Pochis Bank Art Studio was hired to create nine large scale custom chalkboard backdrops for Revolution Dancewear’s 2017 Costume Catalogue.
Photo credit: Gina Uhlmann Photography
Before the photoshoot, dozens of pre-sketches were done. Nancy and her team of artists worked closely with Revolution Dancewear’s art director and photographer to define the style and the content of the backdrops. The team took inspiration from the colors and styles of the costumes to craft the color story and design illustrations that would complement the dancers. What material is the costume made out of? Would the dancer be posing, dancing or leaping? What parts of the artwork might be blocked by the dancer’s movement? Would a realistic or more playful style work best? These were all questions that Nancy and her team had consider in designing the backdrops.
The Studio was also asked to create the nine giant 10’ x 10’ chalkboards. So they had twenty 10’ x 5’ medium density fiberboards delivered to the studio, and the artists rolled several coats of chalkboard paint over them. Luckily our studio space is large and flexible, and these twenty heavy boards could be moved around with the help of hired “strong-guys” (each board weighed over 150 lbs). The artists also “conditioned” the boards by covering them with chalk and erasing them. Next, the boards were delivered to the photo shoot location, where they were combined into the 10’ x 10’ free-standing backdrops by a carpenter.
On the first day of the shoot, Nancy and her team arrived at Space Stage Studios with hundreds of sticks of brightly colored chalk in tow. They quickly began chalking the designs, as all nine backdrops had to be completed in two days.
Each board was uniquely crafted to enhance the presentation of the costumes. For example, to enhance a modern “hip-hop” style costume, the artists created a graphic red, white, and blue border that looks a scene straight from an old-fashioned comic book. To enhance a contemporary flowing dress costume, the artists combined sunset colors with large multi-tiered flowers to complement the grace of the dancer.
Special thank you to Gina Uhlman Photography for the beautiful photographs!
