Eric Mueller: Reset 2021

Online Exhibition

January 7 to May 1, 2022

Eric Mueller, *January 1, Bde Maka Ska, Minneapolis, 1/365*, 2021. Digital photograph.

Eric Mueller is a Minneapolis artist, photographer, filmmaker, and teacher known for his graphic style and strength in composition. He has used his photography to create and

connect with a community of other photographers through the social network service

Instagram, and by organizing public meet-ups to share ideas, collaborate, and create. During the shutdowns, quarantines, and isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mueller embarked on a one photograph per day project as a way of coping with the events of 2020 and 2021. On

exhibit are selections of his 2021 One Photo a Day project featuring Minnesota landmarks, waters, and people. His photographs are arranged chronologically beginning with January on the outer walls. All 365 photographs from his project are posted on his Instagram page instagram.com/ericmueller.

“Like most people, 2020 kept me inside, away from family and friends, trying to figure out this new world and how I fit into it. Making photos doesn’t seem important during an existential crisis.I hardly shot any photos in 2020; my artistic practice felt unimportant compared to

everything else that was happening. By the end of that year I’d felt suspended in limbo for so long that I needed to do something to allow the creative part of myself to show itself again. In short, I was ready for a reset.

I had been considering doing a 365 project; I would shoot and post one photo per day. The only rule was that I couldn’t work ahead; the photo had to be shot that day. I find that I do well when I have some boundaries; working within the rules I set for myself forces me to be creative.

Projects like this are a lot of work. You have to always be thinking about making a photo, whether you’re feeling creative or not. Most days it’s really fun, thinking about what you’re going to do or what location you’re going to shoot at, but some days you’re so busy with other stuff that you curse yourself for committing to the project. Forcing myself to create an image every single day has helped me regain my equilibrium. It has shown me that even though I can’t control the world, I can take charge of a little piece of it, one photo at a time.

I shot around 70,000 photos for this project in order to get 365 photos. Some days I would have a really hard time getting a photo I liked; other days I had four or five different photos to choose from.

Not every photo I made for this project was great, and that’s okay.

The process is sometimes just as important as the end product.”

- Eric Mueller

Exhibition Sponsor:

Gallery

How do you reset?

Sometimes we all feel like we need a fresh start. A “reset” can be physical, mental, or emotional. Send us a photo that you have taken that represents how you’ve reset yourself and include a brief description of how it worked for you. Show us something that makes you feel refreshed. Email your photo and comments to reset2021@mmam.org and we will include it in a video slideshow in the exhibition.