Craig Semetko’s project “America: E Pluribus Unum” is now on Kickstarter

• 12 years ago
• Categories: Leica Photographers
• Tags: Craig Semetko

Craig Semetko launched his new project America: E Pluribus Unum on Kickstarter. The entire project has been shot with a Leica M9. I personally attended one of his Leica workshops and can only encourage you to support his venture. Check also his last book Unposed.

Some more info on the America: E Pluribus Unum project:

• There will be an exhibition of work from Unposed and the E Pluribus Unum project beginning November 9th at the Leica Store, Washington DC. It coincides with FotoweekDC and will hang into the new year. Craig Semetko will also be giving a presentation of the work from both projects at the store November 15th and 16th as one of their FotoDC events.
• Craig Semetko will be speaking November 18th at the New Jersey Photo Expo for Bergen County Camera. Prints from Unposed will be exhibited at their Westwood NJ store.
• E Pluribus Unum will be the subject of a solo exhibition at the Leica Gallery New York City in the fall of 2013.

From Kickstarter:

The Idea

In early 2011, I, like many Americans, felt that the USA was going through a disturbing period–the people were polarized, the civil discourse was cynical and angry, the government was dysfunctional and the economy was still recovering from the Great Recession. I felt it was important to document this difficult period in our history, so I began driving throughout the country, taking pictures without a particular goal in mind other than to capture America and Americans as I saw them.

Where The Rubber Meets The Road

Many months and over 40,000 miles later (as of this writing), and counting, I am in the thick of it. “America: E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One)” is a photographic project looking at life in the United States during a difficult time in our history. The project unofficially kicked-off on Independence Day, 2011 in Independence, California and will end Inauguration Day, January 20th, 2013 in Washington, D.C. The latin phrase “e pluribus unum” means “out of many, one,” and has been a de facto motto for the United States since its inception in 1776. In choosing it as the working title for this project, I hope to show the vast geographic, ethnic, and economic diversity of Americans, while never forgetting that out of the many we are still one–each of us an American.

The Pitch

Until this point this entire project has been self-funded–I didn’t want to be influenced by corporate sponsors and I didn’t want to crowd finance without having work to show. I am asking for your help to finish the project. Your donations will go towards accommodations, fuel costs, and general living expenses. I am very passionate about this project and deeply appreciate your generosity towards completing what I hope will be an enduring documentation of a brief moment in America’s history.