Erin Rieman along the Siuslaw River, Oregon, from the series Sawdust Mountain

Date2007

Maker Eirik Johnson American, born 1974

Label TextOver the course of four years, Eirik Johnson, a Seattle native now based in Massachusetts, returned to the Northwest to photograph the timber, fishing, and logging industries as well as the communities that surround them. Johnson traveled to Northern California, Oregon, and Washington to reengage with the landscapes of the region and meet individuals, including Erin Rieman pictured here, who had a story to tell. Several of his photographs, including Weyerhaeuser Sorting Yard, recall the expansive views of Carleton Watkins’ photographs of the Columbia River (ca. 1916) exhibited in Beauty and Bounty. With the span of a century between these artists’ work, their juxtaposition offers a fine counterpoint. Whereas Watkins presented a virgin landscape and a view of nature uncomplicated by human impact, Johnson works from a different perspective. He looks to tease out the interconnectedness between nature, the individual and the region’s industries. "I met Erin Rieman clearing and burning debris outside an old bait and tackle store on the Siuslaw River in coastal Oregon. He had come to Oregon from his native Hawaii to make a fresh start. His plan was to rebuild the tackle store to serve coastal sport fisherman. Before I left, Erin handed me a bag of frozen Matsutake mushrooms he had collected from the nearby forest." (Eirik Johnson, 2007)

Object number2009.7.2

ProvenanceThe artist

Photo CreditPhoto: Courtesy of the artist

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art and Commerce, July 27 2024–January 12, 2025.Published ReferencesGallagher, Tess, with poem by David Guterson, "Sawdust Mountain", Aperture, publication date: May 2009

Credit LineGift of the artist

Dimensions24 x 30 in. (61 x 76.2 cm)

MediumArchival pigment print