Marc
Manhattan
November 2018
About Marc
Chicago
Marc P. Anderson has had a dual career in publishing and photography. He first received a camera as a Christmas present from his mother when he was nine years old. Eventually his subjects expanded beyond taking pictures of family members and he began photographing friends and city scenes. At 17 years old Marc entered the University of Illinois in Chicago where he majored in architecture. At 19 years old he purchased a Canon FTb single lens reflex camera which produced better images and allowed for increased creativity and greater variety in subject matter. Soon he took a course at the YMCA in darkroom film processing and printing and he was authorized to carry his camera at his job in the mail room at a government agency in a building in downtown Chicago.
At the same time, Marc photographed the physical city of Chicago and its residents. His photojournalism included essays involving maids and neighbors at the residence YMCAs in which he lived for a few years in order to save money.
New York City
In August of 1978, Marc moved to New York City, Not long after, Marc enrolled in the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan where he continued taking courses in photography. In the early 1980s, Marc began working at Book Project Division, an elite college textbook department in a Manhattan office of Prentice-Hall, a major educational publishing company (now part of Pearson). The company became aware of Marc's photographic background and began using him on a freelance basis as a producer of original images, retained in their archives for use on the cover or inside textbooks. Marc's photojournalism, which involved youth, the elderly, ethnic and cultural parades, demonstrations and protests, business and commerce, sports and recreation, architecture and cityscapes, and urban life, became a significant source of images for textbooks in the Humanities and Social Sciences with topics such as Sociology, Psychology, Political Science, Economics, Urban Studies and American Government. He photographed in a wide variety of locations from New York City to Washington, D.C. The result was that hundreds of images, many of which Marc printed himself, were published in several thousand higher education books beginning in the 1980s.
At the beginning of 1984, Marc left his position at his publishing company and for a while became a full-time freelance photographer. He took on new clients including other publishers. He also provided photographs to the New York Public Library for whom he produced time-sensitive publicity mages of library users, politicians (including the mayor and governor) and events for use in local newspapers.
At the same time, Marc continued to take portraits as well as photographs of architecture, nature, and sunsets, His writing of poems and essays, mated with photographs, began to increase as he pursued personal subjects.
In late 1985, Marc returned to full-time employment as the manager of the Permissions (copyright) office at Cambridge University Press, New York. At the Press, he also provided photographs for use in books and journals. Marc became an early user of computers and eventually he created databases for use by himself and his staff. He gave visual presentations with photographs and graphics and he traveled to Europe several times for his work.
At the beginning of 1984, Marc left his position at his publishing company and for a while became a full-time freelance photographer. He took on new clients including other publishers. He also provided photographs to the New York Public Library for whom he produced time-sensitive publicity mages of library users, politicians (including the mayor and governor) and events for use in local newspapers.
At the same time, Marc continued to take portraits as well as photographs of architecture, nature, and sunsets, His writing of poems and essays, mated with photographs, began to increase as he pursued personal subjects.
In late 1985, Marc returned to full-time employment as the manager of the Permissions (copyright) office at Cambridge University Press, New York. At the Press, he also provided photographs for use in books and journals. Marc became an early user of computers and eventually he created databases for use by himself and his staff. He gave visual presentations with photographs and graphics and he traveled to Europe several times for his work.
In the 1990s, Marc expanded his portraits and nudes. Since then he has written several hundred poems and essays and the number has continued to grow.
During his life, Marc engaged in activities such as running, bicycling and swimming. Marc continues his photography and writing, with samples of his work appearing on more than one Instagram page and in multiple web journals.