Land dominates the everyday lives of the sparse population on the flat, arid Texas High Plains.

Their very existence is continually shaped by this single, most important fact.

As I stepped into, out of and around farms, workplaces, ranches, oil fields and homes,

the images I brought back reflect the region’s rich light and detailed colors.

These complement the uplifting spirit, determined optimism and

guarded wariness of a people in wait of what the next dawn will bring.

– John Van Beekum, 2015

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These images were exhibited in Miami, Florida, in March, 2015 at the University of Miami's

Wynwood Art Gallery and in Lipscomb, Texas, in May-June, 2016, at the Wolf Creek Historical Museum.

 

The work was created in all-digital, high-resolution photography and

is presented in large format, archival prints, mounted in unfinished wood frames.

A native of the Texas High Plains, Van Beekum has exhibited his fine art photography

in juried national exhibitions in the United States since 2005.

 

This is his first solo exhibition since he returned to creating personal documentary

and non-objective photography after four decades of career photojournalism,

working in Texas, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Miami.

 

Van Beekum graduated with his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Miami in 2012. He was awarded

his Master of Fine Arts in Photography/Digital Imaging from UM’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2015.

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He currently teaches ART210–Introduction to Digital Photography in the Department of Art at UM.