful thing.”

OGE Group // oge-group.com ‘Impulse’ // creos.io/en/art/impulsion Justin Gitlin // cacheflowe.com Stephanie Imbeau // stephanieimbeau.com Julie Hughes // juliehughesart.com Tom Dekyvere // tomdekyvere.com Les Luminéoles // porteparlevent.com/en

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Partnerships + Pieces Belgian artist Tom Dekyvere, who exhibited his glowing, intersecting network “Polygonum 2.0” last year, returns in 2018 with “Elantica,” a fractalized, digitized replica of a mountain made from discarded circuit boards and powered by solar panels.

Playing on the wind overhead in the night sky will be “Les Luminéoles,” a spectacle of illuminated, bird-like creatures in the form of “light kites” from the French group, Porté par le Vent. The aerial ballet will be accompanied by a wind quintet from the National Repertory Orchestra, performing two concerts nightly for the festival’s duration.

Breckenridge Film Festival returns too with “WAVE Reels,” a series of shorts inspired by light, water, and sound, in the Arts District outdoor theater. Local cellist James Russick Smith will perform a musical piece on an island in the Blue River, and Keystone Science School returns with science-based children’s activities related to festival themes.

“Art and science need not be separated,” said Woulfe, expounding on the narrative that underpins the latest incarnation of WAVE: Light + Water + Sound. “While science can shape the industry of a society, art can shape its consciousness,” he said. “We believe art is a vital catalyst for change.”

WAVE: Light + Water + Sound // breckcreate.org/festivals/wave-light-water-sound Gallery@OMH // 136 S. Main St.

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/scene/

Art by algorithm Creative coder Justin Gitlin generates art + interactive experiences

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f you dabble in the intersecting worlds of electronic music, code-writing, and generative art, you may know Justin Gitlin—whose work, “Interphase,” will be featured at the 2018 WAVE festival—by the name “Cacheflowe.”

The moniker dates to his early days producing experimental electronic music, later evolving to encompass his software development personality, and ultimately his brand and business identity.

Gitlin works as a creative coder—a field that utilizes software as a tool to output a wide variety of cross-disciplinary products, from 3D models to music videos, custom printed clothing to interactive installations.

“Not a lot of people do what I do,” said Gitlin, whose specialty is interactive installations.

During college, he held an internship as a video game designer, and in 2002 graduated with degrees in computer science and digital media studies from the University of Denver.

After that he worked in advertising, cutting his teeth on high pressure situations with big creative teams before moving on to the software startup Mode Set, and eventually striking out on his own.

“I’ve been making pictures move in software for 19 years,” said Gitlin, whose first big interactive installation was the public art project, “OhHeckYeah,” an “immersive street arcade” in Denver where players made real-life, full body movements to activate a large-scale video game, created in conjunction with a host of partners and funders.

“I’ve made a million websites, but you have no idea if the users are enjoying them,” he said.

With “OhHeckYeah,” he reveled in “reshaping what the city is, and seeing the possibility of that unique experience. Seeing smiles, people interacting with each other and having this magical moment, is really fun for me.”

Gitlin generally works on a team, where his role is “the technologist—writing the software that’s powering the digital component of the experience.” At the same time, he is “very much integrated in early creative decision-making,” he said, to provide input on what can be done on the technology side. He works with the physical fabricator, too, to ensure components like cameras fit into the structure; and music contributors, to make sure video and audio is in sync, for example. “I sort of have to talk to everybody,” he said. “It’s awesome.”

As a coder, Gitlin creates algorithms—essentially sets of steps that tell a computer what to do to create a specific outcome—whether for team projects or his own personal explorations, such as a T-shirt design he created by writing a piece of software to draw his concept. “Another way to think of it is parameterized design—you create an algorithm with parameters you can adjust,” he said. “You use that to create possibly thousands of options, then pick your favorite. It’s a different way of approaching how you might arrive at a final design.”

On the commercial side, Gitlin has worked with Nike and other partners to build a series of interactive retail and branding experiences, including the “Nike Air Chamber,” an LED-lined, 25 x 25-foot cube that captured and digitized the movements of US Olympic basketball team members as part of their 2016 send-off.

