MATT ANDERSON
My name is Matt Anderson. Hailing from northeast Ohio and subsequently moving to Appalachia for college, most of my life was spent framing the world from the window of car. I never thought of photography as a realistic way of expressing myself. As a great photographer once said, I had no war, no celebrity, no personal vice, really, to photograph around me. Everything was suburban, far away, and the same.
I’ve lived in New York City for six years, but it wasn’t until a little over a year ago, on an impending trip to Turkey and Egypt, I discovered photography could be more than fashion or classic photojournalism. I found Alex Webb’s work on Istanbul, and was struck immediately with what photography could be: the street. A few thousand miles and a couple Lightroom disasters later, I rapidly versed myself with Meyerowitz, Mermelstein, Winogrand, Mark Cohen, and others. I discovered the work of the people in this very Collective and was struck by the poetry of their images.
I find a lot of the meaning in my photographs through the music I listen to engrained in me all those years spent in the car: a Pink Floyd/Fiona Apple/Boney M. cocktail you could say. I envy a good crowd shot, yet I find myself drawn to singled individuals lonely in space. Maybe my subconscious attempts to pull them out of the context of their surroundings, separating whatever it is about them from the world. To be honest I’m still figuring that out, but aren’t we all? I’ve “missed” at least 3 broken nose shots, am a sucker for couples that match, and have only slightly peed my pants once from getting yelled at. I currently work as an app/web designer in Brooklyn with a tiny closet I call home nestled down in Two Bridges, New York.