Artist's Statement

John Anderson began photographing in his teens under the tutelage of master photographers Arthur Bacon and Bob Kolbrenner, and then later studied with Ansel Adams at the house in the Carmel Highlands. After graduating from Bennington College in 1981, John wrote, produced and directed films which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival.

Of his work, John says, “The wilderness that remains in the North Cascades and on the Olympic Peninsula is a doorway to another world. Its lush and overwhelming complexity, its harsh beauty, its alien remoteness immerse the visitor in an experience that awakens the chthonic soul. When I photograph in this mythic landscape, I fall into a kind of trance induced by the spirit of the place and the unique quality of light. I look until I am taken by a configuration or gesture of the land that elicits an emotional response. That’s the moment when I have to photograph and the challenge ensues to allow the image to pass through the equipment and process and emerge on the other side transformed yet hopefully retaining its original force. If I succeed, something of that other world resonates within the abstracted image.”

“My hope is that these photographs will act as icons for a world which is beyond the grip of human management, beyond the progression of measured time, and even beyond our ability to fully understand it. A world that is truly wild. Only in such a world can we see the forces which have given shape to our psyche and which continue to live within the soul of each of us. These places are literally timeless in the sense that the date at which they were taken has no meaning except in the astonishment that such places still exist today on this over populated planet. I have chosen photography as my medium because of it’s kinship with reality and because it abstracts the subject from our everyday perception. This allows us to better see the stark alien boldness of this dark and shining wilderness which pulsates with life just beyond the confines of our man-made imaginings.”




Exhibitions & Awards


1976:  Silver Image Gallery, Washington 
1977:  Tacoma Art Museum, Washington 
1981:  Bennington College Art Gallery, Vermont 
1982:  Frail Thoughts  Cannes Film Festival Selection
1988:  Avalon  Sundance Film Festival Selection
1999:  Blue Heron Art Gallery, Washington 
2000:  Published  The Myth of Language 
2003:  Gallery 070, Washington 
2003:  Husted Gallery, Washington 
2004:  Gallery 070, Washington 
2005:  The Other Roadside Attraction, Washington                      
2005:  The Photographic Image Gallery, Oregon 
2005:  The Ansel Adams Gallery at MUMM, California 
2005:  Gallery 070, Washington
2006:  Wall Space Gallery, Washington
2007:  Linda Hodges Gallery, Washington
2007:  PONCHO Auction Merit Aritst, Washington
2008:  B&W Magazine Merit Award, Washington
2008:  VAA Commissioned Aritst, Vashon, Washington
2009:  B&W Magazine Merit Award, Washington
2009:  Linda Hodges Gallery, Washington               
2010:  Hardware Store Gallery, Washington               
2010:  Works in the Seattle Art Museum S&R Gallery, Washington
2011:  Linda Hodges Gallery, Washington