In 2018, he’s making an effort to spend more time on his own concepts, bringing “visual, audio, and space” together. One of those concepts—an original, user-activated musical instrument that drives an LED-lit water sculpture—will grace this year’s WAVE festival in Breckenridge, taking place May 31-June 3, 2018.

Cacheflowe // cacheflowe.com

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/objectified/ An object of art

Throne A seat-shaped boulder forms the base of “Throne” by Chaz della Porta, which began as a nod to Breckenridge’s playful self-designation as a kingdom in 1936, when it was discovered that the town had been left off a U.S. map despite the fact that it was founded in 1859. Viewers can climb onto the Town-commissioned sculpture for a photo under its steel crown, and enjoy the kinetic, stained glass shields high above it, their colorful reflections morphing with sun and wind.

Breckenridge public art collection // breckcreate.org/explore/public-art

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FEATURED CREATIVES ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM

The artist-in-residence program invites local, national, and global artists to create intensely place-based work during their stay at the Breckenridge Arts District.

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Experiment in residence Visiting artists live creative process during Breckenridge Arts District stay

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ix days into her winter residence at the Breckenridge Arts District, photographer and painter Anya Rosen headed north on Route 9 toward Kremmling to check out the road kill situation—or lack thereof, since the 2015-2017 construction of wildlife crossings over and under the highway. On the hunt for instances of animal-human intersection, she learned of the project from Tom Vitalone of 2V’s Landscaping in Breckenridge, one of several local companies and organizations she interviewed as a way to learn about the area.

place-based work that responds to themes important to the local community, such as local history, recreation, and environment.

Each artist partners with one or more businesses or organizations, and produces a culminating project inspired by that relationship. Other community tie-ins include open studio hours during which the public can visit the artists at work, artist collaboration on existing Arts District activities, and the opportunity for artists to attend free weekly classes at the Arts District and beyond.

Rosen’s fascination with human-wildlife relations is part of a larger study of birth and death as a process, featured in her recent work, “Land for Sale by Owner: The Romance of the Exurbs.” In it, she documents the rapid conversion of agricultural land to low density housing in Virginia, where she works on a farm as co-manager of vegetable production.

Program manager Becca Spiro cast a wide net to solicit this year’s group of regional, national, and international applicants, reaching out to graduate school and artist residency portals.

Out of 75 applicants, 7 were selected by a panel that included BCA staff, Robin Theobald of the Saddle Rock Society, and Brian Raitman of Raitman Art Galleries. Interviewees were asked to speak about how their work relates to local narratives, and how it addresses components of a new framework for aesthetics by Americans for the Arts such as “resourcefulness,” “risk-taking,” “communal meaning,” and “cultural integrity.”

“One day you drive down the road and you see excavation. The next day, you see houses,” she said. “This overturning causes the wildlife to behave in ways we are not used to. There’s a lot of roadkill.” Her compilation depicts everything from “building, excavation, and destruction of the landscape as it was” to “the repercussions and consequences of that,” she said, including the roadkill and ever-present vultures.

Rosen lived and worked at the J. R. Hodges Tin Shop, a renovated historic structure in the Breckenridge Arts District, for two months this winter as part of Breckenridge Creative Arts’ artists-in-residence program, offered in partnership with the Saddle Rock Society.

The program, which was re-envisioned this year, now asks participants to develop new,

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“The prompts resulted in some interesting conversations,” said Spiro. “We really got a sense of which artists could talk about their work and connect it to those larger themes, and which artists were really interested in diving in and getting to know our community.”

The residency turned out to be a great fit for Rosen, who describes her work as being “very much about the literal geographic place that I am in.” Once in town, she attended local meetings, took a composting class, met

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with High Country Conservation Center, and interviewed locals from Vitalone to photographer Gary Soles. From there, she followed up on leads that interested her to construct an understanding of the people, history, and ideologies of the high country to inform her culminating project.

“It was a fun challenge for me to try to connect her with as many people as I could who might be relevant,” said Spiro. “I think the research-based nature of Anya’s work is compelling,” she added, emphasizing the fact that the residency is more about process than product. “We really want artists to feel like they can use this as an experimental time.”

