Ford Gilbreath
Our Town After Dark
Jan 9 - Feb 1, 2025
This series of photographs, Our Town After Dark, began in 2018 when Robyn and I moved with our two dogs to a rural town in the Palouse region of eastern Washington, after having lived in Seattle for 40 years. We were immediately fascinated by the dazzling night sky in our new home, and I started getting to know our new surroundings by making photographs during the night.
The Garfield population was almost 1000 residents in 2018, but decreased to 597 in 2010. Garfield once supported a 24-hour cafe named the Busy Bee, which is still there, but now closed. These days, volunteers at the American Legion Hall provide free meals regularly, and the current favorite meeting place in town is a cafe/tavern named Grumpy’s. Two signs on the telephone pole outside of Grumpy’s point in the same direction to the Garfield Gun Club and the Cemetery.
It is fascinating to walk with my camera at night in our new home town. The light at night is an odd mix of artificial and natural light. It is fun to see how some people decorate their homes for the holidays, but sad to see the vulnerability of our infrastructure. It makes me think of other people and makes me feel very small. There is a sense of isolation, as well as community spirit.
In 1972, I bought a copy of the Whole Earth Catalog publication, Place - A Workingman’s Guide to the Universe, which is a compilation of photographs, essays, poems and drawings conveying a sense of a certain place. I still have that book, and the concept has stayed with me.
In-Person Artist Talk: Sat, Jan 11, 3 PM
Ford Gilbreath (American, b.1951, he/him/his) began showing his photographs in the Pacific Northwest at the 1975 inaugural Blue Sky Gallery exhibition in Portland, Oregon. Honors received for his work include the Betty Bowen Award from the Seattle Art Museum Friends of Betty Bowen Committee, a No Strings Foundation Grant, an Artist Trust Fellowship, plus purchases and commissions from the Seattle Arts Commission, Kent Arts Council and King County Arts Commission. His photographs are in the collections of the Portland Art Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen Museum in Mannheim, Germany, The Evergreen State College and Peninsula College in Washington State. Ford is currently living in Eastern Washington and making photographs at night.