We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Robert Hansen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Robert, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
My very first piece was designed for my mother’s funeral. I was going through hundreds and hundreds of pictures of my family that my mother had in photo albums, envelopes, and boxes…a lot of boxes. I decided that I would digitize all of the pictures. It took several days to digitize 1500 pictures and there were hundreds more that I did not digitize.
In the process of choosing the portrait for the viewing at the funeral home, I came across a picture that was perfect. However, since there were so many people that she affected, I didn’t want to simply use one picture, I wanted to include everyone in the family. My intent was to create this as the first and the last piece, just for the funeral. I had no intention of doing anything like this again. It was too emotional of a process.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
That’s a great question. I love “unveilings”. My very first unveiling was for Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance. My cousin Drego Moore had planned a video montage for their 25th wedding anniversary. He suggested to the event producer that she commission me to do a piece as a takeaway for them to accompany the video. Well, after signing a number of NDAs, I got started. I got here early in the afternoon while the party was still being setup. I even took off my jacket and dug in to lend a hand. Several hours later, after the official order of things had concluded, I presented my piece to them. They were so excited. From that moment forward, I enjoy the unveilings the most. To see someone’s reaction to my interpretation of their life. Some have cried. Others were speechless. Then there are the hugs.
One piece that I was commission to do was for a Netflix producer. She sent me hundreds of pictures to work with. She wanted a piece of her grandparents whom she had lost to death several years prior. At the unveiling, she cried and said that the picture that I was inspired to use was her favorite picture. So much so, that she rolled up her sleeve to reveal a tattoo of the very same picture.
To create something that was initially a one of one, is truly amazing. I started this journey because of grief and tragedy. How would I turn my grief into greatness and tragedy into triumph? By pouring myself into this new chapter.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
I think that everyone is creative in some form or fashion. They may not have fully tapped into it as many creatives have, but I do believe that it is there. I think that once your mind is open to the process of creating you will not stop creating. You look at things differently. Sometimes non realized creatives allow that voice in their heads to convince them that they can be creative. That they can’t do what full aware creatives can do. That might be true, however, I really think that once the floodgates opened they will never close back the same again.
Contact Info:
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