Consulting Activities: Fundraising, marketing, public relations, business development

Collaborators: TASCHEN Publishing, Nikon U.S.A., Nikon Europe, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Sposto Interactive

Concept:

The world premiere of Life as a multimedia orchestral performance with music by Philip Glass took place in Santa Cruz , California , on July 29 and 30, 2006 in collaboration with the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and conductor Marin Alsop. In September 2006 art book publisher TASCHEN will release Life: A Journey Through Time as a large-format photographic book, and Naturalis, the National Museum of Natural History of the Netherlands , will open an exhibition of Life on September 22, 2006. A dedicated website developed with Sposto Interactive Studio will be launched concurrently.

Six years in development, Life: A Journey Through Time is Frans Lanting's most ambitious project to date. In the year 2000, he set off on a journey of photographic discovery that parallels new scientific insights about the story of life on Earth. His search has been wide-ranging and provocative, leading him from microscopic worlds to primordial landscapes that preserve time capsules of life's history. The result is a glorious celebration of planet Earth that inspires and informs through images and stories of the amazing biodiversity that surrounds us all. From prehistoric trilobites to giant tortoises, delicate jellies to spiny octopus trees, and from steaming jungles to shimmering coral reefs, Life: A Journey Through Time is a testament to the magical beauty and enduring miracle of our living planet.

Elements of Life: A Journey Through Time

The Multimedia Orchestral Performance

World Premiere at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Santa Cruz, California, July 29 and 30, 2006, Images by: FRANS LANTING Music by: PHILIP GLASS Conductor: MARIN ALSOP

A multimedia musical version of Life: A Journey Through Time will be produced by the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in collaboration with Frans Lanting and visual designer Alexander V. Nichols, with music for orchestra by Philip Glass, a composer internationally renowned for his opera, dance, orchestra, and film scores. Led by acclaimed conductor Marin Alsop, Life: A Journey Through Time is a groundbreaking new multimedia work that merges art and science, photography and music. The world premiere performances will take place on July 29 and 30, 2006, at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz , California . Performances of Life by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra have been scheduled in Washington , D.C. and Baltimore , Maryland , for February 22, 23, 24, and 25, 2007. The Cabrillo Festival is in discussion with other orchestra partners to join in a series of worldwide performances in North America and Europe between September 2006 and September 2008.

The Book

A large-format photographic book to be published worldwide in September 2006 by TASCHEN
Life: A Journey Through Time will be published worldwide as a large-format photographic book by TASCHEN, the renowned publisher of exquisite coffee-table books featuring the world's foremost artists. The lavish, 304-page hardcover book includes more than 175 color images by Frans Lanting along with personal stories and interpretive scientific text produced in collaboration with editor Christine Eckstrom. The book will be released in September 2006 in English, German, French, Dutch, and Spanish language editions.Frans Lanting's previous books have received worldwide acclaim. “No one turns animals into art more completely than Frans Lanting,” writes The New Yorker magazine about Lanting's book Jungles . His book Eye to Eye: Intimate Encounters with the Animal World was named by PBS-San Francisco in the United States as one of the 50 most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century.

The Exhibition

A photographic exhibition to be launched September 22, 2006 by Naturalis, the National Museum of Natural History of the Netherlands

Life: A Journey Through Time will be produced as a touring photographic exhibition by Naturalis, the National Museum of Natural History of the Netherlands , in collaboration with Frans Lanting. The Life exhibit will be launched on September 22, 2006 at Naturalis in Leiden , the Netherlands, where it will be displayed through September 3, 2007. Afterward, the exhibit will tour through Europe and around the world. A separate North American exhibition that will tour concurrently with the European exhibit is also planned. Two previous exhibitions of Frans Lanting's work, Eye to Eye and Jungles , have been touring Europe and North America for more than seven years and have been featured at leading museums including The Field Museum in Chicago , the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and the National Geographic Society's Explorers Hall.

The Website

An original production for the world wide web, www.LifeThroughTime.com , to be launched in September 2006; designed and developed in partnership with Sposto Interactive Studio, www.sposto.com .The musical premieres, exhibitions, and book release of Life: A Journey Through Time will be accompanied by the launch of an educational website. The Life website, www.LifeThroughTime.com , will serve as a portal for the project and for learning and information about life on Earth. It will connect web users with images and stories, links and interactive applications, and will provide information about the musical performances, the book, the exhibitions, and the photographs.