CARLA ANDERSON

Carla Anderson was born in Philadelphia and moved to Detroit while still a child. She grew up in a left wing family who had interests in the arts. As a child she slunk around with a Brownie camera pretending to be a wildlife photographer while all the while attempting to photograph squirrels. In her teens and as a young adult Carla studied theatre. It wasn’t until her late 20’s that she made a commitment to photography. 

Starting as a street photographer Carla soon began to photograph vernacular architecture. In the mid 1980s she began her first long term project. Traveling the rural South Carla photographed vernacular architecture, signage, roadside memorials, and outsider art. This project lasted fifteen years at which time she moved into the landscape. This current body of work began to take form in 2006 and has wound through various stages and growth since that time. Much of the influence for this work comes from painting.

In 2020, in conjunction with writer Bill Harris, she published Sight—Sound: 10 Haiku by Bill Harris after Carla Anderson Photographs. This handmade book, printed in letterpress with photographs tipped onto the pages, is the first of its kind to come out of Detroit.

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