Artist's Bio and Statement
Artist’s Biography
John Orcutt is a fine art nature photographer and an avid outdoor enthusiast. Following a distinguished career as an architect, he has pursued his interest in creating an awareness of the necessity for active preservation of fragile places. Through his photographic images, he expresses the inherent beauty of areas endangered by easy public access and frequent visitation. Orcutt aspires to foster in our collective consciousness the need to tread softly on our natural heritage. His work is a call for us all to participate in the act of preservation.
Orcutt’s work has been exhibited widely and is in many public and private collections. He lives with his wife and long time collaborator, Cynthia, a landscape architect, in Carrabassett Valley, Maine. He is a member of the Board of Directors of two Maine non-profit organizations, the Wolfe’s Neck Farm Foundation and the Western Mountains Foundation.
Artist’s Statement
As we continue to preserve and protect natural public lands, they become increasingly accessible to our growing population. While we encourage and support active participation in the enjoyment of our protected environment, we do so with the expectation that those who visit these areas will come with an understanding of the heightened need to accept a role in the stewardship of these places. By striving to create striking photographs of the places I visit, and by sharing those images with others, I hope to assist in bringing knowledge and understanding of the beautiful, fragile and transitory nature we all must join together to preserve.
Exhibits and Awards
Permanent Exhibition: 2007 Café Azure, Freeport, ME
Exhibitor: 2004 D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival, Brooklyn, NY
Exhibitor: 2005 Café Azure, Freeport, ME
Exhibitor: 2005 Bowdoin College, Moulton Union, Brunswick, ME (solo show)
Exhibitor: 2006 GroSmart Maine, Yarmouth, ME (solo show)
Exhibitor: 2007 Bowdoin College, Moulton Union, Brunswick, ME (solo show)
Exhibitor: 2008 Drummond Woodsum & MacMahon, Portland, ME (solo show)
Competitions
2003 World in Focus, selected for projection exhibit, Seattle, WA
Publications
2006 Nature Photographer, Article, Photographing Fungi
2008 Landscape Architecture, Article, Bug Light Park; So. Portland, ME
Clients
LEDA, Leslie Evans Design Associates, Cape Elizabeth, ME
Swardlick Marketing Group, Portland, ME
Creative Imaging, Scarborough, ME
Ransom Environmental Consultants, Portsmouth, NH
Evergreen Credit Union, Portland, ME
Foundations and Institutions
Coastal Studies for Girls, Freeport, ME
Maine Huts and Trails, Kingfield, ME
Wolfes Neck Farm Foundation, Freeport, ME
Waynflete School, Portland Maine
Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
Westminster School, Nashville, TN
Center for Grieving Children, Portland, ME
Maine State Ballet, Portland, ME
Education
Dartmouth College AB 1959
University of Colorado Bach. Architecture 1967