By Serena Brown
As an architectural firm, we’re always looking for new ways to expand our creativity and invite new inspiration. At our latest Third Thursday, Hope Mohr, of Hope Mohr Dance, stopped by to share her own unique creative process and offer some advice on what values we as artists could share.
A world famous choreographer, curator, writer, and Columbia Human Rights fellow, Hope has striven to deconstruct the intersection of dance and poetry, while continuously supporting her fellow artists. She pulls inspiration from other creatives around her—painters, writers, even historical buildings and their illustrious beginnings.
Hope began the session by introducing us to case studies based on two of her previous works, Stay (2015) and Precarious (2017). She familiarized us with her inspirations for both and the way she harnesses her dancer’s agency during the creative process. Creating art for art’s sake is a strong motivator for her pieces, as she isn’t afraid to bring the audience into the realm of the uncomfortable.
Photo: Hope Mohr Dance
In order to make her dances evoke the same feelings as that of a painting or work of literature, she spends months researching and preparing potential artistic influences. Her 2015 piece in particular, drew inspiration from the works of Francis Bacon and his use of saturated colors, distorted figures, and arrow motifs.
One of her goals for the performance was to force both herself and her audience to stay longer in moments of discomfort, and to incorporate uncommon silhouettes and images. She noted, to our interest, that she often choreographs her pieces without music, and has a sound engineer create the soundtrack at a later date. In this way the movements are a direct response to the physical subject matter, rather than the instruments of a song.
Photo: Hope Mohr Dance
Towards the end of the hour, Hope touched upon one of her upcoming pieces extreme lyric I and asked our staff for an architect’s point of view on using polarized light. The discussion that followed evolved into a conversation about the ‘client’ of her work, be it the audience, dancers, or even herself. When designing a building, the client is more often than not involved directly in the creative process. In her dances however, Hope was wary to identify a specific client, for her works are not entirely for the dancers nor the audiences who view them. The question of clientele holds true for any artist, who exactly is one creating for?
Our time with Hope concluded with her sharing a list of values she’s cultivated over her many years as an artist. She encouraged us to properly do our research, and to be receptive to what the work wants, rather than what we want. She also noted that what a project calls for on its surface may be different from its driving force and to never stop doubting throughout the entire process. Reaching out into the unknown is also a key point to her, as is spending time with yourself in solitude, in the “real, secret studio.”
Her advice rang true with many of our designers, who, despite a lack of dance background, could relate to and understand the unique struggles of a creative. We all hope to see Hope’s new performance extreme lyric I in October of this year and if we’re lucky enough, have her come back and speak again.
Photo: Hope Mohr Dance
Thank you for the inspiring talk Hope!
Check out Hope Mohr Dance’s upcoming performances on her Website