“Love Project” Photo Exhibit Leaves Public Love-Struck

The Flobots.org Community Center, located on 27th St. and Larimer St. in five points, housed the “Love Project” show at 8 p.m. on Sunday, February 13, 2011. The “Love Project” is a book of black and white photography depicting love in its truest essence. The photographer is Lucia de Giovanni. Giovanni began her project in 2009 in order to capture photos of “what love looks like.” The finished project was revealed at the event. More after the jump.

The Venue

Dim lighting and quiet violin music on the P.A. system set the tone for the late-evening show. Candles were lit in every corner, creating a romantic ambiance for the evening. The Flobots.org Community Center, a very small building, was overflowing with upwards of 200 people, and very loud. The majority of the crowd consisted of middle-aged art collectors and college-aged people wearing fedoras, mohawks and gauged ears. The Flobots, a hip-hop group that is native to Denver, founded the Community Center. Their website advertises the center as a place that “reflects the energy, diversity, and challenges of modern Denver.” For this particular event, it was the perfect venue.

The Project

One attendee, Becky, 50, said, “a friend of mine showed me Giovanni’s video on YouTube. The video showed much of her ‘Love Project’ collection. As a fellow photographer, I found inspiration from her work and had to come see it for myself. I respect anyone who can take a good idea and turn it into a finished product.”

The photos were beautiful. Against the backdrop of the Community Center’s orange and green walls was Giovanni’s entire “Love Project” collection, in the form of a collage on the wall. There were 75 black and white photos, all of couples, but diverse in their subjects. The subjects included couples of all demographics, including old couples, young couples, interracial and homosexual couples, married couples, and college-aged couples. Some of the couples were members of bands that Giovanni is friends with and their significant others. Even her parents were included in the collection. In the middle of the collage was a beautiful photo of a woman who was undergoing chemotherapy, smiling at the camera with her bald husband, who had shaved his head in affection to his wife.

The Show

Inside the entrance of the Community Center was a stage to the right, equipped with acoustic guitars, a keyboard, and a saxophone, the tools for local musical artists to utilize later in the evening. To the left was a counter full of red and white wine, blonde and amber ale, and sparkling fruit soda, with volunteers serving the drinks for an optional cost. The cost would benefit Giovanni. The table also contained a donation box for Safehouse Denver, an organization dedicated to protecting women and children from domestic violence.

On the opposite side of the venue, below a string of white string lights, was a buffet full of vegetarian snacks. They offered chocolate pudding shooters, cucumbers and hummus, and toasted Italian bread with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes on top. On the wall behind the table was a banner, which said in giant letters, “Flobots.org. Harnessing the power of music and the people who love it.”

At about 9:00, the quiet jazz music in the background was replaced by live music. The event featured local artists such as Mane Rok, John Common, and Rob Drabkin, all personal friends of Giovanni. The crowd faced the stage and enjoyed the mellow music while sipping their free or cheap beer. At the end of the second artist, the result from a raffle was announced, and one lucky attendee went home with a graffiti painting that said simply, “Love.”

Giovanni was unavailable for comment, as she was busy with a massive crowd that had hundreds of questions. However, one woman’s love for love may very well set the foundation for a new mentality among the group of attendees, that love is beautiful, no matter what form it takes.