Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby

With a vintage lens and an eye on regional America, Varjabedian captures both the spirit of place and the sense of enduring culture in the Southwest. His imagery comments upon landscape, culture, and how the two influence and imprint each other. Sometimes tinged with religiosity, sometimes humorous, his photographs have an intense clarity that befits his subject: New Mexico.--Gerald P. Peters, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, Dallas, New York



For more than twenty years, Craig Varjabedian has explored and photographed the red cliffs and sweeping plains of the fabled 21,000-acre Ghost Ranch in northern New Mexico. In Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby, he shares over ninety new duotone photographs capturing its evanescent light. These images reach beyond familiar ideas associated with the Ranch--such as its renown as a site of personal renewal and transformation--into Varjabedian's singular vision of his subject and its ties to ideas of identity, place, and perception.

To further illuminate the experience of Ghost Ranch, Varjabedian gathered an appreciation of Ghost Ranch, written by Georgia O'Keeffe, and essays written to accompany his photographs. These include an evocative introduction by photographer Jay Packer, an essay by writer Marin Sardy examining the place's natural features and social history, and topical essays by theological studies professor Belden C. Lane, arts writer Douglas A. Fairfield, and former Ghost Ranch executive director Rob Craig. Also included are forewords by Cathy L. Wright, director of the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, and Debra Hepler, executive director of Ghost Ranch.