Nels Akerlund’s American People Project = Visualized Souls

March 27th, 2009 at 02:55pm Anne O'Keefe

Nels Akerlund shared images from his American People Project on March 24th @ RAM.  When completed the project will document the largest collection of American people in history. www.nelsakerlund.comThe photo release became the story behind the people, “what would people be surprised to know about you?” and “what was the most life-changing thing that’s happened to you?” You can imagine the responses with an age range of 16 hours to 114 years old.  The shots are taken from about two feet away so the detail is incredible. I never thought laugh lines and wrinkles could be so engaging. Akerlund explained that the images are also to capture groups that are going extinct, like the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz.  There was a reunion of the cast of Animal House in Chicago and they were photographed, the women cast members are fairing much better than the men, just an fyi.  Five hundred residents were photographed in the northern- most city in Alaska, in just 4 days.  My personal favorite was of Larry Morrissey, (I’m leaving off the title of Mayor on purpose). Larry’s image shows an optimistic visionary in a baseball cap. While there is a smattering of celebrities in the mix the most interesting are those whose names I can’t remember. The project embodies the essence that each human being on the planet, has worth, has served an important role during their existence and is admired for their life history, even strangers who are simply viewing them on a screen in a museum in Rockford.

Entry Filed under: Local Artists