The Art of the Personal Project: Eric Melzer

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:  Eric Melzer

 

I created ‘The Play Project’ to celebrate neighborhood play and good health during the isolation of the pandemic.  I challenged myself to build a photographic project around outdoor fun within a five-mile radius of where I live. That took me to the Peavey Park basketball courts in Minneapolis about a mile from my house.

I’ve shared these images with the players in both print and digital forms. The work earned a grant that I used to create a custom, unbound, tabloid-sized, poster book so players could share and display large images of themselves using inexpensive slip frames. I also created custom basketball cards and fine art prints for each player.

Images from this body of work have earned ten photography awards to date in Graphis, Communication Arts, IPA, American Photographer IA/IP and ASMP. The tabloid also just won a Gold award in the Graphis Design Competition.

I like pro sports and competitions like the Olympics because they give us heroes to look up to – but they are exclusive of most of us. The inclusive nature of neighborhood pick-up sports means everyone gets the ball, has fun, gets exercise, and builds friendships.

Photography really can build communities and help people feel seen. A quote from one of the players, Kenneth Walton, sums it up:

“Honestly when seeing the photos I felt a huge sense of accomplishment, community and pride. A lot of times when we play together outsiders look in with negative perceptions of us guys at the park. The pictures shine a positive light on the family we’ve built around Play!”

To see more of this project, click here

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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 advertising and in-house corporate industry for decades.  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.  Follow her at @SuzanneSease.  Instagram