The Cure for Kickstarter Fatigue: Ambition
By Steven Pate in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 31, 2011 6:00PM
In our proposed DSM-IV entry for "Kickstarter Fatigue," only three or more of the following signs need to have been present for at least 6 weeks:
- Often does not give close attention to emails updating kickstarter projects to which he/she has already pledged support.
- Often has trouble performing activities which lack pledge levels incentives.
- Often creates derisive jokes based on "kickstarting" another individual's face.
- Finds no amusement in humorous pledge level awards descriptions.
- Often asks "what ever happened to convincing a rich person to give you money?"
If you find yourself suffering from early-onset Kickstarter fatigue, Dr. Chicagoist prescribes turning your attention to a fantastically ambitious campaign that has the potential to be very cool, specifically Outliers, a film and video project coordinated by Chicago's Scenic Studio.
The idea is to send photographers Tim Navis and Kim Høltermand to Iceland, where they will photograph and shoot video of the island's pristine landscape in all its eerie beauty. In addition to printing an archival book of the resulting photos, Scenic will release a series of short films, scored and soundtracked by L.A.-based musician Deru, as a short-run box set, and issue a limited run of prints for the backers.
If the project gets funded, they plan to have everything wrapped up for a public launch next spring. Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture has agreed to host an outdoor performance of Deru's score with a visual accompaniment at Pritzker pavilion, and Scenic also plans a film screening and Q&A discussion and a nighttime event featuring artists from the soundtrack, which already has Shigeto, Loscil, Tycho, Opiate, Son Lux and several other artists on board. The $45,000 goal is rather immense, but we love the ambition of the project (after all, Chicago was home to the biggest kickstarter project ever funded), and with 4 days left they are about halfway to their goal.