Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2lDlU8y5Xw&list=PLOQvdw7d0cd9RZZkd2lZy2hmrnJv-cfLI&index=48
Evan: So we are back here in the Jews 954 podcast, episode 53, with local artist and designer. How would you describe yourself?
Adam: Well, I am an artist, and I know that because I got a business certificate from the City of Oakland Park stating that I'm an artist. So that was like, wow, okay, I think I've made it. But as you think about that, what does that mean that I'm an artist? I look at the work that I'm doing right now, and I feel very connected to the ideas and concepts that I'm thinking about all the time, particularly in reference to where we are in society. I produce a lot of work. I have work here that I did 30, 40 years ago, where I physically welded or constructed things. But today, I work collaboratively with a group of artists in the studio, sometimes daily or a few times a week. On this particular day, there were three artists here, and I met with others producing work that I'll be showing in Palm Beach later this month. It's interesting to question who an artist is and what they do. I've added another title—philosopher—back to this. I'm also a yoga retreat owner and speaker, and our next upcoming event is at AAF Creatives this Friday morning.
Evan: Adam Dahle here at the Adam Dahle Studios in Oakland Park. If you didn't know about Jews 954, we started a social movement to cultivate culture and community, keeping you in the know with all the great things going on. The point of the podcast is also to connect you with amazing people doing important things in the community, like Adam has been doing. This podcast is brought to you by the Thousand Remains Artificial Reef Project, creating artistically crafted artificial reef modules to help save the reefs, create ecotourism, research opportunities, citizen science, and countless other benefits. To find out more, you can log on to [website]. But without much further ado, Adam, how did this all get started for you?
Adam: This current work?
Evan: No, no, initially—from the beginning, for those that don't know.
Adam: Well, a little bit about my background, which is very much part of what is now in my foreground as well. I grew up in the Midwest, in Indiana, back in the 50s and 60s. In 1963, I started in seminary and spent 12 years studying to be a priest. For those years, I was a monk in a place called Saint Margaret in southern Indiana. That was a very intense time of personal maturity and growth. I feel like those experiences deeply affect who I am today. But in the mid-70s, I decided that I didn't want to pursue the road to becoming a priest or continue in the monastery, so I left. Just coincidentally, I got a job in an architectural office and quickly moved from there to an interior design office, beginning what has been a 45-year career in interior design after attending seminary.
Adam: During the 70s, I lived in Louisville, Kentucky, working as a self-taught interior designer. I then left and moved to New York City, attended Pratt Institute, and got a master's in interior design. I was lucky enough to serendipitously meet one of the partners at I.M. Pei and Partners on a plane, which led to a job there that lasted several years. It was remarkable—from being a kid from Indiana to working at one of the most prestigious architectural firms in the world at that time. I got an amazing education in professionalism, design, and culture there. For many years, I worked for myself both in the States and abroad, doing interior design. That’s the backdrop for my aesthetic ideas and what attracts me about the work I do today.
Adam: Twelve years ago, I was on a yoga retreat in Costa Rica. Driving down a road, I saw a "For Sale" sign. They never tell you to buy something on a whim, but I did. After four days, I bought a piece of property in Costa Rica, and now we have a flourishing yoga retreat center on the west coast of Costa Rica. We’ve been doing that for 12 years. The energetic effect of owning that place has really helped reposition my thinking about who I am and where I fit in the world. I decided to come back to the States to move into retirement and Medicare and all that, but I didn’t want to do that long-distance, so I moved to Fort Lauderdale. Two years ago, I rented this first studio and started producing work based on Guns and Roses. Over the last year, I’ve produced a lot of work regarding social values and where we find ourselves in society today.
Evan: Throughout this journey, you’ve been an art appreciator, a collector—were you making art throughout your interior design career? Have you always been an artist? How did the transition go from your time in the seminary, your time doing interior design, and your time building and owning the yoga retreat to being the artist you are today? Have you always been an artist?
