Photography By Ashley Rockwood
Public Art By Indria Freitas Johnson
"Growing Peace"
It is hard to believe that there would be push back from people on sculptures created with the intention of reminding people to find peace? But there was. And is. The irony being the juxtaposition between the endless, crystal blue waters of Lake Michigan and a constant stream of traffic on Lake Shore Drive. 'Ten Thousand Ripples' was installed to remind us that peace is growing, just like all of us. There is immense growth as we find peace. Peace with allowing others to freely express themselves. Accepting that it is their art to share how they see it best.
Katie and I spent a little time reflecting on the beautiful challenge of social media. (And btw, not a lot of time as all Cameo shoots are kept to a short 15 minutes.) We both see it as a tool to express oneself, but agree there is a line. The magic in creating art is when it leaves your hands, your body, your possession and becomes someone else's to interpret and own. You have to share. We were aligned in our belief that we all must be conscious of what we are giving and putting out into the universe. Everyone is watching. And that leaves us with an enormous platform of responsibility. And she has found her platform.
Katie co-founded Purus Motus, meaning pure movement alongside Daniel Williams in 2015. Purus Motus produces short films completely unique to the selected moving subject. She and Daniel are sometimes featured in the stories but they also bring in artists from different backgrounds. His hip hop, battle dancer background paired with her traditional, classical, organic, wonderful to watch, modern, jazz, fluid motion makes for something way easy to consume. Each episode is improvised with freestyle movement on location, allowing for true in the moment expression. And it is all done in house, as they both direct, shoot, and edit the episodes themselves, to then be published through Facebook. They are currently filming season one and just recently released their 9th episode - "Show Your Work". Katie has found solstice and peace in allowing all forms of dance to be displayed at a high level of maturity and depth. Musicality, improv, energy and emotion connect the viewers to real life experiences.
"I love our art. I genuinely love sharing this art with anyone that it makes it's way to. Whether its ten or a million people that see each episode, we will continue to make art." -Katie Carey
Katie and I met when she was on scholarship at giordano dance school, years and years ago. whether in class at Visceral Dance Center or in rehearsal with Nomi Dance Company, Katie's length, literally and figuratively catches your eye. She truly dances from her soul. It has been a joy watching her grow and mature into such a wonderful creature. I look forward to seeing more of her evolution with the pure movement that is Purus Motus.
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