Western students' portraits are displayed on the Macy's skybridge in Seattle. // Photo courtesy of Garth Amundson

Towering seven stories above Third Avenue, the Macy’s skybridge is aglow with the vibrant colors of the summer season, as well as with the faces of Western students.

The Seattle Macy’s is participating in the company’s “Summer of Love” promotion during June and July, a nationwide effort by the chain to recall the free-flowing fashion of a summer 40 years past.

According to a Macy’s press release, the objectives of the campaign are to take the distinct fashions of the hippie movement and incorporate them into the summer fashions of 2009.

The visual manager of the Seattle Macy’s location approached Garth Amundson, associate professor of photography at Western, to find inspiration for the campaign, and Amundson turned to his color photography students to bring the bridge to life.

“For the students, this project was about bridging the gap between fine and commercial art forms,” Amundson said. “It’s a perfect space to display this kind of work, and while we’ve used other spaces in the past, I enjoy how this kind of a venue changes how the art is seen.”

With a location between the historic Macy’s building and its parking facility, the sky bridge will be sure to attract more than a few pairs of eyes.

Pedestrians on the bridge will be greeted with large self-portraits of the selected Western photographers, wearing the kind of nostalgic apparel that the Macy’s promotion is driven toward selling at department stores across the nation. Accented by brightly colored backdrops, the large posters are clearly visible from the high-paced intersection of Pike Street and Third Avenue in downtown.

The project was developed by a group of ten color photography students under the instruction of Amundson. Contributing students include Sarah Brown, Jeffrey Emtman, Margaret Faubion, Lillian Furlong, Megan Harmon, Seth Lunde and Marshall Westerman.

But for students, the promotion offered more than just a chance to have their hard work appreciated.

“Everyone is a photographer these days,” said Western senior Adam McRae, one of the exhibition’s contributing artists. “But if you look at the most successful photographers, they have had to be flexible enough to do both fine and commercial artwork.”

McRae described his work with the "Bridging the Gap" project as a chance to do both, in a setting outside of photography classes.
“It’s definitely been eye-opening,” McRae said. “Hopefully we will be able to do more displays as a result of this one.”

Amundson said as an instructor, this is exactly the kind of experience that he hopes to give his students through such a project.

“How better can you teach students the balance between art and practicality?” Amundson said, “The project was very commercially driven.”

After Western photography students complete their undergraduate degree, they tend to pursue three primary commercial fields: freelance photography, photography to market a specific company or product and graduate studies in teaching fine arts, Amundson said.

Amundson said he believes this commercial influence to photography cannot be taught inside the classroom— it can only be learned in the work place.

“The thing is, these students have to make a living, and this kind of learning can help provide that,” Amundson stated.

The Bridging the Gap project, though grounded in the care-free spirit of the late 1960s, did not come without its fair share of obstacles. The project would have been impossible without hours of work contributed by the exhibit’s 10 photographers, as well as the guidance of Amundson and Pierre Gour, the visual manager for the Seattle Macy’s.

 “Collaborating with nine other people was very challenging; Getting that many people to cooperate on anything proves difficult… Working with four to five people [on a project] is infinitely easier, but we pulled it off,” said Western senior Kelli Waugh, a participant in the exhibit.

Waugh said the project was unique compared to any of the prior experiences she has encountered in college.
“I had never done anything like this before,” Waugh said. “Hopefully people crossing the bridge will be excited about the work we’ve put into it.”

Western senior Michelle Newman said the project was both challenging and rewarding.

“[Amundson] wanted to get us into the professional work environment, and pleasing the client is a good thing to practice,” Newman said. “It’s a great way to get familiar with corporate entities.”

The display is currently showing, and will hang in the windows of the skybridge until July 31.

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