Photographs by Craig Varjabedian
Foreword by Hampton Sides
Essays by Marin Sardy and Jeanetta Calhoun Mish
From the University of New Mexico Press October 1, 2012
A place of diverse origins and composite identities, New Mexico offers a crossroad of cultures
and a patchwork of landscapes. Here, the connections between earth and sky, present and past, nature
and culture are easily seen but rarely simple to understand. This stunning, large format book (11 by 11
inches), with over ninety monochrome images by award-winning photographer Craig Varjabedian presents a
definitive portrait.
New Mexico celebrates its centennial of statehood in 2012, and photographer Varjabedian
honors that legacy with this retrospective collection of his finest work that explores the state’s physical
variety and enduring allure. Essayist Marin Sardy examines historical lore
and well-known locales, probing at the heart of its peculiar character and power—its enchantment—to
better understand what defines New Mexico. Poet and professor Jeanetta Calhoun Mish offers a keen
analysis of the special character of Craig Varjabedian’s images And New York Times best selling author
Hampton Sides opens with a personal appreciation and anecdotal identification with the
photographer’s quiet walks across the landscape.
Craig Varjabedian reflects on the state’s unfolding identity in elegantly composed photographs
that reveal his reverence for New Mexico through the “eloquent light” he masterfully captures through
his lens. This collection of black-and-white images, superbly reproduced in duotone printing, presents
new photographs never before exhibited in public alongside selections from the body of work he has
created over the past twenty-five years. With subject matter ranging from some of the state’s most iconic
landforms to the faces of a sampling of its diversity of people, the artist pays homage both to the part
New Mexico has played in history and to the quiet reality of everyday life.
Together, these words and images reveal the extraordinary depth and beauty of the idea that is
New Mexico.
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Digital image files of the book cover or the photographs are available upon request for editorial and promotional use.
For any inquires, please contact:
Cindy Lane, Studio Manager
Craig Varjabedian Photography, LLC.
903 W. Alameda St., No. 115
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505)983-2934
