Rough Beauty

“This book’s title, “Rough Beauty,” conveys Anderson’s conviction that the hard scrabble lives of most of the residents of Vidor, Texas, are worthy of our attention, but it also conveys that he does not seek to beautify their lives by removing the crude edges.” — Anne Wilkes Tucker

A powerful photographic documentation of the people and places a poor and isolated town in rural southeast Texas, most known for its long history as a KKK town.

Begun in fall 2003 and completed in early 2006 (after fifty trips), “Rough Beauty” explores the character and burden — and the resilience and off-kilter beauty — of a community branded by its history. Vidor is reviled for its history of Klan activities, but behind this stereotype lingers a town filled with people who have not been able to lift themselves up and a crushing poverty sometimes reminiscent of the Great Depression. Anderson’s images show a hidden beauty that lies dormant even in the roughest places.

Winner of the Santa Fe Center for Photography 2005 Project Competition.Exhibition tour begins fall 2006 and continues throughout 2007.