Contemporary impressionist painter Dena Peterson will do a residency in the Tin Shop from April 23 to May 20. In her 20-year career, Peterson has earned numerous awards for her work, which depicts subject matters from natural landscapes to cities, still lifes to portraits. Most recently, she has been recognized for her work as a painter/animator on the film “Loving Vincent,” a narrated, feature-length tale of Vincent Van Gogh told through animated paintings. Summit Film Society screened the film in Breckenridge in January.

Peterson said it was her daughter’s idea to apply for the job, which invited 125 hand-picked and tested artists from around the world to BreakThru Films in Gdansk, Poland, where they worked day in and day out on the project. “It’s kind of like old-school animation,” she said of the process, which involved carefully painting a first frame—whether an actual Van Gogh painting or a scene based on his work—taking a photo of it, and then scraping off and repainting the parts where movement would occur.

“For every 1 second of animation, 12 paintings were needed,” said Peterson, who spent 8-10 hours per day in her cubicle, producing approximately 12 paintings daily during her 6-month stay in Poland. In total, more than 65,000 oil paintings were created for the film, the first feature-length animation of its kind.

“We only used computer software to play back the animation so we could check it,” she said.

“It was all hand-done.”

The Poland experience was eye-opening and confidence-building for Peterson, who describes herself as an introvert. Now, she keeps in touch with artist friends from around the world via Facebook. She is looking forward to focusing on her own work during her Breckenridge residency, but also to sharing with the community. “You know, as artists, we are sometimes in our own heads,” she said.

“This is an opportunity for me to reach out. It’s a stretch for me—and something that I welcome.”

Peterson is hoping to partner with one or more mental health agencies as a part of her local project, connecting with Van Gogh’s mental health struggles, which ultimately caused him to take his own life. “When I read that the suicide rate is high in some mountain communities, I was surprised and shocked,” said Peterson, who has herself suffered mild depression throughout her life.

In Poland, she connected with the film’s creator and co-director, Dorota Kobiela—another introvert who said she identifies with Van Gogh’s struggle with depression—around “Wheatfield with Crows,” which is animated so the crows fly away when the film’s main character, Armand, walks into the field. It’s Kobiela’s favorite scene, and one that Peterson had the honor of painting. “This could have

been the field where he took his life,” Peterson said. “I saw the crows flying away as maybe he finally found his peace.”

“This is not to condone suicide,” she added.

“To me the sad part is he didn’t think he had any other option. I believe he did; I think we all do.” Thus one of her goals with the residency is to “bring light to those issues, and how to talk about them without there being such a stigma.”

In addition to the artists in residence at the Tin Shop, artists whose work will be exhibited at one of BCA’s signature festivals or galleries will reside for short periods of time at the Robert Whyte House, also located on the Breckenridge Arts District campus. Upcoming exhibition artists in residence include Megan Gafford, whose show, “Hormesis,” runs at Gallery@OMH from April 5 to May 20; and Stephanie Imbeau, whose outdoor public artwork, “Place/d,” runs May 31 to June 3 as part of the WAVE festival.

Secret Love Collective—a Denver-based group of “artists and creative folk who live DIY lives,

genders, sexes, and bodies, and possess many cultural, sexual, gendered, and artistic identities”—will turn the Robert Whyte House into a temporary exhibition space for their “Tell Your Secrets: Secrets Faire” March 10-11, in which audiences tell their secrets and stories through embroidery, karaoke, dress-up, self-portraiture, and more. Kicking off the second annual Breck Pride Week, the collective will also put on the exhibition, “Anniversary,” at Gallery@BRK March 7-28.

“The artists who are coming to Breckenridge as a part of our residence program will create original work in a range of disciplines that is intimately tied to our community,” said Robb Woulfe, president and CEO of Breckenridge Creative Arts. “This not only invites cross-pollination of ideas from around the world, but also catalyzes site-based work that reflects our unique mountain identity. We welcome this year’s resident artists with open arms, and look forward to seeing the kinds of new interpretations their collaborations inspire.”

Anya Rosen // anyarosen.com Dena Peterson // denapaints.com Secret Love Collective // secretlovecollective.com BCA artists-in-residence program // breckcreate.org/artists-in-residence Gallery@OMH // 136 S. Main St. Gallery@BRK // 121 S. Ridge St.

