About
About Cynthia Matty - Huber
I am intrigued by ranchers who dig their life’s work out of the land, day in and day out, 365 days a year. I have photographed one particular rancher, John Hoiland, through all four seasons. Hoiland’s family came to Montana in 1906. He still lives on the same 940 acres and in the same house his family built before he was born.
He never married. His parents died, leaving John to move relentlessly from one chore to the next until daylight is gone. “I have to do what three of us did,” he says. Some of the outbuildings that sprawl across John’s acres seem to be hanging on for dear life, but each has a purpose and almost every car or truck he ever owned including his everyday vehicle, a 1939 Chevy truck can be seen as you drive by. The same stove his father bought after World War I for $35 heats the kitchen. That stove and a wood furnace in the living room have warmed him since birth. I photograph to convey the rugged life this rancher endures, barely getting by, at the mercy of the elements, the cost of raising healthy animals a constant threat; I wonder what keeps him going. This series is a testament to these hardscrabble individuals who sacrifice their life to the western landscape.
John Hoiland
Education
2016 – Present MFA Film & Science MSU Bozeman
2012 – 2015 BA Film & Photography MSU Bozeman
2011 – 2012 Art Academy University of San Francisco
2016-2021 MFA Science and Natural History filmmaking from MSU Bozeman
Links
Awards
- Art Forward contest 2016 - Silver Sward Winner
- Critical Mass, Photolucida 2015 - Finalist
- Art Through The Lens 2015 - Honorable Mention
- 2015 LensCulture Exposure Awards - Honorable Mention
- Art Forward 2015 - Bronze Award Winner
- Allegany National Photographic Competition and Exhibition
- Photography Exhibition 2014 Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts - 1st Place Online
- Critical Mass 2014 - Top 50
- 2017-2021 MFA Film & Science MSU Bozeman
- International Photo Awards