Resume

			FORD MACLAUGHLIN ROBBINS 1942 Born, San Pedro (Los Angeles), California Education: 2007 Workshop with Al Weber and David Vestal, Condon, Montana 1984 Workshop with Bruce Barnbaum, Rockport, Maine 1980 Workshop with Oliver Gagliani, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1975 Workshop with Fred Picker, Newfane, Vermont 1967 J.D. in Law, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1964 B.A. in Government, Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin Selected Solo Exhibitions: 2011 Johnsons of Madrid Galleries of Fine & Fiber Art, Madrid, New Mexico 2009 Johnsons of Madrid Galleries of Fine & Fiber Art, Madrid, New Mexico 2006 Johnsons of Madrid Galleries of Fine & Fiber Art, Madrid, New Mexico 2004 Katrina Lasko Gallery, Bernalillo, New Mexico 2003 Amsterdam Whitney Int’l Fine Art, New York NY 2002 Amsterdam Whitney Int’l Fine Art, New York NY 2000 Segreto Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico Selected Group Exhibitions: 2009 “Through the Lens: Creating Santa Fe”, Palace of the Governors, The New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico “Through the Lens: A Contemporary View of Santa Fe”, Santa Fe Community College Visual Arts Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico 2008 “Collector’s Guide Acknowledgement”, Johnsons of Madrid Galleries of Fine Art & Fiber, Madrid, New Mexico 2006 “Southwest Biennial”, The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, Albuquerque, New Mexico “Group Show: Arlene Becker, Robert Miller, Ford Robbins”, Verve Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico 2004 “FIVE: Contemporary Photography Invitational”, Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin 2003 “American Landscape Photography”, United States Department of State, United States Embassy, Oman 2002 Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, Pittsfield, Massachusetts 2001 “Black & White and In Between”, Segreto Comtemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico “Landscape: Photography of Ford Robbins and David Noble”, Johnsons of Madrid Galleries of Fine Art, Madrid, New Mexico “Contemporary Art 2001,”, Art Center at Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, New Mexico 2000 “Third Annual foca Artists Exhibition”, LewAllen Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico Selected Awards/Commissions: 2011 Commissioned Photographs, State of New Mexico, Art In Public Places Program. 2009 Commissioned Photograph, State of New Mexico, Art In Public Places Program. 2000 Juror’s Award, “Contemporary Art 2000”, Art Center at Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, New Mexico. Teaching/Art Related Employment: 2001 Assistant to Dan Weldon, Master Printer, Florence, Italy 1998 - 2012 Lecturer in Photography, Ghost Ranch Conference Center, Abuquiu, NM Selected Bibliography: (Reviews) David Steinberg, "Surreal View Through Black, White", Albuquerque Journal, October 4, 2009 Charlotte Jusinski, "Connect the Dots”, Santa Fe Reporter, October 7-13, 2009 David Vestal, "Ford Robbins Connections A Visual Journal, finity 42,* 2009 Ford Robbins, “Connections: A Visual Journal”, Red Mountain Press, Santa Fe, 2009 “Mary Anne Redding and Krista Elrick, “Through The Lens: Creating Santa Fe”, Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe, 2008 FIVE: Contemporary Photography Invitational”, Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, 2004 Paul Weideman, “Photos Develop Into Superior Editing Job”, PASATIEMPO, Santa Fe New Mexican, June 9 - 15, 2000 *David Clemmer, “Group Show: Word/Image Image/Word” THE Magazine, Jan/Feb 2000 Selected Collections: Palace of the Governors, New Mexico History Museum Saginaw Art Museum, Saginaw, Michigan State of New Mexico Capitol Art Foundation, Santa Fe, New Mexico State of New Mexico, Department of Cultural Affairs, Art in Public Places Program City of Brea Cultural Center, Brea, California Security American Financial Enterprises, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota Maki-Weatherby, Inc., Bloomington, Minnesota St. Luke Presbyterian Church, Minnetonka, Minnesota Numerous Private Collections A complete resume is available upon request.
	I am one of those people who must be in the natural world. As a child living in Minneapolis, I spent peaceful summer days fishing at the nearby lake. As a teen I spent my summers on the lakes sailing or paddling Minnesota’s boundary waters in a canoe. For me, the natural world is not a refuge from the world of activity; it is an important part of my being. Most of my images are the result of my work in the ecologically distressed and/or threatened rock, rough and desolate places near my home. I am constantly struck by the sheer beauty present in places of severe or significant environmental destruction, places that I would not believe capable of supporting life. The fecundity of nature in these areas is breathtaking. In doing so, I trust we will pay attention to the world around us and become more compassionate toward and connected with our home. I am interested in the essence of things, how light creates that essence, and how I relate with that essence. I cannot define what stops me, what causes me to pause, but something draws me in. For me, every photograph is primarily a moment of being alive, of living, of connecting; it is only incidentally a record of historic fact or time. I “create” on film, yet that is not possible without a deep embrace of what is in front of me. I intend that my image reveal something more than the object in it, and to move you, the viewer, to a higher level of sensual awareness of the world we live in. Today it seems that we draw our connections to “reality” from a world of “electronically-generated vistas and engineered pleasures,” as David Abram has described. I am not interested in “virtual” reality. I draw my link to reality from direct experience. I try to translate that experience into the images I create. Lorine Niedecker eloquently reminds us that “in every part of every living thing / is stuff that once was rock / In blood the minerals of the rock.” My tools are simple: a mechanical camera loaded with film, a tripod, and a light meter. Prints are made in a darkroom using chemicals. I enjoy working with my hands. The materials that I use have taught me much. I need the feedback the materials give me; I cannot get that from a monitor. I also respect the tradition and teaching of my mentors. I want to carry that tradition forward in a new way. I readily accept the new digital tools, but I believe there is a place for the use of the old tools, and I prefer to use them.

(c) 2009-12 Ford Robbins. All Rights Reserved.