Craig was a combat marine stationed in the central region of Vietnam
from April 1966 to December 1967. Though not a photographer during
his tour of duty, he has returned to Vietnam every year since 1995
in an effort to better understand what happened during the conflict.
He works with homemade pinhole cameras constructed of cardboard
and tape. His finished negatives are made into platinum prints,
a technique that evokes the look of 19th century photographs. The
inherent blurriness of the image produces imprecise scenes, which
mimic a dreamstate or dimly recalled memories. A resident of Brooklyn,
NY, Barber has shown at the Oravska Galeria, Slovakia, the SE Museum
of Photography, Daytona Beach, FL, as well as in Seattle, New York
and San Francisco. He received a B.A. in Photography from State
University, New York and has since given workshops nationally.
Ghosts in the Landscape: Vietnam Revisited
"Older, gentler, more mature and many years after my fist experience,
I began returning to Vietnam early in 1995; my intentƒphotographing,
writing and learning about a land my country and my youth sent me
to many years ago. Blissful in my ignorance upon my first arrival
in Vietnam, saddened and still ignorant upon my departure, I returned
home with more questions than answers, and more anger than I care
to admit. This time, carrying vivid memoriesƒsome good, some not
so, each equally intense, each needing clarificationƒI hoped for
a better understandingƒwith each day I navigated through the landscape
of my emotions. There are major contradictions between many of my
memories and my photographs, but one has to remember, that while
I was in Vietnam during the 1960Ís the events of the moment were
happening in the lush landscapes seen in these images. We patrolled
rice paddies and quaint villages, all seemingly quiet and pristine
only to turn the corner and step into hell, turn another corner
and return back to quiet and pristine. The dichotomy was constant.
As I worked in Vietnam during my return trips, this was the flow
my mind followedƒlush, quiet landscapes accompanied by a torrent
of memories that never fade."
RESUME
Background/Education B.A. Photographyƒƒƒ..State University, New
York
A.A. Photographyƒƒƒ..Everett Community College, Everett, WA
Instructor: Since 1991 has instructed in Santa Fe, Mexico City,
Poprad (Slovakia), Kansas City, Layton (New Jersey), Santa Cruz,
San Antonio, New York, Seattle an others.
Guest Lecturer Since 1988 has lectured in Buenos Aires, Charleston,
Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Daytona Beach, San Antonio, Seattle
and elsewhere. Exhibitions He has had many dozens of solo and group
exhibitions throughout the world since 1977. Collections His work
is included in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum
in London, New York Public Library, HoustonÍs Museum of Fine Arts,
Santa FeÍs Museum of New Mexico, Minneapolis Institute of Arts,
Denmark's Museet For Fotokunst, the Polaroid Corporation in Cambridge,
Buenos Aires' Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, the Tashkent Cultural
Center, Graham Nash Collection in San Francisco, the Dow Jones Corporation,
the Seattle City Light Collection and others.
"Havana Passage" In the late 1990's I ventured to Cuba
for the first time and visited a land that has remained a forbidden
mystery for most American citizens. Unspoiled by mass consumerism
and global trademarks, Cuba remains a unique blend of Spanish colonial
and 1950's Americana with not a Starbucks in sight. But now, after
decades of economic separation, this island sits at the threshold
of radical transformation as the country moves from an economy of
Socialism to an economy of capitalism. From the peso to the dollar.
Soon, what is distinctive about an isolated Cuba will begin to fade
with globalization. For the past 40 years America has been obsessed
with the political climate of Cuba while understanding little about
the people, their culture, or their land. My project, "Havana
Passage", is about observing, understanding and documenting
the cultural landscape before globalization begins to impact Havana.
As the world becomes more homogenized I feel the need to photograph
that which is unique. Craig J Barber 2002
Visit Craig online at www.CraigBarber.com