Adam: Yes, I remember clearly in high school taking art classes, but very quickly in the seminary and later in the monastery, I was put in charge of all the art-related things that were happening in the religious context—church decorations or design within the seminary and monastery. I’ve always had an interest and an aesthetic bent. Looking back at some of the things I did artistically back then, I didn’t have any formal training in sculpture or 3D art, but I’m very satisfied to see that even then, I had an intuitive sense about objects. I’ve always liked sculpture and objects. Even in New York City, where studio spaces are at a premium, I would buy cedar shims and make little Louise Nevelson-esque constructions. So, it’s always been part of my way of thinking. The pursuit of interior design, the way I was doing it, was always about its relationship to space, light, color, and shape. In many respects, it’s always been an aesthetic pursuit for me, not just an economic one. It wasn’t about matching patterns; it was about something bigger—very architectural.
Evan: One of the things we appreciate about your work is that it has meaning and context, especially at a time when artists can be impactful in spreading a message or movement. What was the spark that made you transition into political art or art as activism, or the work you’re making now? How did that transition happen?
Adam: That’s an interesting question. I’ve been thinking about that a lot, especially over the last year. Andrew, you, and I have been discussing the idea of identifying within the contemporary art scene works that have a broader place within our society, where the value isn’t just based on the beauty of the idea, technical expertise, dramatic use of materials, or scale, but has a meaning and a reference point with the viewer that transcends all of that. When I think about the text work I do and how it’s identified by the viewer, I see that I’m trying to appeal to a personal, individual, interior sense of morality and values. This particular work, "Count Your Blessings," is a very early version of what I’m doing now, which has become more complicated. But this resonates with me because I can express it as an idea without preaching, demanding action, or creating judgment. I’m just suggesting a thought. I think this type of work is accessible to many people. Contemporary art can sometimes feel distant, remote, and obscure, making it difficult for people to understand its meaning. For me, it’s important that this work is accessible to anyone who can perceive the language and the imagery. This particular imagery is the anthropomorphic target used in shooting ranges. The numerology here is meant to gauge the accuracy of the user, but we’ve taken it further to create rhymes with the numbers, connecting them to a larger sense of meaning within society. I’m trying to change the symbolism or meaning of these symbols and, in turn, change the viewer’s response to them.
Evan: For those unfamiliar with the early stages of this work, could you share a bit about the serendipitous meeting with your buddy that influenced this direction?
Adam: Sure. When I moved from Costa Rica four and a half years ago, I found a little place in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. While renovating the house, I started thinking about creating a coffee table for myself. People have asked how I came up with the imagery of Guns and Roses together. I can’t pinpoint a specific moment of merging ideas. Everyone assumes it’s because of the band, but honestly, I’ve never played Guns and Roses music for myself. I was listening to Gregorian chant when everyone else was listening to Guns and Roses. So, it’s kind of funny how that came about. I started working with this idea of combining Guns and Roses, which is a historically positioned juxtaposition of items. There’s a famous photograph taken by a French photographer of an anti-war rally where someone places a rose in a gun. That’s the first iconic image I had to research, though I didn’t remember it until I started working with this, and people started talking about it. About three or four years ago, I made this shadow box coffee table, using toy guns and plaster to create the piece. This was before Parkland, probably around the 2016 election.
Adam: I then started working with targets. I have a very large piece of work related to guns and violence at my home. I was already assembling a small body of work on this theme. One day, I was sitting on the seawall with my dog, Peggy, watching the world go by. A guy comes by, pets Peggy, and says what a nice dog she is. He walks away, but then turns back after 10 feet and says, “By the way, I’m Ted Deutch. I’m your congressman.” We struck up a conversation, and one thing led to another. I mentioned this to friends in Boca, who knew Ted well, and they suggested I host a fundraiser. That’s how I got introduced to Gail Schwartz, an amazing person behind the initiative BAN (Ban Assault Weapons Now), which is trying to get a ballot initiative on the 2020 election to ban assault weapons. One thing led to another, and we were planning this fundraiser. A friend of mine had sent me a Michael Franti video called "The Flower and the Gun." It was an incredibly emotional and beautiful four-minute video about people affected by gun violence. Serendipitously, I saw the video and thought I’d like to see him perform. I googled his tour schedule and saw that he was performing at Tortuga Music Festival on April 14th, and our fundraiser was on the 15th. Luckily, Ted had met Michael’s manager in California just a week or two before, and everything fell into place. Michael Franti ended up performing at our fundraiser, which then became a function at a gallery. I ended up producing 20 pieces of work for that show. Earlier this year, I spent an enormous amount of energy making the work, organizing the event, and promoting it. That’s where I met you, Evan—at that show.
