Dancing the Cosmos Installation
Rev. Dr. Barbara Holmes or “Dr. B” as she has her students call her, is a teacher, scholar, activist, shaman, preacher, and writer. Her work pushes the boundaries between theology, cosmology, literature, and philosophy. She says, "My life is committed to the struggle for justice, the healing of the human spirit, and the art of relevant and radical creativity." I was asked to design the cover of the second edition of her pioneering work Race and the Cosmos and provide the visual foundation for the book’s promotional campaign. This project required the utmost attention to how the work was to be produced in order to honor Dr. B’s work in every aspect of the campaign.
In the 1990s, Cliff Berrien projected recently captured photos from the Hubble Space Telescope and invited people to interact with the image and see the stars and galaxies appear on their arms and faces. His intention was to show the reality of our existence, its expansiveness and beauty. When brainstorming images for Dr. B’s book, Cliff recreated the experience from 25 years earlier. We used it as the foundation for the book cover and campaign.
Book Cover
Cover Design: Nicholas Kramer with Cliff Berrien
Graphic Designer: Izzy Spitz
Layout Designer: Nelson Kane
Cover Photograph: Nicholas Kramer
Film + Installation
Director: Nicholas Kramer
Concept: Cliff Berrien
Choreography: Jenna Keiper
Camera: Paul Thompson
Music: Cliff Berrien + Paul Thompson
Installation Supervisor: Peter Knipper
