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ANDREA ROBBINS and MAX BECHER
Born Boston, MA and Düsseldorf, Germany; reside New York, NY and Gainesville, FL

Andrea Robbins and Max Becher photographed their new series "Global Village" at a discovery center and park recently opened in Americus, Georgia.  This village is located at the headquarters of Habitat for Humanity International, a charitable organization that builds affordable housing for impoverished communities around the world.  The “attractions,” meant to promote awareness and inspire donations, consist of slum reconstructions, derived from photographs and film footage of actual sites in Central America, Africa, and Asia. Sadly, hardship is actually found right outside Global Village’s front door: 28% of the population of Americus is living at poverty level.  

For nearly twenty years, Robbins and Becher have investigated places that resemble other places as a result of colonialism, immigration, diaspora, and tourism—an effect they term “The Transportation of Place.”  With each series they employ a different photographic style fitting the subject; in “Global Village” they reference FSA photography of 1930s America. Their images of replicated stores, schoolrooms, and domestic spaces raise questions about entertainment, activism, and authenticity.  When the park displays are revealed to be simulated villages through accompanying text, the subject is transformed and called into question.  Nevertheless, the photographers’ intent is not to criticize fully Global Village’s efforts, but rather to analyze how photography and they, as first-world inhabitants, are enmeshed in the portrayal, interpretation, and understanding of third-world issues. Through this project, Robbins and Becher express their continued interest in anomalies of place, time, situation, and appearance. These slippages reflect, but also affect, cultural assumptions and stereotypes.

Robbins was born in 1963 in Boston, MA, and Becher was born in 1964 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Both hold BFA degrees from the Cooper Union School of Art (NY). Robbins studied at Hunter College (NY) and Becher holds an MFA from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University (NJ). Both are Assistant Professors at the University of Florida at Gainesville. Their photographs are in numerous collections, including Center for Creative Photography (AZ), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (CA), Whitney Museum of American Art (NY), The Guggenheim Museum (NY), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona (Spain), and Maison Européenne de la Photographie (France). A monograph of recent work, The Transportation of Place, will be published by Aperture in 2006. Significantly, this is the first time that work from this series will be shown. They are represented by Sonnabend Gallery (NY). >>>


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