University of Colorado at Boulder filmmaker and film studies Professor Philip S. Solomon has been named the 2007 Thatcher Hoffman Smith Creativity in Motion recipient.
Solomon will receive a trophy and a check for $40,000 to use at his discretion based on his entry titled "American Falls." The presentation will take place Sept. 5 at a ceremony on the University of Oklahoma's Norman campus.
The Thatcher Hoffman Smith Prize is a biennial award honoring the creative process and is "open to all fields of creativity including, but not limited to, the arts, cultural affairs, education and science." The award was established at the University of Oklahoma's College of Arts and Sciences in 2002.
"American Falls" is a six-channel, surround-sound digital video installation to be projected on the walls of the rotunda at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Known for his unique textural experimentations with film emulsion, Solomon calls his work a "Sistine Chapel for The American Dream" and plans to open the exhibit in early fall of 2008.
"My project is ultimately one of great hope, stemming from a lifelong love for this American experiment of ours that seemed so vivid to me during my television-infused childhood, but it is also necessitated by my deepest concern for its present and future directions," Solomon said.
Among the many influences of the installation are Frederick Church's famous painting "Niagara Falls," which is housed at the Corcoran; Diego Rivera's WPA Arts Project murals; various war memorials in the Washington, D.C., area; an episode of "Star Trek" titled "The City on the Edge of Forever;" and 20th century newsreel footage, he said.
Solomon received his bachelor's degree in filmmaking from the State University of New York at Binghamton and his Master of Fine Arts degree from the Massachusetts College of Art.
To learn more about the award log on to cim.ou.edu/About.htm.