The Art of the Personal Project is a crucial element to let potential buyers see how you think creatively on your own. I am drawn to personal projects that have an interesting vision or that show something I have never seen before. In this new revised thread, I’ll include a link to each personal project with the artist statement so you can see more of the project. Please note: This thread is not affiliated with any company; I’m just featuring projects that I find. Please DO NOT send me your work. I do not take submissions.
Today’s featured artist: Evan McGlinn
I was originally asked to travel to Newtok, Alaska for a major US clothing company that wanted to rebrand itself as being an environmentally savvy and green. I was told to write a story and take dramatic photographs to document how Newtok, Alaska was sinking into the sea because of rising global temperatures and melting permafrost.
When I submitted the story and the photographs, the CEO of the company thought it was too depressing and she requested that I remove any mention of “climate change” from the article.
I asked that my name be taken off the article.
Many of my pictures – the ones showing garbage strewn about the town and muddy seawater amongst crumbling wooden boardwalks – were omitted from the story. “Don’t you have any images that are happier?” I was asked.
No I do not.
The situation in Newtok is more dire than my photographs could possibly convey and I have posted the original draft of my story on my website so that people can understand what is happening all across Alaska and the northern part of the globe. Similar stories are playing out in the Solomon Islands and other coastal regions of the world. We ignore these stories, and these images, at our own peril.
To see more of this project, click here
APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s. After establishing the art buying department at The Martin Agency, then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies, she decided to be a consultant in 1999. She has a new Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty. Follow her at @SuzanneSease.
1 Comment
Great work, Evan and props for showcasing the story the way you want it to be seen instead of how others want it to appear.
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