An open, and mostly vacant, stairway at the Evans School building in Denver. Currently home to artists and creatives, for now.
Photographer Matt Nager and model Vanessa Luka getting a close-up ear shot at the Evans School studio of Sam Grabowska and Erin McAllister
Deciding on the location for Talisman’s next lookbook photoshoot is always an exciting creative challenge. Each season the look and feel of the brand is greatly influenced by our campaign concept, composition and color palette, and thus, by extension, where that campaign was shot. For FW23, the idea struck me to ask some artist friends about taking over their studio space at the Evans School in Denver for an afternoon… I had spent some time in this incredibly special, once-abandoned school building, and was immediately struck by the energy of the place. Having only recently been offered to a handful of artists for use as studio rentals, this glorious building - full of tall windows and insanely intricate copper railings - sat empty since the 1970s, quietly falling into decay just across the street from the Denver Art Museum. These days, however, the vibe at the Evans School is something else. Sculptors, painters, photographers and the like are using the classrooms - heck, even the old auditorium - to ideate, create and collaborate with one another. Tiny DIY galleries have popped up to showcase the work of folks making art next door. In my estimation, one of the most beautiful things about this space, aside from the building itself, seems to be the fact that there is a definite ambiance of - dare I use the cliched word - synergy and co-inspiration happening among the artists at work there.
Utilizing raw materials from artist Sam Grabowska’s sculpture work as a backdrop for Talisman’s new FW23 designs
None of the residents know how long this gem will last… word has it that the building may be purchased by developers to be remade into a luxury hotel in the near future. And, as sad as that may be (although it has the makings for a beautiful hotel, no doubt), somehow the limited-time aspect of the whole scene - this permeating feeling of uncertainty - lends it a bit of Chelsea Hotel-type magic. Something that is at once almost outside of time and space itself, and yet is entirely ephemeral. To be certain, it is a Time and a Place, in Denver, Colorado, 2023.
Knowing that the opportunity to do something in this magical space might be limited, then, it seemed that the time was right for a photoshoot there. The goal for the shoot, as far as I could see it, was simply to capture some of the magic that is happening behind closed doors at 1115 Acoma Street, and by extension, to delve into the raw materials and processes of some of the artists at play there. A statement, if you will, about how creative imagination can turn raw, even seemingly strange objects into entire worlds of beauty.
Matt Nager shoots a still life scene on Sam Grabowska’s desk. Styling and creative direction by myself, Vanessa Barcus.
Thankfully for Talisman, my dear friend Erin McAllister and her Evans School studio mate, Sam Grabowska, were happy to oblige. So my trusty photog Matt Nager and I were given access to their studio, and all of its gloriously weird objects and supplies. Erin is a fiber and textile artist who also paints on occasion. Her work is as vibrant and colorful and explosive as she is. Sam is a sculptor and multi-media artist whose highly-conceptual work speaks to themes of creating space, in both a literal and psychological sense, as well as themes of safety, trauma healing, and care. Through both artists we found a rich assortment of tactile, textural raw materials to use as a backdrop for Talisman’s latest designs. Another friend, Vanessa Luka, graciously lent her beautiful ears and hands to be photographed in what was otherwise a mostly still-life shoot.
Take a peek behind the scenes here of our day at the Evans School… In the near future, you may just see the scraps and materials we used in our photos come together in one of these two artists’ upcoming work.
Artist Erin McAllister shows us around the studio
XX,
Vanessa