Jesse Weissman

Artist’s Statement

I started experimenting with photography as a teenager in St. Louis, Missouri when my grandfather gave me his original Nikon SLR, and his assurance that he was finally done taking photos.  Over the past 30 years, after graduating from Tufts University, a camera has always accompanied my adventures in life and the business of living.  And in this time my work has ranged from nature and landscapes, industrial artifacts, portraits and street photography.

“Industry/Indigenous” is my contribution for the 2023 Open Studios.  Over the past few years I’ve explored the relics of industry in Western Massachusetts, and this past year I traveled through the high deserts of Arizona and New Mexico.  I was struck by simple questions while exploring Bandelier National Monument just outside of Santa Fe.  When does something become indigenous?  What are the qualities that make it so?  The images I am sharing today explore these questions, embodied in the land and tools of our past.