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Getting the Voyage started!

The magnum opus of Jan Sawka, a project originating during collaboration with the Grateful Dead

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Getting the Voyage started!

Getting the Voyage started!

Getting the Voyage started!

Getting the Voyage started!

Getting the Voyage started!

The magnum opus of Jan Sawka, a project originating during collaboration with the Grateful Dead

The magnum opus of Jan Sawka, a project originating during collaboration with the Grateful Dead

The magnum opus of Jan Sawka, a project originating during collaboration with the Grateful Dead

The magnum opus of Jan Sawka, a project originating during collaboration with the Grateful Dead

Hanna Sawka
Hanna Sawka
Hanna Sawka
Hanna Sawka
2 Campaigns |
High Falls, United States
$0 USD 0 backers
0% of $50,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Highlights
Mountain Filled 2 Projects Mountain Filled 2 Projects

In 1989, the Grateful Dead were preparing for their 25th anniversary. They had reached their “Mega-Dead” period, playing to giant audiences in stadiums. According to Blair Jackson in “Garcia,” his biography of Jerry Garcia, “In the spring of 1989 Garcia had told a writer that seeing music in a stadium is ‘not a pleasant experience generally.” Garcia had added, “I don’t see why anyone would go to more than one of those shows myself.’” By the time of that interview, the band had taken action and artist Jan Sawka was already designing a set for the concert tour that would kick-off in the summer of 1989.

This set was unique in that Jerry Garcia personally saw to granting complete artistic freedom, so this set was possibly the only fine-art installation for a rock band ever (most rock sets are created by commercial enterprises that service Broadway, Las Vegas, etc.) Here is an image of the set: 


The set was used starting in June 1989 through 1990. Jan Sawka created the set to interact with lighting effects that would, in a sense, animate it.

Jan Sawka met with Jerry several times throughout the process and spent a lot of time talking with Jerry in his trailer during the initial installation of the set at what was then known as Foxborough Stadium in Massachusetts. Jerry loved the set and he and Jan Sawka talked about creating something afterwards that would be the equivalent of the banner-set becoming entirely animated and touring with pre-recorded music alone. This was how the idea for “The Voyage” was born.

The idea of “The Voyage” stayed with Jan Sawka, even as that same year a series of major historical events would affect his life in wonderful ways. An exile from Poland, where Jan Sawka was a major artist of the opposition already in his twenties, his life would be rocked (in a good way) by the fall of the communist regime in the months that followed the opening of the set for the Grateful Dead. He would travel back to Central Europe to engage in important artistic statements, one of which was supported by the Grateful Dead’s Rex Foundation (details about this can be found in this blog post: http://jansawka.com/blog/

In spite of Jerry Garcia’s passing, Jan Sawka continued to work on the piece, developing the narrative and executing each individual painting for it over the years. I started working with him on the project as a producer and director.  In 2003, we submitted a 17-minute pilot to the Florence International Biennale of Contemporary Art. Jan Sawka was awarded a Gold Medal in the Multimedia category for “The Voyage.”

During the last years of Jan Sawka’s life (he passed away in 2012), we were working on the project with Mickey Hart, who was touring his Mickey Hart Band at the time. The trailer has music from “Mysterium Terribilum.”  

Uncannily, Jan Sawka had just finished creating the last artworks for “The Voyage” just a few days before passing away on a day that happens to be the death anniversary of Jerry Garcia. The artists share the date (not year) of death.

The final spectacle will be 90-minutes long, consisting of 1202 original artworks that are animated to music. These are meant to be projected on a large surface, or on an LED-tile screen that is large enough to fill people’s field of vision. Additional lights to flood the audience at times are also part of the concept.

“The Voyage” is a rich, visual and artistic trip through the spectrum of being human, from the most beautiful aspects, to the most dark. It is a visionary piece, one that can open portals of perception in and of itself. It is a work of art, as well as an expression of positive values, especially those of human unity, the sort of values our world needs. While I am personally tied to this very closely, I believe that the fulfillment of this project, which has been left unfinished, will turn out to be important to many more people than just myself or my family. 

The purpose of this fundraiser is to put wings into the sails of this Voyage. In short, to get this production to a position where further fund-raising can occur. The 50K of this crowd-funding effort is meant to cover pre-production, administrative, legal, and promotional expenses that would lead to the full-financing and execution of the project.  The full cost of getting the production performance-ready is  $600,000, most of which I hope to raise through a number of sources, such as equity, sponsorship and possibly grants. To give you an idea of what makes up the 600K number, the processing of the images alone will run $437,521.37.  Here is the section of the budget related to image processing:

While I hope to meet or exceed the goal of this fund-raiser toward image processing, please note that most of the perks already exist, or their production expenses are foreseen within the scope of this campaign, so regardless of what happens, I will deliver your perks on-time and with gratitude. 

Here are images of some of the existing perks:

Here are the three prints that make up the "Woodstock" triptych:


Here is the "Haiti!" poster:

Here are samples of the types of images that would be selected for the t-shirt and card:



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Choose your Perk

Card

$10 USD
A 4 x 9 inch card with a vibrant image from the Voyage.
Estimated Shipping
September 2015
0 claimed

DVD of Voyage excerpt

$35 USD
A DVD with 20 minutes of "The Voyage."
Estimated Shipping
September 2015
0 claimed

t-shirt

$50 USD
A t-shirt with an image from the Voyage on the front.
Estimated Shipping
September 2015
0 claimed

Card, T-shirt and DVD

$95 USD
All of the perks from the above contribution levels.
Estimated Shipping
September 2015
0 claimed

"Haiti" Poster

$200 USD
The last poster designed by Jan Sawka, whose accomplishments in the art poster are part of design and art history, with his posters being in collections such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This poster has participated in international biennials and exhibitions. Poster size 39 x 26 1/2', printed on heavy poster paper, two types of finish - the sprouting plant in matte, the rest is glossy. Add $20 for shipping to non-USA locations.
Estimated Shipping
June 2015
0 out of 50 of claimed

Silkscreen print triptych

$3,000 USD
A large, colorful silkscreen print triptych by Jan Sawka about Woodstock. Only 250 of these prints were ever made and most were sold. Each set is signed and numbered by the artist, who is no longer living and whose work is in over 60 museums worldwide. The prints can be seen here: http://jansawka.com/prints/woodstock.html
Estimated Shipping
September 2015
0 out of 7 of claimed

Studio Tour and Perks Package

$5,000 USD
Tour of the studio and hand-painted home of Jan Sawka for you and a guest. European-style (hot) lunch included, plus all listed perks (total value of perks alone is 3270). By appointment, on a date between June-September 2015. Additional perk: A signed copy of culinary biography by widow of the artist, Hanka Sawka, titled, "At Hanka's Table," which recounts the life of Hanka and Jan Sawka in art and politics and has enjoyed great reviews in the NY Times, NPR and other media.
Estimated Shipping
June 2015
0 out of 4 of claimed
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