Robert Stivers: The States Project: New Mexico

Robert Stivers: The States Project: New Mexico by Jennifer SchlesingerApril 3, 2016

©Robert Stivers

Robert Stivers is based in Santa Fe and is known for his moody, blurry images that for me are reminiscent of Noir films. What I love most about his work is how they are romantic yet have an air of horror film/book nostalgia. In some cases they bring to life for me many characters in the Steven King books I read in my teenage years. They can be sexy, romantic, charged with e(motion) and intrigue, all at the same time.

Robert has a darkroom across from mine in our loft space and while I work during the day, he is mostly only known to work at night so he can spread out and use the hallways to do other unique craftsmanship to his process. Robert works in a very masterful, intuitive way and I have always enjoyed the unique nature of his prints – no two truly every look the same, and they each retain a quality of beauty that only Robert’s process can yield. I am excited to present a broad array of his work here.

Robert Stivers (born November 17, 1953) is an American fine-art photographer. His work is best known for its captivating imagery and darkroom technique. The New Yorker describes his work as “ghostly black-and-white images whose theatricality smartly complements their mystery.” His work is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Getty Center, Harvard’s Fogg Museum, The Museum Ludwig, among others. He also has five monograms published by Arena Editions, Twin Palms Publishers, and Camerawork. Robert Stivers lives and works out of both Santa Fe, NM and Los Angeles, CA.

I gather my 2 1/4 hasselblad negatives and I bury myself in the darkroom. The negatives are sharp. Not out of focus. I throw them out of focus in the enlarger. Sometimes I don’t use negatives at all. I don’t know what I will work on when I enter the darkroom. I just know I need to explore the process of printing. I would like to understanding the medium better with each excursion to the darkroom. When I want to communicate something, I seem to be less successful. It is better when I let the work/meaning unfold through the process. I throw away a lot of paper. I like it when there is emotional content. I also like it when there is no emotional content. I try not to be attached.