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: Stephen Wilkes
Coney Island, Day to Night™, 2011
Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY is home to one of the most iconic boardwalks and amusement parks in the United States. I photographed from a crane 40 ft. above the boardwalk, for 18 hours. It was a beautiful summer day in July, and the beach was filled with people. My favorite part of creating this photograph was simply the people-watching. Coney Island has an incredible mix of people; and as a street photographer, floating above that boardwalk is the best seat in the house.
“To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle”.
-Walt Whitman
Day to Night is a 14 year personal journey to capture fundamental elements of our world through the hourglass of a single day. It is a synthesis of art and science, an exploration of time, memory, and history through the 24- hour rhythms of our daily lives.
I photograph from locations and views that are part of our collective memory. Working from a fixed camera angle, I capture the fleeting moments of humanity and light as time passes. After photographing as many as 1500 single images, I select the best moments of the day and night. Using time as my guide, all of these moments are then seamlessly blended into a single photograph – a visualization of our conscious journey with time.
In a world where humanity has become obsessively connected to personal devices, the ability to look profoundly and contemplatively is becoming an endangered human experience. Photographing a single place for up to 36 hours becomes a meditation. It has informed me in a unique way, inspiring deep insights into life’s narrative, and the fragile interaction of humanity within our natural and constructed world.
-Stephen Wilkes
To see more of this on going 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 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
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