So Entertaining | Art View
By Julie Tremaine
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The Eye of the Beholder Photographer Scott Indermaur focuses on connecting with his subjects For Scott Indermaur,
inspiration is not only about creating work as an artist, but finding that inspiration in the people he photographs. The East Greenwich resident is a nationally-known photographer who started as a photojournalist, but gradually transitioned into corporate photography. “I started a career as a storyteller,” he says, “through pictures and newspapers, and I’ve come full circle now doing what I call narrative photography. Nowadays I’m telling a story through photography or multimedia.” Scott turned his desire to tell people’s stories through portraiture into Revealed, a photo series that’s all about describing peoples’ spiritual experiences. He gives each person a wooden box, then asks his subject to fill it with objects that describe his or her beliefs. “I’ve always wanted to do a project with a lot of meaning behind it – to peel back some layers, and see how much I can get to know my subjects,” he says. “I thought it would be a weekend project, but five years later, it’s really grown. I’ve done 160 people.” When WRNI, the Rhode Island affiliate of National Public Radio, heard about Scott’s work, the station approached him about collabo-
rating on their This I Believe series, in which people write essays about their beliefs. Now, Scott photographs all of those contributors for This I Believe Revealed. “I want this to give people permission to think about themselves in a way they’ve never thought about themselves. I’ve gotten a lot of random emails over the years by people who have been touched by the project who aren’t actual subjects,” he says. Now, the photographer and the station are debuting a 45-minute documentary, Revealed: Portraits from Beneath One’s Surface, that goes behind the scenes of the project. “The film adds another level of insight into the project,” Scott describes. “We just decided to focus on Rhode Islanders, and it’s gotten to be a pretty good size film.” After its debut on May 25 at the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport, the film will travel the country at film festivals. In September, a book of portraits and essays from This I Believe Revealed will be released. Though he and his family now call East Greenwich home, they spent 15 years in Kansas before relocating to Rhode Island. “We just wanted to experience a new life somewhere else,” he says. They spent six years
researching the country, and focused on the East Coast. “I grew up sailing, so I wanted to be near the ocean. Someone suggested Rhode Island, and after a few visits, we were like, let’s go.” They’ve now been here four years. “I love to sail, I love getting to eat fresh seafood,” Scott says. “There’s just so much to do. There are all these life experiences that I had never experienced before.” That desire to have new experiences, and to approach things in new ways, definitely translates to Scott’s work. “It’s about the importance of connecting with your subject – understanding who they are, and building off of that. It makes a huge difference,” he says. “I think connections are really important, and that’s what I’ve learned through this project. It could be as simple as doing some research, or just making conversation and connecting on that personal level, not just the photographic level.” Revealed: Portraits from Beneath One’s Surface will debut May 25 at the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport. For more information, visit www.revealedproject.com or www. siphotography.com.
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