Inside the genius
‘Meow Wolf: Origin Story’ chronicles journey of Santa Fe artist collective
Meow Wolf. It’s captivated the imagination since opening its permanent space in Santa Fe in 2016. The outside world sees it as an overnight success, yet it wasn’t.
For 10 years, the artist collective has been flipping the arts scene on its head and now is seeing results in transforming an old bowling alley into the permanent space.
It was the job of Morgan Capps and Jilann Spitzmiller to tell the story of the decadelong journey.
“The scope of the whole thing was trying to understand in the context of a 90-minute film and making sense of our material,” Capps says. “We needed to capture what it all means for the group and where they are going.”
“Meow Wolf: Origin Story” will screen at 7:30 p.m. nationwide as part of a Fathom Events presentation. It will screen at the Jean Cocteau Cinema and Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, as well as Cottonwood and Winrock 16 in Albuquerque.
The film tells the meteoric rise of a penniless, anarchic art collective as it attracts the support of Santa Fe resident George R.R. Martin and morphs into a multi-million-dollar corporation in just a few short years.
With the opening of its instantly successful exhibition, “The House of Eternal Return,” the group sets its sights on new exhibits around the world.
“Origin Story” follows the seven eclectic founding members and hundreds of volunteers as they struggle with fracture, loss, success and failure over a decade — while constantly redefining themselves and what art can really be. Spitzmiller says it was difficult to figure out how to end the film.
“Meow Wolf is evolving so quickly,” she says. “We’re not trying to tell the entire story because it’s still evolving. It’s going to be a story that continues to be told through film.”
Putting together the film took years to complete, and Capps and Spitzmiller found themselves rushing to get it done at the end.
Often working seven days a week for 10-hour days, the pair found themselves also creating a strong bond
as friends and filmmakers.
“We learned how to trust each other and that’s a great feeling,” the pair says. “It was important that we worked together to get the best product we could.”
With Meow Wolf planning to expand to Denver, they wanted to include this element, as well.
“A couple of months before the deadline, we were trying to run up to Denver to get one last shot,” Capps says. “The story continues and hopefully the film gives audiences a better understanding of where the group is going.”
The pair continues to film for upcoming projects for the collective. They have also been enjoying the feedback off the film after film festivals.
“There’s nothing better than having a moment when someone has connected with the work,” Capps says. “We poured our hearts into the film and to see someone get inspired by it is a wonderful feeling.”