Calm Before the Storm Review of "Burning Field by Kathleen Robbins

The Calm Before the Storm
“Burning Field”
Kathleen Robbins

            I have had the pleasure of getting to see a spectacular exhibit at the Light Factory full of exquisite photography.  It is important to me as a young and growing photographer to see the work of others to help inspire me.  I often hope to be as amazing as they are one day.  The show was called “The Calm Before the Storm”.  All the work was extremely engaging and interesting, however one in particular stood out from the rest for me personally.  It was a work by Kathleen Robbins entitled: “Burning Field” done in 2011 from a series called “In Cotton”.

            The digital image was surprisingly simple, and yet it was oddly captivating.  The main focal point of the work was a red tractor off-center engulfed in smoke as it plowed through a field.  The crop field looks dead and barren as its particles are thrown up into the air billowing in clouds until you cannot even see the sky.  Then, you notice a small corner piece at the top right of a pure baby blue.  A little bit of the sky managed to show through.  Even though this splash of color was up in the corner, it doesn’t distract or bring the eye out of the piece.  Somehow it’s cohesive and brings unity within the photograph.  Once examined even further, on the small horizon line in the distance there’s a line of fire blazing.
            People often wondered what type of field it was and why were they burning it? Was it a plan to scorch the land to prepare it for new life? Or was it something else?  It’s also interesting that such simple subject was chosen for a photograph.  Most viewers would find these rural settings to be boring or unexciting.  The artist must have some connection to such a place for it to become effective.  My hunch was correct.  The artist had grown up on this land for most of her life.  She says she’s “pulled to this place”.  Sometimes such places of origin can define you and even keep you coming back over and over again.  I relate to this because I too grew up in a rural setting for my entire life until college.  My hometown has such an imprint on who I am as a person that it is often the basis of my own photography.  A sense of place can be extremely impactful.
            I believe that Robbins succeeded with her intentions of opening up the viewers’ world to her own background and the beauty and simplicity of rural places.  She probably often saw the crop fields being burned and taken care of for a new season of growth and translates this in her piece.  It’s just so beautiful to see most of the sky covered in dirt and particles from the fire and the plowing, but then a small piece of that deep, rich blue still shines through despite it all.  That kind of blue you cannot find in cities and that kind of growth/rebirth and care for the land you also cannot find cities.  I love that she’s bringing awareness to these places by her photographic skills, attention to composition and detail, and by her own background.  Origin is a great start for artwork and we as the viewers can almost feel her connection to these places while we view the work.