The Print is the Performance

Images © Robert Harris Photography


We just had the pleasure of installing and presenting a beautiful portrait to the Colonial Theatre in honor of Mayor Earl Horne and the auditorium named after him. The 50"x30" framed canvas portrait was created to celebrate the theatre's past history as well as its future importance to South Hill and the entire Southside area of Virginia and northern North Carolina.

In creating the portrait, we wanted to feature Mayor Horne who largely steered the efforts of the theatre's revitalization. The process of designing the portrait began by placing a beautiful new grand piano on the stage to layer the portrait with meaning and tell a story of the new life of the venue. This elegant instrument creates visual depth and contrasts the antique movie reel Mr. Horne is holding. This piece pulled from the theatre's archives dates back over sixty years and represents the Colonial's previous life. Eric Sadowski, the theatre's technical director, helped light the stage and curtains which compliment the portrait with the musical notes and contrasting red gels. We then added five strobes to light the mayor in the balcony of the auditorium with depth and dimension. Finally, we asked Mr. Horne to wear his tuxedo to complete the story of past, present and future.

As Ansel Adams said, "The Print is the Performance." More on this in a later post



Mayor Horne and his wife pose with me on the night of the presentation.