After spending the last twenty years of his career raising funds for Harvard University, William Mercer ’64 decided his life needed a change.
Mercer began to take his interest in photography earnestly and turned it into a fruitful career.
Mercer’s latest project, available exclusively at Broad Street Books, is “Wesleyan University: In a New Light,” a photographic essay of his alma mater, including shots of the newest facilities, athletic events, artistic performances and daily student life.
“We wanted to give people a flavor, to celebrate Wesleyan,” Mercer said. “There was a sense of feeling I wanted to get, a sense of completeness.”
For Mercer, the book’s title isn’t just a play on words: the lighting is the most crucial element in his photography. Mercer, who prefers to take photographs in the early morning and evening, spent a year visiting the campus, capturing the campus’s transformation through the seasons.
“It was a time-consuming process but there were opportunities for different shots,” Mercer said. “You need to come back to [the same] place.”
Mercer’s patience has resulted in a series of critically acclaimed photographs that highlight Wesleyan’s distinct architecture.
“We’re asked to focus on particular ornamental details that give the buildings their character,” said Joseph Siry, Professor of Art History and author of one of the book’s introductory essays. “[These details] shape the memory of campus for individuals who are here.”
Mercer said that one of the most difficult tasks he faced was selecting specific buildings and sites to photograph. Although he came to campus with most of his photographs planned, he claimed that he found some of his best material by casually observing people.
“Once you look at a place, opportunities expand,” Mercer said. “[There are] quite a few interesting places, interesting things going on. When you’ve been around campus a while people tend not to pay attention to you.”
In photographing the campus, Mercer couldn’t help but notice how much the campus had transformed since he graduated forty years ago.
“Wesleyan was a more formal place [then],” Mercer said. “Now, things seem more relaxed. There’s a more complex social scene as students are wrestling with political correctness.”
In particular, Mercer noted that the epicenter of student life is no longer the fraternity scene.
“[When I attended] frats hadn’t yet fallen from grace,” Mercer said. “The social scene was built around frats.”
Mercer, who majored in government, had only a casual interest in photography as an undergraduate. After graduation, he worked at Harvard for twenty years before changing careers.
According to Mercer, the new photo book is distinct from his other book “Wesleyan: A Living Portrait” (1990) in that the more recent book incorporates personal statements and reflections from students, faculty, and alumni.
“We wanted to get a range of voices [into this book],” said Anne Bergen, Director of Development Communications and Stewardship, who handled the project’s budget.
David Low, Associate Director of Publications in University Communications, was the University editor and project manager for the book. He was the liaison between Mercer and the designer and a committee comprised of administrators from University Relations and University Communications. He also edited all of the statements from faculty, students, and alumni.
“Students will find that appealing,” Mercer said of the quotations from professors. “And alumni will get a richer, more complex view of the campus.”
According to Mercer, the momentum to begin this project came initially from alumni.
“We were getting requests for such a book from alumni,” Bergen said. “We wanted to meet that need.”
Although this is not the first project of its kind that Mercer has undertaken, it is the first one he can bear to look at in its finished form.
“I’m always dissatisfied [with my projects] for a while,” Mercer said. “But I enjoyed picking [this one] up and leafing through it.”
“Wesleyan University: In a New Light” is available at Broad Street Books for $39.95.
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