Mesa Verde Announces Artist-in-Residence Presentation: By Photographer John Hess

Date: September 21, 2007
Contact: Tessy Shirakawa, 970-529-4628

Mesa Verde National Park is pleased to announce a public presentation by Artist-in-Residence John Hess to be held at the Cortez Cultural Center on Thursday, September 27 at 2:00 p.m.

With a PhD in zoology and more than 30 years experience as an educator, Mr. Hess’s background as a scientist is the foundation for his photographic work. Influenced by Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, and Eliot Porter, his subjects are nearly always natural and range in scale from broad panoramas to microscopic subjects. This presentation is free and open to the public.

Mr. Hess has been active in photography for more than 40 years and developed a level of expertise in most formats. He has served as President of the Prairie Chapter of the Biological Photographic Association and been a featured speaker at a number of venues, including the Illinois Natural History Survey, the University of Colorado, and the University of Central Missouri. His numerous exhibits have included shows in the Art Center Gallery at the University of Central Missouri, the Lawrence Arts Center in Kansas, and a solo show at the Erdman Gallery of Princeton Theological Seminary.

Begun during Mesa Verde National Park’s 2006 Centennial, the Artist-In-Residence program provides accomplished writers, composers, and visual and performing artists the opportunity to pursue their particular art form while being surrounded by the inspiring ancient architecture of the Ancestral Pueblo People and the sweeping natural landscape of the park. The park provides a historic, rustic residence to selected participants for 4 two-week periods. For more information about the program, visit Mesa Verde's Artist-In-Residence webpage. 

For further information about this presentation, please contact Frank Cope, Artist-in Residence Coordinator, at 970-529-4607.  

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