The Mask in Your Dreams Is Crossing the Finish Line

R. Alan Brooks is a well-known Denver writer, comic book artist, professor, podcaster and editorialist, which is why two employees at the Denver Art Museum commissioned him last spring to produce a companion book for the Arts of Africa gallery. The museum wanted something to connect children to the work, and also serve as an accessible welcoming point for families.

"Looking at [African art] from an American paradigm, particularly for children, some of the masks and art pieces might be intimidating, or even scary," says Brooks. "I love the idea of bridging that gap, showing what these images really represent: family, honoring loved ones who've passed away — things like that. To be able to connect these beautiful, universal themes represented by this African art to the act of a child being able to love themselves...for me, that's the greatest bridge between these two things. So kids can go into that gallery and really get the fullness of what was intended by the people who created it.

"Normally when I do a commission, there are two parts to it," he continues. "The project's parameters and goals, obviously, but also from me as an artist: What makes this personally interesting to me? I've been wanting to do something for children of my niece's age. She was eight when this started. So it also became about: What gift would I want to give my niece? I want her to love herself. Yo, I want her to be filled with self-assurance, happiness and health. I want that for all children. So I wanted to write these messages into a story for children her age." 

Brooks read up on some children's books, "just to get a sense of scope and the rhythm of the language," he says, and then took his niece along to get her input. Her reaction was to ask if she was going to be in the book — one of those questions from an excited kid who has already decided the answer is yes, but wants the confirmation. "I said, 'Yes, if you wanna be,'" laughs Brooks. "So she's in it."
And so the children's book project The Mask in Your Dreams was born, and progressed with Brooks doing the writing and art and collaborator Lonnie MF Allen handling the color work. It's a forty-page hardcover containing the story told in both English and Spanish, aimed at kids ages six and up.

How can families get it? That's where things got a little complicated. During the creative process, the two DAM employees who commissioned the project went through some personal issues that took them away from their positions for a bit — and the book project, suddenly without museum leadership, had no one to finish it up and get it into print. "It was just one of those things," Brooks says, "and for a minute, it looked like the project was in doubt."

Brooks was determined to see the project through, however, and since the book was essentially done just short of printing, he did some research and found that an initial run of physical books would cost about $8,000. With that, he turned to Kickstarter, which in the past had helped him bring other projects to fruition, such as his more adult-oriented comics Anguish Gardens and Grieving Mall.

And he included a pretty hilarious video to go with the campaign, parodying some of the more melodramatic ask-videos from both Kickstarter and commercial TV:

The Kickstarter met its $8,000 goal and then some, perhaps buoyed by the campaign winning the crowdfunding website's "Things We Love" designation in its first couple of days. "That was amazing," Brooks says, "and sort of out of nowhere. I have no idea how this project caught their attention, but it's gratifying, for sure."

Despite having to turn to Kickstarter to see the book project through, Brooks credits the Denver Art Museum with being a fantastic creative partner. "They've been so supportive throughout the process," he says. "Really cool partners. Especially considering that even though they commission me to do something, I still get to own the product. That's very generous to artists."

Brooks reports that despite the hiccups along the way, both the Denver Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art were two of the first to back the Kickstarter campaign when it launched. "It's a dope community out there," he says.

While the campaign has been successful, Brooks stresses that it's continuing through Sunday, April 14. And there's a good reason that fans and art lovers should still contribute, beyond just getting a copy of the book: Not only is Brooks planning to donate 25 copies of The Mask in Your Dreams to the Denver Art Museum to be offered in its gift shop, but he's also giving two copies of the book to local schools for every four additional backers the project registers. 

"There's more good we can do with this book," Brooks promises. "I'd like to get copies into as many Denver-area school libraries as we can. It's turned into this very positive thing, and I'm glad to be able to share that."

The crowdfunding campaign for The Mask in Your Dreams continues through April 14. To get a book and support both local museums and elementary school libraries, check out the Kickstarter page.