Dave Anderson East Lansing, Michigan, b. 1970

Dave Anderson’s photographs from his Rough Beauty series were taken in Vidor, Texas, a town known for extreme poverty and racism as it was formerly the site of Ku Klux Klan activities. The reputation of the town and its isolation is in part what brought Anderson to Vidor, along with his insatiable desire to travel across the country on the road. While these photographs were taken almost 20 years ago, they resonate with contemporary issues of race, isolation, and poverty. The people of Vidor are adamant that the labels placed on them are not true to their actual character and that they are a kind, close-knit community. In June 2020, a Black Lives Matter group successfully staged a peaceful protest in the town. In Raking, an older woman leans on the rake she is using to allow Anderson to take her portrait. Her bright white t-shirt stands out strongly against the dark background. The way she is leaning on the rake and the angle of her body creates the shape of a triangle whose top point almost reaches the clothesline in this carefully composed image. Behind her, smoke billows from the compost pile as she holds a cigarette in her left hand—burning, smoking, and working all at once.