3-D SPACE IS LAUNCHING

Last month, at the National Stereoscopic Association’s 3D-CON in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, I had the task of chairing the 3-D Theater, and presenting four days of stereoscopic movies, slideshows and presentations to the attendees. I’m thrilled to say that the theater was a success, and the audience seemed to really enjoy the eclectic program. Congratulations to all of the filmmakers and photographers whose work was presented this year. The award winning shows, which were selected by audience ballot, will be the highlight of this month’s LA 3-D Club Awards Banquet, held once again at Taix Restaurant.

During the theater presentations at 3D-Con, I made the public announcement of the launch of my new venture, 3-D SPACE - The Center for Stereoscopic 3-D Photography, Art, Cinema and Education. 3-D SPACE is intended to be a museum, gallery, theater, and classroom dedicated to both the preservation of the history of stereoscopic imaging, and the advancement of current and future 3-D arts and science. I am at the beginning stages of developing 3-D SPACE as a non-profit arts corporation, and over the next year, I hope to be able to focus my skills as a 3-D creator, curator, administrator and teacher into making 3-D SPACE a physical reality here in Los Angeles.

The inspiration for this project began 2-½ years ago, when Ray Zone and I were able to rescue three truckloads of artifacts from the estate sale of the late Dan Symmes. Ray and I discussed the possibility of someday finding a place to display these materials. Sadly, we lost Ray before we were able to move forward with any plans, but the idea continued to grow, and last year at the World 3-D Expo III, I was able to display a piece from the collection - the Natural Vision camera rig used to shoot HOUSE OF WAX in 1953. I began looking at my own personal long term goals, and decided that I want to continue doing the curating of 3-D content, preservation of 3-D history, and public outreach and education that I have already been doing for the club, practically on a full-time basis, for the last several years. So I have spent the last year developing the idea for 3-D SPACE into a plan of action, getting advice from many advisors with expertise in different disciplines - from academia, museums, and art galleries, to successful non-profit arts groups, the entertainment industry, and the international 3-D community. And I have been met with great enthusiasm from everyone that I have talked to about this endeavor. In fact, I am very excited to announce that the Portland, Oregon based 3-D Center for Art and Photography, which unfortunately had to close its doors several years ago, has given their entire collection to 3-D SPACE. So during the first week of this month, I became the new caretaker of the Portland collection when Ron Kreisel delivered it by truck to Los Angeles.

There is a LOT of work ahead - finding a location to be the home of 3-D SPACE, cataloging and restoring the many items already in the 3-D SPACE collections, and of course fundraising to make this idea a sustainable reality. I will be launching an internet-based crowdfunding campaign in September to raise a portion of the initial seed money and to be able to move forward with the preservation of some of the more rare and fragile materials. I look forward to receiving the support and guidance of our 3-D Club members, and encourage you to visit the 3-D SPACE virtual home at www.3-DSPACE.org