Featured Article - July 2009

Video: See the images and watch
photographer Craig Varjabedian at work

Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby

Photographs by Craig Varjabedian

Georgia O’Keeffe first visited northern New Mexico in 1917, and immediately fell in love with the state’s captivating landscapes. She was particularly drawn to the brightly colored sandstone cliffs and desert mesas of Ghost Ranch, near Abiquiú, which served as subject matter for many of her paintings and drawings, from the mid-1930s through the end of her career. Today, the area is appropriately nicknamed “O’Keeffe country.”

With support from the New Mexico Humanities Council, photographer Craig Varjabedian revisited this enchanting region for his newly published book, Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby (University of New Mexico Press, available July 1). In seven years of exploring and backpacking O’Keeffe country Varjabedian retraces some of the artist’s footsteps, reinterpreting Ghost Ranch’s iconic scenery in 110 breathtaking black-and-white photographs.

“The natural outcome of falling in love with someone is writing them a love letter, and I think, in a very real way, Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby is a love letter to a place that truly captured my heart,” Varjabedian says. “If you’ve ever fallen in love with somebody, I think that best describes what happened to me on Ghost Ranch. I went up there probably the first week I had come to New Mexico, and I just somehow knew when I walked on the land at that place that there was something to do there. I was being called in some way.” —Brandon Call

For info: www.craigvarjabedian.com

See More of Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby:

July 12–September 27
Exhibition: Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby: Photographs by Craig Varjabedian. Albuquerque Museum of Art and History (2000 Mountain Rd. NW, Albuquerque). Sunday, July 12: Opening Events: 1 p.m.: talk and book signing with Craig Varjabedian. 2–4 p.m.: refreshments. For info: (505) 243-7255 or www.cabq.gov/museum

July 17
Presentation: Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby: Photographs by Craig Varjabedian. Book talk and signing. 6 p.m., New Mexico History Museum Auditorium (120 Lincoln Ave., Santa Fe). Made possible by the New Mexico Humanities Council and Collected Works Bookstore.
For info: Collected Works Bookstore, (505) 988-4226

July 26–August 1
Photography Workshop: The New Mexico Landscape at Eloquent Light Photography. There’s something magical about July and August in New Mexico. This is when the annual monsoons arrive, bringing to the land much-needed water, along with dramatic skies, beautiful sunsets, and rainbows for workshop participants to photograph. Join Craig Varjabedian for instruction in landscape photography. For info: (505) 983-2934, www.eloquentlight.com

August 8
Family Art Workshop: Eye Spy Ghost Ranch, led by Jackie M of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. 1–2 p.m. and 2–3 p.m., Albuquerque Museum of Art and History (2000 Mountain Rd. NW, Albuquerque). For info: (505) 243-7255

Find Your Own Faraway:

July 6–October 4
Workshops: Ghost Ranch offers a variety of week-long workshops. Ghost Ranch, Abiquiú.
For info: (877) 804-4678, www.ghostranch.org

Visit: Ghost Ranch & Georgia O’Keeffe Landscape Tours: One-hour tours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Ghost Ranch, Abiquiú (O’Keeffe’s home not included). Reservations required. For info: (877) 804-4678, www.ghostranch.org

Visit: Georgia O’Keeffe and Ghost Ranch on Horseback, Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Ghost Ranch, Abiquiú. For info: (877) 804-4678, www.ghostranch.org

July 9
Workshop: Writing in O’Keeffe Country, led by writer Lauren Camp. 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Georgia O’Keeffe Museum (217 Johnson St., Santa Fe). For info: (505) 946-1039, www.okeeffemuseum.org

August 3
Workshop: Walks in the American West—The Geology of O’Keeffe Country, with local geologist Kirt Kempter. 8:30 a.m.–4:30 pm., Georgia O’Keeffe Museum (217 Johnson St., Santa Fe).
For info: (505) 946-1039, www.okeeffemuseum.org

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