The little village of Petersburgh, NY, nestled in the hills and mountains of eastern Rensselaer County, New York, has long been known for the rugged beauty of its landscape. Â What is less well known is that this setting has, over the years, attracted a unique mix of independent artists and visionaries, individuals who have had a lifelong dream and realized it. Â From disciplines as diverse as music, painting, master masonry, sculpture, jewelry and metal sculpture, ceramic pottery and more, artists are thriving in this small village.
Peter’s People — Creating the Dream by musician/video artists Barton and Priscilla McLean, is the story of eight such artists and musicians living and working in Petersburgh.
Barton McLean’s score for the film, based on musical materials from the artist/musicians featured in the video, was produced entirely in Kyma using the Timeline. McLean pioneered the Synthi 100 and Fairlight CMI in the United States, and has subsequently gone through numerous studio incarnations centered on the Moog, Arp, EU, Serge, and now, Kyma. The husband and wife composing duo have produced CDs on the labels EM-Japan, Folkways, CRI, Centaur, Lousiville Orchestra, Orion, Opus 1, Advance, Parma/Naxos, and Innova.
International touring and media artists in their own right, the McLeans chose in this film to focus not on their own work, but on the many other talented and successful creative dreamers they found, including a world class bagpiper who founded a school in Petersburgh, a master award-winning stone mason whose unique stone work has graced buildings and landscapes from Atlanta to the Adirondacks, a watercolor artist who appeared in “Oprah†magazine and has published a definitive book on watercoloring, and several others.