©Areca Roe; Working Remotely – Balance is important when working from home, and visuals of that balance— working among children or playing with pets—will be popular.

Today we are continuing to look at the work of artists who I met at the 2024 Society for Photographic Education conference. Up next, we have Stock Pile by Areca Roe.

Areca Roe is an artist based in Mankato and Minneapolis, Minnesota. She uses photography as well as video, sculpture, and installation to explore the interface between the natural and human-made domains.

Roe is an Associate Professor of photography and video at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a member of Rosalux Gallery in Minneapolis. She has received several grants and fellowships supporting her work, including the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant and the Art(ists) on the Verge Fellowship. Her work has been featured on several websites, including Colossal, Slate, Juxtapoz, WIRED, National Geographic, and Fast Company; and in print magazines, Der Spiegel Wissen magazine, Le Monde and The New Territory. Her work recently became part of the permanent collection at the Minnesota Museum of American Art and the Minnesota Historical Society.

Follow Areca on Instagram: @arecaroe

©Areca Roe; Gritty Optimism Mature – [Company] is looking for images that suggest gritty optimism with mature models. Images that show the challenges and beauty of daily life.

Stock Pile

Stock photography has fascinated for me for some time, with its generic ubiquity and bland cheeriness. Stock imagery companies put out briefs or prompts predicting to photographers/videographers what is going to be in demand in the coming next month or year. Out of curiosity I began perusing the prompts, and realized they synthesized certain trends in our culture and aspects of this unusual time, through their capitalistic filter.

In responding to the prompts, I make images and videos at home or close by, using what I have on hand, with myself and my family as models. I take instructions from the briefs—but in a way that misunderstands the text or takes it a bit too far, or too literally. In many of the images I heighten the absurdity of the text, or pull out some odd aspect or phrase that deserves further reflection. By satirizing the briefs, I expose new meanings, and reclaim authorship that is lost with stock photography. The text of the prompts is shown alongside the imagery, helping the viewer interpret the work and sometimes sharply contrasting with the image.

©Areca Roe; Unexpected Travel Accidents – Capture accidents that are inevitable when travelling. Unexpected moments such as a suitcase breaking, getting lost in the city etc. Important to have realistic expressions that are not too dramatic.

Daniel George: Tell us about the beginning of this project. What brought about your interest in stock photography—leading to the start of Stock Pile?

Areca Roe: Several years back I was invited to sign up with a large stock photo company (you’ve heard of it). I did so mostly out of curiosity, then uploaded a few images and forgot about it, realizing it wasn’t worth the time. But I continued to get briefs or prompts from them. During the early days of the pandemic I was perusing the email briefs they send out, telling photographers what is in demand or what images they predict will sell. I realized those briefs synthesized certain trends in our culture and aspects of that unusual time. Like there was suddenly a need for images of “people smiling behind the mask,” and “working remotely with kids at home.” The prompts seemed a bit absurd, and clearly an attempt to capitalize on the pandemic. But they still managed to capture something about the moment through their commerce-filtered lens. Often these prompts would make me laugh, and I found myself wanting to make work in response to those prompts in particular.

I decided to make weekly responses, to try to work quickly and with what I had on hand, using myself and my family (pandemic-times!). I needed a project I could work on at home, and I needed to not overthink it too much. I took instructions from the briefs from several companies—but in a way that misunderstood the prompts or took them a bit too far, or too literally. In many of the images I intended to heighten the absurdity of the prompts, or pull out some fascinating aspect or phrase that deserved further reflection. The images and videos are varied, but are connected by the prompts and by these strange and unsettling times that seem to have continued even after the pandemic.

©Areca Roe; Woman with Hairy Armpits

DG: At surface value, your images are pretty ridiculous (in a good way, of course). But the inclusion of the creative prompts really amplifies things. It reminds me of the “yes, and…” strategy of improv comedy. The prompts present the idea, and you augment with visual absurdity. Would you mind sharing a little of your thought process with this?

AR: I love that reading! I know nothing about improv comedy (except that I enjoy it) but I gravitate towards satire and absurdity, in art and in humor as well. The stock photo company’s prompt is the setup, it’s doing a lot of the heavy lifting. I try to find the ones that offer an array of meanings and visuals, that can lead to multiple interpretations. And that can say something about our society.

My most recent image is from the prompt “Hologram Receptionist:  People interacting with hologram and screen IRL.” I immediately imagined a female receptionist, of course, and the “interacting IRL” part led me to think about casual sexual harassment. It’s a bit Mad Men inspired, hearkening back to the gender dynamics of the past (and present too, just less overt). Also, if you have a hologram receptionist you just know some would love to program her to be receptive to sexual advances. Part of the fun for me is the props—for this image I found an old cream-colored push button phone, and borrowed a metal desk and ugly wood paneling for the set in my studio.

Another one from a couple years ago was “Outdoor Fitness at Night.” Being a child of the ’80s, I went right to Jane Fonda’s ubiquitous aerobics VHS tapes. The fashion, the music, the campiness all strike a (probably nostalgic) chord in me, make me laugh, so I used that style in the response to the prompt, hopefully creating some tension/humor between the spooky woods and the Fonda-esque workout session.

©Areca Roe; Portals to the Metaverse – Web 3.0 and the Metaverse are buzzwords of the moment, rich with the promise of seamless, supercharged technology and limitless virtual worlds. Customers need fresh visuals to illustrate these concepts, moving beyond models wearing VR headsets to envision the full potential of these immersive environments we may all soon inhabit for work, for travel, for leisure.

DG: Beneath all the humor I sense a critique on the photographic medium and its use in advertising. As if you are highlighting the inherent coded messaging of advertising photography through over-the-top staging and performance. Would you talk more about your intentions with this series?