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/conversations/

Independent films year-round Breckenridge Film Festival expands beyond signature annual event

How has the local community shaped the film festival?

Gary: The ratings filmmakers give us about their experience is off-the-charts positive. It’s just that kind of community—people come back and visit because of the character.

Breckenridge and Summit County have helped shape aspects of the festival that are super important—the reception, friendly attitude, and feeling of belonging people get when they come here and present their movies.

How is the film world different today?

Janice: Forty years ago film was still on spools of reels being shipped from festival to festival.

Today, the same films can be shown at the same times in multiple locations. It’s such an accessible medium and there are so many people making films, there are a lot of stories out there the theaters are not showing. That gives festivals a huge place in the world for interactive, collective viewing experiences, and the opportunity to curate what people are watching.

Where is film headed?

Ashley: Film is transitioning from a few large corporations that control the industry to everyone with an iPhone. It’s really become a global movement. You have so many filmmakers from varying backgrounds, it’s really starting to open people’s eyes.

I understand you’ve embarked on year-round programming?

Janice: It’s a recent development for us. We’ve been testing the waters for the past four years,

and that has evolved and formalized into Summit Film Society, with monthly screenings taking place at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Breckenridge Theater.

What are some Summit Film Society highlights?

Ashley: In January we showed “Loving Vincent.”

Dena Peterson, who worked on it, lives in Colorado Springs and will be a resident artist here in spring, so we are hoping to bring some of our Gold Ticket Club members back for a meet-and-greet. On March 13 we will show National Geographic’s “Jane,” about chimpanzee researcher Jane Goodall, which has archival footage and a score by Philip Glass. If all goes as planned, Mandy Moore will be here in April to do a retrospective of her work, to highlight her process with choreography—how that became relevant with “Dancing with the Stars” and transitioned to feature-length films like “Silver Linings Playbook” and “La La Land.”

Tell us about the films you show at WAVE: Light + Water + Sound?

Ashley: I’ve curated films for the WAVE festival the last couple of years. Out of water, light, and sound, I decided to take different themes each night—some using stop-motion animation, some creating sound waves related to songs, and thematic programming around specific aspects of water education.

What appeals to you about film as a medium?

Ashley: It think it transcends barriers, and is a way to unite people from around the world with body language and storytelling.

Formed in 1981, Breckenridge Film Festival is an annual festival featuring juried works by independent filmmakers, accompanied by a slate of events and activities. Here, Board President Gary Martinez, Executive Director Janice Miller, and Assistant Director Ashley Zimmerman weigh in on current trends and future directions for the BFF. Breckenridge Film Festival // breckfilmfest.org Summit Film Society @ Breckenridge Theater, 121 S. Ridge St., Breckenridge /KRĒ'ĀT/

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/sourced/ A guide to creative businesses and organizations in and around Breckenridge Cultural Organizations Breckenridge Backstage Theatre 121 S. Ridge St. backstagetheatre.org Breckenridge Creative Arts 150 W. Adams Ave. breckcreate.org Breckenridge Film Festival 103 S. Harris St. breckfilmfest.com

Nikki LaRochelle Design nikkilarochelle.com Squeeze Designz squeeze-designz.com

Alice G. Milne House and Memorial Park 102 N. Harris St. breckheritage.com

Straughn Design 552 97 Circle straughndesign.com

Barney Ford House Museum 111 E. Washington Ave. breckheritage.com

Summit Creations 102 Continental Ct.

Breckenridge Sawmill Museum Boreas Pass Rd. breckheritage.com

summitcreations.com Breckenridge Heritage Alliance 309 N. Main St. breckheritage.com Breckenridge Music Festival 217 S. Ridge St. Alley breckenridgemusicfestival.com Breckenridge Tourism Office 111 Ski Hill Rd. gobreck.com National Repertory Orchestra 111 S. Main St. nromusic.com

Branding + Design The Brandon Agency 160 E Adams Ave. thebrandonagency.com GatherHouse Inc. 110 Second Ave., Frisco gatherhouse.com Angela Knightley knightleydesign.carbonmade.com KL Creative Design 304 Illinois Gulch Rd. klcreativedesign.com McGraphix Creative & Consulting 201 S Ridge St. mcgraphixcreative.com

