Photographer Ian Mahathey captures America’s backbone in images as understated as they are important. The hardworking invisible masses — from craftsmen and artisans to farmers and ranchers — are made visible in works that reveal stories oft left untold. But, these are the stories of the majority, the stories that unite across race, gender, and religion; these are the stories that represent a country defined by its diverse people. And possibility. Through a lens both honest and insightful he captures America, in all its dirt and splendor, in an ever-evolving conversation between the heart and the hands.
Mahathey was born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with the Appalachian Mountains beckoning from the doorstep of his family’s four acres of freedom. He spent his childhood tinkering, exploring, and absorbing these spaces. The oldest of four — he has three younger sisters — he grew up heavily involved in the United Methodist Church, of which his father would later become an ordained minister, and the Boy Scouts. Eventually earning his Eagle Scout rank, Ian credits the Scouts for foundational survival and life skills, but also for nurturing a connection to community and a responsibility to others. A final two-week, 90-mile backpacking and community service trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico opened his eyes to a whole new world beyond his backdoor.
While Mahathey had always loved art, he struggled to find root for his creativity, leaning into crafting more than traditional notions and forms of art for art’s sake. But, while completing his B.A. in Psychology at Appalachian State University, he took a few photography classes and soon knew he’d found his medium. He added an extra year to his education to obtain a second degree in technical photography and set off for a competitive summer internship with renowned fashion photographer Bruce Weber’s Little Bear Inc. studio in New York City. When the Weber appointment ended in August of 2010, he secured an internship with MV Photo Labs’ master printer and owner Jim Megargee. He spent his days processing black-and-white film, making contact sheets, and developing work prints for a range of clients. After a year, he became an assistant printer at the lab. Between jobs, he spent hours observing Megargee work with images from some of the biggest and best New York had to offer, absorbing the genius of photographic giants the likes of Annie Leibovitz, Gordon Parks, Mark Seliger, Henri Cartier-Bresson, James Nachtwey, and Sally Mann. “MV was like a treasure chest of everything I had studied as a student in school,” remembers Mahathey. “In this mind-blowing experience, I was able to engage with it all in person. To even hold their work was surreal and, honestly, where my real education came from.”