Originally scheduled for exhibition at Appaloosa Public Gallery from May 1 – July 31, 2020, the physical exhibition of this work has been restricted due to COVID-19-related closures of Scottsdale public libraries.
Upon the 40th anniversary of the most destructive volcanic eruption in U.S. history, photographer Buzzy Sullivan presents a series of photographs documenting the destruction, rebirth, and growth of Mount St. Helens.
In this especially poignant moment in human history, Sullivan’s photographs documenting the destruction and renewal of the Mount St. Helens landscape in Washington state remind us of the tenacity of nature. Sullivan is a landscape photographer who has been given yearly, exclusive summertime access to Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument to document its recovery from the 1980 eruption. He reflects on the significance of recovering from catastrophe in the Pacific Northwest—both at Mount St. Helens and in his own life.
At 8:32 a.m. on May 18, 1980, the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, removed 1,300 feet off the top of the volcano, sending pyroclastic flows across the landscape and flattening forests. The heat melted snow and ice, generating massive mudflows. The disaster killed 57 people, thousands of animals, and millions of fish. It destroyed more than 200 homes and damaged more than 185 miles of roads and 15 miles of railways. About 540 million tons of volcanic ash fell over thousands of miles, settling in more than a dozen U.S. states and Canadian provinces.
Sullivan has returned to the site every summer for the last 20 years with exclusive access to the park, photographing how the land and wildlife have healed and rebounded over the years.
Sullivan received a bachelor of fine arts in photography from Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2013 and a master of fine arts in photography from Arizona State University in 2017. He teaches photography at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. For more about the artist, visit BuzzySullivan.com.
Selected for Exhibition
Mountain Goats Grazing, Approximately One Half-Mile North of the Lava Dome
Buzzy Sullivan, Mountain Goats Grazing, Approximately One Half-Mile North of the Lava Dome, 2017; pigment print
Alder Thicket on the Pumice Plain, Approximately One Mile North of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Alder Thicket on the Pumice Plain, Approximately One Mile North of Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
Regrowth And Planted Trees, Approximately Fourteen Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Regrowth And Planted Trees, Approximately Fourteen Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens, 2018; pigment print
Post-Eruption Replant, Approximately One Half-Mile East of Mount St. Helens, 2018
Buzzy Sullivan, Post-Eruption Replant, Approximately One Half-Mile East of Mount St. Helens, 2018; pigment print
Norway Pass Looking East, Approximately Seven Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Norway Pass Looking East, Approximately Seven Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens, 2018; pigment print
Blowdown Zone Along Forest Service Road 99, Approximately Six Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Blowdown Zone Along Forest Service Road 99, Approximately Six Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
Lava Dome and Eastern Flank, Approximately Two Miles East of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Lava Dome and Eastern Flank, Approximately Two Miles East of Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
Early Evening Moon Near the Entrance of the Monument, Approximately Fifteen Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Early Evening Moon Near the Entrance of the Monument, Approximately Fifteen Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
Dogs Head After Rockslide, Approximately Two Miles East of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Dogs Head After Rockslide, Approximately Two Miles East of Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
North Fork Toutle River Through Smoke from the Diamond Creek Wildfire, Approximately Six Miles Northwest of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, North Fork Toutle River Through Smoke from the Diamond Creek Wildfire, Approximately Six Miles Northwest of Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
Sun Illuminating the Forest Near Bear Meadows, Approximately Sixteen Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Sun Illuminating the Forest Near Bear Meadows, Approximately Sixteen Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
Sun Burning Through Near Bear Meadows, Approximately Sixteen Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Sun Burning Through Near Bear Meadows, Approximately Sixteen Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
Throwing Rocks Above Bean Creek, Approximately Twelve Miles East of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Throwing Rocks Above Bean Creek, Approximately Twelve Miles East of Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
Volcanic Bomb and Dust from Landslide, Approximately One Mile North of the Lava Dome
Buzzy Sullivan, Volcanic Bomb and Dust from Landslide, Approximately One Mile North of the Lava Dome, 2017; pigment print
Standing Dead on the Boundary of the Blowdown Zone, Approximately Ten Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Standing Dead on the Boundary of the Blowdown Zone, Approximately Ten Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
Loowit Falls, Approximately One Mile North of the Lava Dome
Buzzy Sullivan, Loowit Falls, Approximately One Mile North of the Lava Dome, 2017; pigment print
Boulder and Stream on the Pumice Plain Approximately One Half-Mile North of the lava dome
Buzzy Sullivan, Boulder and Stream on the Pumice Plain Approximately One Half-Mile North of the Lava Dome, 2017; pigment print
Standing Dead Over Two Exposures, Approximately Eleven Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Standing Dead Over Two Exposures, Approximately Eleven Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
What Used to be Old Growth, Approximately a Quarter-Mile from the Lava Dome
Buzzy Sullivan, What Used to be Old Growth, Approximately a Quarter-Mile from the Lava Dome, 2017; pigment print
Old Growth, Approximately Thirteen Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Old Growth, Approximately Thirteen Miles Northeast of Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
Salvage Cut Post-Eruption, Approximately Five Miles from Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Salvage Cut Post-Eruption, Approximately Five Miles from Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
Man Behind Beached Log, South Shore of Spirit Lake, Approximately Four Miles North of Mount St. Helens
Buzzy Sullivan, Man Behind Beached Log, South Shore of Spirit Lake, Approximately Four Miles North of Mount St. Helens, 2017; pigment print
Jupiter Overlooking Loowit, Approximately One Half-Mile from the Lava Dome
Buzzy Sullivan, Jupiter Overlooking Loowit, Approximately One Half-Mile from the Lava Dome, 2018; pigment print
