GROW HERE // Hallowed Composer John Moran on 3rd Ward as Incubator

John Moran and Saori Tsukada

John Moran, protégé and longtime collaborator of composer Philip Glass and world-renowned art-theater-performance artist, has created work featuring Uma Thurman, Allen Ginsberg, and Iggy Pop at international venues including Lincoln Center. Since 2005, he has partnered with avant dancer-gymnast Saori Tsukada on a dance collaboration cited by the New York Times as "one of the most important and innovative…of the year."

Just five years ago, Moran was living on the streets--and then he found a home at 3rd Ward. Hit the jump to hear the story he shared with us.

“Back in 2007, when 3rd Ward was just getting on its feet, I decided to make a huge movie, with performers composited into 3D animation.  I had never done a project like that before, so the first step was to really learn the processes: animation, 3D modeling, and compositing, which I did over a year of really hard study. 

I had just been homeless and was barely surviving. So the constraint on this project was that it had to be almost free. Good luck, right?

I needed an ideal studio set-up, with massive amounts of equipment, computer power, and space, along with plenty of time. 

That was when I met [3rd Ward cofounder] Jason Goodman, whom I came to learn embodied his name.  I showed him what I was doing, right off the street, and explained to him that I had nothing—and needed a lot.

Jason made me an ‘unofficial’ artist-in-residence at 3rd Ward for the year of 2007.  He donated the top floor of the space, and I managed to move a huge, professional film crew into there and set up a green screen environment.  What I remember most about that time is that the camera was a big as a motorcycle!  Jason and the staff were my saviors at the time, and asked for nothing in return.

After the shooting was completed, there was the arduous task of animating, compositing and editing.  Jason offered use of the computer lab and its powerful computers.  So, there I lived for months, from early in the morning until I was (gently) kicked out at closing time.  I wasn't always easy to know, as my ‘purpose’ there sometimes (hopefully not too often) conflicted with the desires of others.  Why is that stack of computers always in use?  Well, because that near-homeless crazy guy feels that his life depends on it.

I gave a performance at 3rd Ward before moving to Europe in 2007, but there was no way to adequately thank Jason and the staff for all they had done for me.  While I only finished ten minutes of that particular project, which was devastating to me at the time, I realize now that this period allowed me to learn what I was doing in a new chapter in my career as an artist. As I then traveled all over Europe and Asia for the next four years (eleven different countries, working everywhere), I thought of them, and that place, every day.  What they do there is a true inspiration to me, and to many others, as well.”

-- as told to Cara Cannella