The Baptist, from the A Conversão de São Paulo series

About the Photographer

Baden, Evan

American, b. 1985

A prolific photographer, Evan Baden’s many series include The Illuminati, Technically Intimate, Under the Influence, A Conversão de São Paulo, and The Taradiddle High School Yearbook Project, 2014-15. Made in the summer of 2013 through the support of the Stuart Abelson Graduate Research Fellowship, A Conversão de São Paulo traces the sociopolitical flux of contemporary Brazil from its colonial roots in Catholicism to its current global emergence as an economic and industrial powerhouse. Working with parishioners from the Evangelical church Igreja Agua da Vida, Baden staged symbolic scenes from biblical lore, contextualizing the relationship between church dogma and the rapidly evolving popular culture in São Paulo, both of which hold sway in the lives of young Brazilians today.

Baden completed an MFA in photography at Columbia College Chicago in 2014, and has since exhibited work at museums and galleries throughout Europe and the United States. His work is held in numerous public collections, including the Walker Art Center, Milwaukee Art Museum, FOAM Amsterdam, the Finnish Museum of Photography, and the Kinsey Institute, among others. Baden has been featured in such publications as TIME, The Guardian, FOAM, New York Magazine, Le Monde, D della Repubblica, and DIE ZEIT. He is currently an instructor at Oregon State University, Corvallis.