Over a four-year period beginning in
1995, photographer Craig J. Barber, excombat
Marine, returned to Vietnam
to traverse many of his former military
routes, making images with an 8 x 10-
inch pinhole camera. Part cathartic
exercise, part curiosity about what had
beome of this once war-torn country,
Barber has created a series of diptych
and triptych panorama platinum images
that capture the serene beauty of
the country and, at times for him, the
all-too-memorable landscapes.
The images Barber has captured
are not documentary images.
The minutes-long exposure required
to record pinhole images produce
blurring in anything that was in motion
during the exposure. This sense
of movement contributes to both a
sense of mystery and a dreamlike, introspective
quality. One critic wrote:
"The blur in the images, here seen
in diptychs or triptychs as when the
soldier Barber was looking to left and
right-for a movement, a muzzle
flash-now takes on a new meaning
in the civilian Barber's eyes...[and]
completely capture the haunting power
of wartime memory and trauma."
Yet these images do convey beauty
and peace. They will appeal to a wide
audience and to Vietnam veterans who may find some comfort,
as does Craig Barber, in seeing
Vietnam in a different light.
Accompanying the exhibition
is a 60-page, duatone catalog
published by Umbrage Editions. It
includes an essay by Alison Nordstršm,
curator of photographs, an
artist statement, and quotes from
Barber's journal. Each venue will receive
up to 24 catalogs at no charge,
except for shipping.
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