AR: Like any American I am steeped in advertising, bombarded each day, and both resent it but am also coerced and affected by it. (Why do I suddenly want this shiny new thing?) I see clear as day in my kids–oh boy, does advertising work on them. I think I felt an urge to tease that apart and push back just for myself.

Stock photography in ads has its utility as it’s cheap and immediate,  so it has a certain quality that is bland and cheery, shiny and vacant. The images are meant to be both calculatedly specific and multi-use, so they can be sold many times over. That look and that goal seemed ripe for parody. I’m not overtly thinking about it as a critique of the photographic medium in advertising, more poking fun at the stock imagery look. But stock imagery often IS advertising imagery, that’s what it’s often used for—one and the same.

The industry of stock photography also is problematic and deserving critique apart from its cliched imagery. As I researched various companies, and even put a few images in the stock libraries for purchase, I realized just how incredibly low the payout is for photographers. It’s no way to make a living, that’s for sure. A photographer might receive a few dollars for a photo’s use from most stock sites. That’s only IF it’s ever used.

©Areca Roe; Our Changing Environment – Earth Day may be over but interest in the planet is still strong. Images of scientists researching climate change and renewable energy will be popular. Powerful visuals of natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, thunderstorms, and tornadoes will be searched for often.

DG: Staging, fabrication, and performance seem to be consistent across several bodies of work on your website. I’d be interested to hear more about your creative process—including your use of other media, including video (as we see in this project).

AR: I love photography and video but at heart I’m very much a maker and crafter– I enjoy creating scenes, sewing costumes, and finding props. My mother is an excellent seamstress so I’ve been sewing clothes since I was a kid, and have incorporated that into my work. Thrifting is part of the process too, I adore hunting for props. I kind of stumbled into using more video after I began teaching it in my classes–I use it when it makes sense in the response to the prompt. Some prompts actually request video, but it’s more about whether I think motion will get the point across better. For instance, I did a video for the prompt “Yoghurt splashes – aesthetic and choreographed,” because I envisioned mixing choreography/dance with yogurt splashing for the response. One of the messier sets!

©Areca Roe; At One with Nature – Spending time in green space or bringing nature into your everyday life can benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing. With conversations around mental health becoming less stigmatized more people are reflecting upon how they can adapt their homes to improve it. This need for being at one with nature is being reflected in interior photography.

DG: Your website indicates that this series is ongoing. Having made these images for several years already, what do you envision the future of Stock Pile looking like?

AR: I continue it because I keep seeing absurd or ridiculous briefs from stock photo companies, and also it’s a blast problem-solving to come up with responses. I love coming up with props and techniques to address each image. Different settings, lighting, props and edits for each one keep it challenging. And all the issues are still there regarding advertising, capitalism, representation of women in media, etc. I might keep chipping away at the project as long as there are interesting prompts! I made a book of the earlier work, and am hoping to make a Volume 2 someday.

It’s a strange inflection point for stock imagery companies right now, the industry is struggling because of AI imagery. They are trying to pivot to include AI imagery without exposing themselves legally to copyright infringement. I’m sure eventually they’ll get there and they won’t be asking photographers to make imagery anymore, they’ll just ask AI! Part of me thinks, well, good riddance, as photographers can’t make a living with it anyway, it’s just too little return.

©Areca Roe; Luxury still life – We’re looking for a series of sophisticated imagery showing modern, premium objects and interiors. Styling, propping and light should all create a sense of elegance. Think boutique hotels, interior designed homes and stylish upmarket restaurants.

©Areca Roe; Self-care is the Best Care – Self-care and wellness will be popular categories. Visuals of essential oils, diffusers, face masks, journaling, and other self-care routines will be hot topics.

©Areca Roe; Hologram receptionist – People interacting with hologram and screen IRL.

©Areca Roe; Emotional Moments with Plastic – [Company] is looking for images of plastics both with and without people. They want to see folks using PET (recycling code 1), PP (recycling code 5), and EPS (recycling code 6) products in everyday life where the emotion of the moment is key.

©Areca Roe; More Book Cover Variety – Fantasy, botanical, Nordic noir.

©Areca Roe: Logo in the Wild – Capture photos of [company’s] logo colors shown in clever ways. The more unexpected, quirkier, or smarter, the better. Make sure the shapes you find or create to represent the logo are close together with red on the left and orangey yellow on the right.

©Areca Roe; No Place Like Home – Customers will be searching for images of rooms that stand out from the norm, or are uniquely customized.

©Areca Roe; Kids Eating Bread – [Company] wants to show future generations enjoying food, in this case bread and various bread products.

©Areca Roe; Outside Looking In – As the weeks go by with much of the world sheltering in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, views of domestic life and the comforts of home are very much in demand. To give customers a fresh perspective, we’d like to see views taken from the outside, looking in.

©Areca Roe; Smiling Behind the Mask – With masks and face coverings now a part of daily life, customers are asking to see images where the model is clearly smiling under the mask… the eyes and other body language can demonstrate that there is a smile on the model’s face.

©Areca Roe; Outdoor Fitness at Night – Many of us are faced with the challenge of fitting exercise into our daily routine. Early morning or evening are often when busy people make time to get in their fitness.

©Areca Roe; The Roaring 2020s – Art deco set the tone for the 1920s with its visual language of ornate, geometric shapes and decor. Images or illustrations reflecting that style will be popular all year. Gold was a huge presence in the 1920s, and 2020 is proving to be a throwback—so we recommend including gold elements when you can. Props, makeup, and photoshoots in the style of the 1920s will be searched heavily.

©Areca Roe; Lounging by the Pool – [Company] needs images indicative of high-end hotel pools. They would like to see a little “bling” added to create a fun series of visuals that suggest lounging by the pool. Focus on the elements and parts of people intruding into frame.