Museums + Historic Sites

Galleries Arts Alive 500 S. Main St. summitarts.org Blue River Fine Art Gallery 411 S. Main St. blueriverfineartgallery.com Breckenridge Gallery 124 S. Main St. breckenridge-gallery.com Colorado Scenics 421 S. Main St. coloradoscenics.com Gary Soles Gallery 300 S. Main St. breckenridgephotoshop.com JK Studio 100 S. Main St., 2nd floor jkstudiollc.com Raitman Art Galleries 100 N. Main St. 421 S. Main St. artonawhim.com

William H. Briggle House 104 N. Harris St. breckheritage.com Country Boy Mine 542 French Gulch Rd. countryboymine.com Edwin Carter Museum 111 N. Ridge St. breckheritage.com High Line Railroad Park 189 Boreas Pass Rd. breckheritage.com Lomax Gulch 301 Ski Hill Rd. breckheritage.com Mountain Top Children’s Museum 605 S. Park Ave. mtntopmuseum.org Prospector Park 112 N. Main St. townofbreckenridge.com Red White and Blue Fire Museum 308 N. Main St. breckheritage.com Summit Ski Exhibit 308-B S. Main St. breckheritage.com

Boutiques + Specialty

Architecture

Breckenridge Photographics 500 S. Main St. breckphoto.com

Allen Guerra Architecture 1915 Airport Rd. allen-guerra.com

The Glass Art Company 411 S. Main St. #16 theglassartcompany.com Global Candle Gallery 326 S. Main St. globalcandlegallery.com Magical Scraps 310 S. Main St. magicalscraps.com Marigolds Farmhouse Funk + Junk 215 S. Main St. marigoldsfarmhousefunkandjunk.com Ole Man Berkins 326 S. Main St. olemanberkins.com Portiera Designs 326 S. Main St. portieradesigns.com Ready Paint Fire 323 N. Main St. readypaintfireco.com Ruby Jane 232 S. Main St. valleygirlboutique.com Wandering Daisy 326 S. Main St. Young Colors 226 S. Main St., Unit 1 youngcolors.com

Arapahoe Architects 322-C N. Main St. arapahoearchitects.com bhh Partners 160 E. Adams Ave. bhhpartners.com Equinox Architecture, LLC 520 S. Main St. equinoxarchitecture.com J.L. Sutterley Architect 500 S. Ridge St. jlsutterlyarchitect.com Matthew Stais Architects 108 N. Ridge St. staisarchitects.com Michael F. Gallagher Architect michaelgallagher.com Neely Architecture 1705 Airport Rd. neelyarchitecture.com

Breweries + Craft Beverages Après Handcrafted Libations 130 S. Main St. apreslibations.com Breckenridge Brewery 600 S. Main St. breckbrewpub.com Breckenridge Distillery 1925 Airport Rd. breckenridgedistillery.com Broken Compass Brewing 68 Continental Ct. brokencompassbrewing.com

Cafes + Coffee Houses Amazing Grace 213 Lincoln Ave. amazinggracebreck.com Cabin Coffee Company 222 S. Main St. cabincoffeecompany.com

Healing Arts

Clint’s Bakery & Coffee House 131 S. Main St. clintsbakery.com

Alpine Spa and Salon 500 S. Main St., 3rd floor alpinespaandsalon.com

Cuppa Joe 118 S. Ridge St.

Ambika Healing 435 N. Park Ave. ambika.massagetherapy.com Blue Sage Spa 224 S. Main St. bluesagespa.com

Mug Shot Café 435 N. Park Ave. Starbucks 225 S. Main St. starbucks.com

Breckenridge Bliss Massage Therapy 325 S. Main St. breckenridgeblissmassage.com Meta Yoga Studios 118 S. Ridge St. metayogastudios.com

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An elegant, two-story home built by one of Breckenridge’s early pioneers, the Robert Whyte House now provides a temporary residence and workspace for visiting artists, who in turn offer open studio hours and public demonstrations in their craft. The structure is located in downtown Breckenridge on the Arts District campus.