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Most companies want employees who will do what they're told without
arguing or fighting about it. Sometimes, during the interview process,
they give lip service to the notion that they want independent thinkers
who will interact honestly with their superiors (hierarchical superiors,
not moral superiors); but when it's time to downsize, guess which
employees stay and which ones go.
I think the negative reactions you got were based on an unreflective
hypocrisy of people who would want you to do exactly what _they_ want
you to do but can't see your work as evidence that you did exactly what
your previous customer wanted you to do.
So what you might do with this particular sample is couch it (okay, yes,
there are some of those models I wouldn't mind couching) in terms of
_doing the job the customer asked you to do_, doing it without getting
all political on them, and doing it well.
That said, you need to be true to yourself, too. If those are not the
kinds of companies you want to work for or the portrait of yourself you
want to project, then don't take that approach. Ask yourself this: If
Playboy offered you a job based on the quality of this sample and the
skills you demonstrated, would you take it? Alternatively, if you had
had a position (sorry, a job) at Playboy as a graphic artist and done
well at it, would you be proud to list it on your résumé? If so, then
any potential employer who would count that as evidence of your moral
degeneracy would certainly be someone you wouldn't want to work for. If
the answers to these two questions are No, however, then I'd say drop
the sample from your portfolio, because it doesn't reflect who you are.
Last year I created a calendar called Minnesota's Finest. I digitally
altered the women, and I designed it, then made a Flash website for my
client. I've shown this is a sample of my graphic design because it is a
really well done calendar, sold a lot in Barnes & Noble, etc.
[snip]
So, what to do? Bury it on my site so deep it will be hard to find? Dump
the sample altogether? Argh! I don't know what to do and am feeling
frustrated.
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