By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
An aspiring photographer from Jackson put small-town America in the spotlight with works from her series “Overlooked” during an exhibit at the Philadelphia university where she is a senior.
Elissa Anderson, the daughter of Carl and Deni Anderson, studies at the University of the Arts. In early April, several photographs from “Overlooked” were displayed during the university’s eighth annual “Art Unleashed” event.
“Art Unleashed” was a fundraiser to support student scholarships. Works of art by emerging and established visual artists were sold to raise scholarship money, according to a press release from the university.
Anderson’s “Overlooked” series was an inspiration from a cross country road trip she took with her father during the summer of 2016.
Since October 2016, Anderson, who is a graduate of Jackson Memorial High School, has continued her photographic journey with an exploration of small towns in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware and California.
Speaking about the road trip she took with her dad, Anderson said, “We passed through so many small towns that some people would have just driven through, but I found them so interesting. Being a city gal and being raised in a larger suburban town in New Jersey, it was definitely an eye opener to see some of these places.
“So when it was time to start thinking about my senior thesis, I knew that I wanted to explore small overlooked towns here on the east coast as well as in California. From October through January, I have been traveling and doing my research on any quaint small towns I can find.
“I wanted to bring to light the different personalities of these places, including architecture, store fronts, old cars … This is definitely a project that I feel as though I will constantly be adding to because I don’t think my fascination with small towns will ever leave me,” she said.
Anderson said that when she was 9 or 10, her father put a camera in her hands.
“He taught me everything I knew about film photography from the experience he earned from taking his camera with him everywhere he was stationed in the army.
“My mom, even though she is a businesswoman, was always very crafty around the house when I was younger … so I think I always had an artistic side from the two of them.
“It wasn’t until high school that I began to take art very seriously. I was always more into music and playing instruments until I started really photographing, that’s when I fell in love with it,” Anderson said.