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 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: Hugh Kretschmer
Working Title: Boxed
This project’s impetus started with watching boardwalk chalk artists create elongated illustrations that, when viewed from a distance, foreshortened to appear three-dimensional, especially when people interacted with them. In my approach, the opposite happens- a 3D collage assemblage that ends up appearing in two dimensions.
I chose an outside corner as the overall shape because I wasn’t quite sure my theory would work. I had to keep it simple. I realized the “box” metaphor when I made my first sketches and thought about what that meant.
To me, a box can either be protection or a prison, depending on the subject. If in the form of protection, an environmental subject comes to mind. If in the form of imprisonment, then social issues seem applicable. So, I chose the latter as my first subject, and my friend, Cash Danielsen, came to mind.
When I approached him initially, I wanted to make sure the metaphor was something he could relate to in his experience as a transgender person. He confirmed that, indeed, it did, and away we went.
What I find so exciting about this project are all the possibilities in the vast array of subject matter and the technical aspects this process demands. It involves a precise workflow that I thrive on as an artist. For the illusion to succeed, all working parts must be duplicated over two capture sessions. Everything is marked, measured, calculated, and recorded throughout the entire project. Only in this way can the process deliver an illusion created in front of the camera. It’s that same outcome I’ve strived for throughout my 32-year-long practice, and I never seem to grow tired of its magic.
~Hugh
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 Twitter feed with helpful marketing information because she believes that marketing should be driven by brand and not by specialty. Follow her at @SuzanneSease. Instagram
Success is more than a matter of your talent. It’s also a matter of doing a better job presenting it. And that is what I do with decades of agency and in-house experience.
1 Comment
Absolutely thrilled to see this new concept being shared and talked about. Hugh remains at the top of his game. His ideas consistently impact and elevate our creative space.
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