Evan: Yes, at the Project Anne show, exactly.
Adam: We’ve developed a great relationship since then. There were some small shows this summer, but a friend of mine, who was hanging the show, has a gallery in West Palm Beach. He saw the work for the first time a week before the April show and asked me to be the artist to open their season. So, on November 30th, there will be a show at Steve Johnson’s gallery, Studios 1608, which Andrew and Evan are once again producing with me. We’ll have 40 pieces of artwork dealing with issues of violence, poverty, and immigration. We’ll also have a bespoke sort of happening afterward in a garden area with a DJ, open bar, and spoken word performance with Darius Art Prevails, who was the last Creative Zen speaker. It’s been a whirlwind year—crazy, crazy busy.
Evan: I’ve been involved in a few things, and I don’t think I’ve been involved with anything as cool as what you did with the Flower and the Gun festival. I still look back on that night. There’s a clip on Facebook somewhere of a trumpet player from MSD who got to practice one-on-one with Michael Franti behind the scenes. I was there for that moment, and it’s something I’ll never forget—seeing him play the trumpet that was specially engraved with bullet casings. It was a really emotional experience.
Adam: I’ll link the video recap of the festival in the comments. If you haven’t heard Michael Franti’s song "The Flower," it’s tough not to be moved by it. And being there with people like Fred Guttenberg and other families affected by gun violence made it even more powerful. Kudos to you, Gail, Meghan, BAN, Moms Demand Action, and everyone involved, including Abbie Laughlin for providing the space. It was a really powerful event, and I hope we can turn it into something recurring. Michael was glad to participate and donate his time. Fortunately, it aligned with Tortuga, and he was in town. That started to spark some beautiful things, which led to this relationship we’ve developed, and now to you speaking at Creative Zen this Friday.
Evan: We hold Creative Zen every second Friday morning of the month for free. It’s a monthly breakfast lecture series—a mini TED talk where we bring in a thought-provoking, inspiring speaker, author, artist, spoken word poet, or entrepreneur to share their story in an effort to connect, engage, and inspire the community. This one’s going to be at Art Gallery 21 in Wilton Manors, right near City Hall. Doors open at 8:30 AM, the talk starts at 9:00 AM, and you’re out of there by 10:00 AM. It’s a chance to meet Adam and mingle with him.
Evan:Then on November 30th, there’s the show at Studio 1608, which is a beautiful space in downtown West Palm Beach, just down the block from the Norton on Dixie Highway. It’s another free event, and the art will be on display in the gallery. We’ll also have the interactive spoken word DJ event I mentioned earlier, supporting two incredible philanthropic interests. We’re supporting the Art Prevails Project with Darius—a local initiative that sponsors arts programs in schools and for all age groups and demographics. If you haven’t met Darius or seen him perform, please come on the 30th. He’s a remarkable person—an actor, activist, and philanthropist.
Adam: Three years ago, I helped generate or start a philanthropy in Guatemala called Pianero Philanthropies. Pianero is a philanthropic organization that connects donors in the United States with small, off-the-grid, non-501(c)(3) local philanthropic work in Guatemala. This work is crucial for reestablishing the social safety net that the population needs in education, healthcare, safety, gender identity, and other areas. Pianero has become the leading source of information about philanthropic work in Guatemala. We feel very proud of the work we’re doing—not only on a local level, connecting donors with individual organizations but also in a broader context, positioning philanthropy in an important country of the Northern Triangle, which includes Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. They will be a beneficiary of donations from the sale of artwork and connections made through this event.
Evan: I think another thing we connected on is that we’re both altruists. Adam, you support arts locally here in Broward, extend your work to Palm Beach, Guatemala, Europe, and beyond.
Adam: This summer, at the beginning of the summer, we took our art to Washington, D.C. We had a piece of art on the National Mall, in front of the White House, and at the Capitol. The art I do is laminated imagery. This one is currently being cast in bronze. It’s a gun with text that says, “It’s about the money, honey.” We took a piece similar to this, which said, “I dare you to ignore me,” to the White House. We got amazing responses and interactions from people all over the world—Morocco, Germany, Spain, as well as high school groups from New Mexico and Texas. That was at the beginning of the summer, and then I took another piece to London and Berlin. I have a collaborating photographer I work with who was in the show, and we took the art, which is sculptural, and photographed it in different contexts, completely transforming the experience of seeing it.
