Photographer Mike Mergen - P.A.W. Print - Philadelphia Arts Writers

When Mike Mergen took what would become one of his favorite photographs back in 1999, his career as a photographer was just beginning. He was dispatched by The Catholic Courier to cover the funeral of a popular bishop in Rochester, New York. The black and white shot reveals an open casket situated to the right of several empty church pews. The subject of the photo is a man seen from behind, sitting alone, head tilted. Mergen's artistry grew out of experimentation within official journalistic assignments.

"It's different from other funeral pictures. It's not the crying mom, not the pallbearers carrying in the box," Mergen describes the rationale of his selection. He explains that this image was culled from the moments before the funeral mass was to begin. The photo situates the viewer at the back of the church, witnessing a moment that would otherwise go unseen. This purposeful gaze invites reflection on all that passes unobserved and unexamined, sparking the viewer's impulse to speculate on the meaning of all the overlooked images that comprise a life.

Part photojournalist, part fine arts photographer, Mergen's body of work has a split personality. The impulse to document experience has motivated Mergen's photography since he picked up the Mergen family's point-and-shoot camera to take part in an after-school photography program in fourth grade. When Mergen enrolled in RIT's photography program, he wasn't sure which of the school's seven photography tracks he fit into. He settled into the photojournalism department, not seeing himself as a creator of the "blurry, grainy, conceptual images," Mergen associated with fine art.

At RIT he sharpened his skills and prepared for a career as a photojournalist. He sold his first photo - a portrait of the mayor of a small New York town, while still a student. During this project, he fell in love with the small town landscape and the ideology it represents.


photo, Mike Mergen

Mergen explained that this was the first time he was struck by the dramatic advantages of "integrating commercial and residential space in places like Rochester, or here, in places like Ardmore, New Hope, and Rittenhouse Square." This integration is what makes these neighborhoods desirable places in which to live. Mergen noted, "People don't seem to realize why they love going down the shore. It's great to be able to walk where you want to go, to not need your car."

That mayor recommended Mergen read The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape, by James Howard Kunstler, a book that examines and indicts the suburbanization of the United States. These ideas continue to influence the way he sees his surroundings and, consequently, much of his work.

As a photojournalist, Mergen rarely has the opportunity to take the kind of pictures he wants on the job. The business of selling papers frequently obstructs a photographer's drive to present an original way of covering the news. Inspired by people, events, and other aspects of daily life, Mergen feels compelled to bring his artistic sensibilities to his work as a photojournalist, but is thwarted by the fact that offbeat pictures don't sell. Editors expect a certain picture, a predictable and familiar rendering of people and events. Mergen explains, "At a thirty-minute press conference, it may take me 28 minutes to get the safe picture, the picture I know that the editor wants, the picture that they are paying for."

After spending several years working nonstop as a Boston-based photojournalist, Mergen returned to the Philadelphia area 18 months ago. It was a homecoming for him; he grew up in Fort Washington. Here, the less expensive cost of living freed up time for him to visit his mom, finding new inspiration on the very street where he grew up. Suddenly this block he knew so well, his personal geography of nowhere, yielded compelling photographs.


	photo, Mike Mergen

"Sometimes it's the one thousand and first time you look at something that you see the picture," he explains. One of these photographs shows unadorned aluminum siding transposed against stucco wall. It is the side view of a typical suburban home. There are not windows on this side of the house. This photo places a common but ignored image under a microscope. By drawing attention to this ugliness, this disregard for art in modern architecture, Mergen's photos have the power to pose questions about the diminished role of beauty in everyday life. His selection of images evokes sadness, loneliness, and all the isolation brought on by the subdivision lifestyle.

The photographer explains, "It's not a political agenda, but suburbia destroys community, destroys our sense of place. I want to make beautiful photos of ugly places." The freshness and beauty of these images dwell in the verdant, well-manicured lawns, the radiant blue of the skies. It's the intrusion of man and industry that complicate the photos, raise issues, provoke.

This renewed interest in fine arts photography led Mergen to apply for a fellowship with Philadelphia's prestigious Creative Artists Network (CAN). Located in the Barclay building on the southeast corner Rittenhouse Square, CAN provides a range of programs and opportunities for emerging visual artists, often filling the gap left between finishing a college or university program and beginning a career.

Creative Artists Network accepts applications twice annually, and approximately 5 percent of applicants receive a coveted two-year fellowship. Seasonal group exhibits give up-and-coming artists a place to show their work and a way to connect with the visual arts community. While Creative Artists Network provides a range of programs, it is this ability to "get art on the walls" that is most valuable to Mergen.

Genevieve Coutroubis, Director of Programs for CAN, said "The most important thing that we do is offer tools for artists that they don't get elsewhere." Besides exhibiting emerging artists' work, CAN provides career development, mentoring, and a vibrant artistic community that is two decades old. Fellows have the opportunity to network with CAN alumni, attend lectures, meet other emerging artists and connect with art collectors.

Coutroubis noted that Mergen is "doing exceptionally well. His work is received very enthusiastically. Two of his pieces sold in his very first show."

Before becoming a CAN fellow, Mergen felt that his most interesting work was confined to his computer's hard drive, viewed casually by friends and family. He credits Creative Artists Network with invigorating his creative work and sharpening his focus on career goals that transcend photojournalism.

Detailed information about CAN's fellowships and other programs are available through their website: www.creativeartistsnetwork.org. The upcoming application deadline for CAN fellowship is October 1, 2004. A selection of Mike Mergen's photography is available online at www.mergenphotography.com. Mergen's work will be part of upcoming Creative Artists Network exhibits. The offices of CAN, whose website is creativeartistsnetwork.org, are located at 237 South 18th Street in Philadelphia and can be reached by calling (215) 546-7775.