In modern art and business, the lines between fields tend to blur as artists strive to connect concepts across media. Over the last decade, there has been a growing interest in works that cross genres, both in the publishing industry and among cultural organizations. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, a significant portion of professional artists in the United States now work across multiple creative fields, reflecting a growing appreciation for hybrid practice. This can also create opportunities for those who write, take photographs, perform, and consult, while building careers that are difficult to categorize and reaching diverse audiences.
Nathan Larson has constructed his professional life in that niche. As a theater enthusiast and prolific photographer, he developed a creative voice that combined visual and literary art with an entrepreneurial vision. Larson’s poetry tends to focus on memory, displacement, and the relationship of humans and their environment. His monograph collections, Cloud Hunter (2016) and Avian (2019), were noted in local literary communities for their ecological emphasis. His upcoming poetry and photography book, Field Notes on Avoidance, scheduled for release in 2025, continues these themes with poems that evidence his ongoing exploration of how humans intersect with the landscape.
Larson’s poetry grows out of a wide-ranging educational experience. He holds a degree in anthropology from the University of Chicago, where he graduated in 1995, and that academic background continues to inform his artistic vision. Anthropology’s focus on context and culture influences both the imagery of his poems and the narrative composition of his photographs. In addition, Larson wrote music reviews for The Chicago Maroon and worked in college marketing for Atlantic Records, gaining exposure to the performance and dynamics of engaging audiences. He previously appeared in regional theater productions, including Greater Tuna, and spent time in high school in St. Petersburg, Russia, as part of a student exchange program.
Photography has always been at the forefront of Larson’s professional life. He began taking photographs at the age of twelve after being taught darkroom procedures by a sixth-grade teacher. Eventually, his work branched into fine art prints and limited series, often combining pictures with field notes and essays. Initiatives like the “Why We Stay” project showcase his interest in community stories and the subtle documentation of daily life. His work has been included in juried shows such as the Carriage Barn Arts Center Photography Show and licensed worldwide through an affiliation with Wild Apple Graphics.
The intersection of art and business characterizes much of Larson’s career. He established Nathan Larson Photography as a company known for fine art prints, books, and licensed art, while maintaining an interest in narrative photography. Meanwhile, he established a consulting practice centered on creative-driven product strategy and design. Through this consultancy work, he helps start-ups and nonprofits frame their products using methods borrowed from the arts, with a focus on storytelling and user experience. Clients range from hospitality to technology, underscoring an approach that prioritizes cross-disciplinary thinking.
Mentorship is a significant part of Larson’s career. He is also a resident entrepreneur at the Black River Innovation Campus (BRIC) in Vermont, where he advises start-up firms, many of them rural-based. More than 40% of the firms supported by BRIC, according to BRIC’s 2023 annual report, are located outside large metropolitan areas, highlighting the importance of this advice for rural communities where capital availability and networking opportunities can be limited. Larson’s work helps such founders integrate creative problem-solving into their business models, substantiating his contention that art and business can inform each other.
Performance and public engagement remain supplemental to Larson’s writing and consulting. His WonderBuzz with Nate Larson podcast, which began in 2025, combines poetry, travelogue, and cultural commentary. The program has a 4.9 out of 5 rating on Apple Podcasts, based on listener feedback, and covers a range of topics, including field recording methods and discussions with other artists on the intersection of place and memory. The project recollects the collaborative spirit of his previous theater work but presents a modern forum for his narrative.
Larson’s career illustrates how one can support various modes of practice without undermining any individual endeavor. His poetry books, photographic series, and teaching activities all share a common interest in the textures of everyday life and the interpersonal relationships with the environment. The ecological and displacement themes that emerge in his poetry also appear in his rural landscape photographs and his consulting practice, where he assists organizations in creating experiences aligned with genuine human needs.
The intersection of arts and commerce is part of a larger set of changes affecting the cultural economy. A 2023 survey by the Brookings Institution found that the creative industries contribute substantially to U.S. GDP each year, with growth driven mainly by small businesses and independent artists. Larson engages in activities as varied as publishing poetry and providing advice for start-ups, while also following larger trends; we see here how a solo artist participates in both economic and cultural change.
Nathan Larson’s trajectory best exemplifies a consistent history of experimentation. From early-stage drama to published poetry, from art photography to advising entrepreneurs, Larson continues to find ways to combine disparate creative practices into a singular career. His upcoming work, Field Notes on Avoidance, will likely add more thought to this process, as his consulting work ensures that each new generation of artists and entrepreneurs can reflect on his creative and entrepreneurial practice. By combining visual art, literary art, and business advice, Larson highlights an emergent possibility for cross-genre storytelling in contemporary culture.