Adam: During that time, I began thinking about how we see things—mainly on our cell phones. So, we’re creating two cell phone sculptures—one that’s seven feet tall with a photograph of my work in London and another that’s six feet high with a photograph of my work in Berlin. It’s a conversation about how we absorb information today and how it can be viewed in different ways and scales.
Evan: If they wanted to see this online, where could they find it?
Adam: You can go to Adam Dahle Studio to see a collection of work from the 13th Street show back in April 2019. After we finish the show in November, we’ll be putting that up as well. There are also other shows, like Art Fort Lauderdale, which is an environmental-themed show. It’s going to be an immersive experience.
Evan: That was Adam Dahle of AdamDahleStudio.com. You can find him on Instagram as well. Speaking of environmental efforts, Adam is a gracious supporter of the Thousand Remains Artificial Reef Project. We can’t wait for the dinner this Saturday night at Regina’s Farm.
Adam: It’s not sold out yet?
Evan: No, it’s not sold out yet. It’s going to be an amazing event supporting something really important to those of us in South Florida. Evan and the team at Thousand Mermaids do tireless work, and it’s going to be a fun night. Join us, meet the team. It’s a Thousand Mermaids Create a Reef fundraiser dinner. Everyone who attends will have their name on a plaque attached to the reef as a friend of the reef, living forever on the sea floor as part of this revolutionary project. If you didn’t know about Regina’s Farm, there’s usually over a year’s wait to make a reservation. Regina is a Brazilian farmer who hosts an amazing feast with over 20 different dishes. You can skip the year’s wait and attend this Saturday night.
Evan: You can also join us the night before Creative Zen at Raw Storytelling, hosted by our dear friend Eden Almasca of Witchcraft Branding. It’s our version of "The Moth"—every second Thursday night of the month at a coffee shop in downtown Fort Lauderdale. It’s a free event and a great event we’re proud to support. We’re also proud to support SoFar Sounds—a unique, intimate music experience that brings music to true fans in eclectic venues. You can sign up at SoFarSounds.com and find out more.
Evan: You can find me on social media at EvanSnow13 on Instagram, @Choose954, @ZeroEmptySpaces, @ArtFortLauderdale, and @1000Mermaids. The last question we’ll leave you with is, why do you choose 954?
Adam: I’m here because I want to be in this area. It’s a wide-open space, a metaphor for what can be accomplished here in this particular society, in this location, this community. I feel like there are a lot of opportunities, energy, and room for conversation with different voices. It’s a fertile place, not encrusted in decades of stratified arts organizations. There’s a real freshness, a real opportunity for people to come and be creatives here, connect with the community, and have opportunities they wouldn’t have elsewhere.
Evan: Amen. If you want to see this firsthand, if you’re an artist and want to plug into the creative community, I started the Choose 954 Artist Potluck Dinner. It takes place every last Sunday night of the month at 6 PM at different creative venues throughout Broward County. We’ve hosted them in Zero Empty Spaces on Las Olas, in Adam’s studio, at ArtServe, at the History Fort Lauderdale Museum, at Art in Oakland Park, and Angela Rushia Studio. This next month, we’ll be at our newest Zero Empty Spaces location in downtown Hollywood. It’s for artists only, to connect, engage, and inspire our local artists and creative community. It’s a beautiful thing. We’re going on our sixth one now. I’d like to hear why you choose 954. You can email me at evan@choose954.com. We hope to see you this Friday morning for Creative Zen, see you Saturday night for the Creative Reef Fundraiser Dinner at Regina’s Farm, and I’ll also mention Saturday during the afternoon is my dear friend Alexa Carlin’s Women Empower Expo at the Convention Center. It’s the fourth annual installment. Alexa was the speaker at a talk similar to Creative Zen, where I received my "aha" moment that led me down this road of creativity and inspiration. I’m forever grateful for her, and four years later, it’s still a great event for both men and women. I’ve spoken at it, sponsored it, and I’m glad to participate. That’s this Saturday, November 9th, at the Broward County Convention Center.
Evan: For everything else, you can find it on the Facebook event calendar. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me—I’m an open book. We’ll see you this weekend. Cheers!
Adam: Cheers!
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