Pieter was born on Long Island, NY and his family later moved to central Mexico, the south of France and Belgium. As a result, he speaks fluent Spanish and French (although sometimes the vocabulary can get mixed). Upon his return to the States, he settled in Los Angeles after a short stint in Las Vegas.
Having studied fine art, advertising and graphic design at an assortment of schools, Pieter started his career as the assistant on a two-man crew shooting a documentary about Guatemala in the early 70s, traveling to the country’s varied sites from the capitol to the mountain lakes to the ruins of a Mayan city.
Before entering the world of 4-star advertising agencies he was at the now-defunct Hearst newspaper, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. Following a forty-year career in advertising and graphic design, he has returned to his first passion, photography. Never without a camera since his first one at age fifteen, he now shoots film as well as digital and spends many an hour making prints in the darkroom.
Pieter is delighted to have the opportunity to showcase his work with the poet Peter Serchuk in the upcoming book The Purpose of Things. Having such wonderful poetry to build upon has made the imagery all the more impactful. It reflects a favorite quote, from the photographer Robert Frank: “When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice.” In this case, the poem is right there for them to read.
Regal House Publishing is delighted to bring you this evocative work of poetry and photography, The Purpose of Things, in 2019.
