Midwestern Nights: Photographs by Robin Bailey, Jim Hill, and Dave Jordano

Midwestern Nights is a collaborative exhibition by three Midwest photographers: Robin Bailey, Jim Hill and Dave Jordano, which explores the after-dark world of Midwest cities and towns. Each artist brings their unique vision to the project from Jordano’s look at surviving structures in transitional neighborhoods of Detroit, to Hill’s capturing the essence of small rural towns in Illinois and Iowa, and Bailey’s collection of vernacular scenes of the heartland.

These three photographers have chosen to capture thirty-six scenes while photographing at night. Night creates a distinct atmosphere in these images, one that isolates the scene and allows for an uninhibited and contemplative view. There are stories in these images— stories of perseverance, fortitude and survival; and, though devoid of people, these images overflow with a human presence that is palpable.

Artist Bios

Robin Bailey

Robin W. Bailey is a photographer, based in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. His photographic work is rooted in the presentation of quintessential scenes of Midwestern towns and neighborhoods — focused on exploring the surviving vestiges of America’s mid-20th-century heartland.

A product of the Midwest, Robin grew up in the manufacturing towns of Northeast Ohio. He was born into a working-class family where both parents worked. This blue-collar background is an essential element in his vision and his photographic work. As a photographer, Robin is primarily self-taught driven by a desire to create and investigate the world and the practice of photography. He has attended multiple workshops with photographers, such as Frank Gohlke; Linda Conner; Larry Fink, David Bayles and Eva Rubinstein.

Robin graduated with a BA in English Literature from the Ohio State University after also attending Kent State University. After a very eclectic career, he has recently retired from his 20-year position as director of marketing with a testing equipment manufacturing company.

In retirement, Robin’s focus is now on extending his photographic endeavors. His work is enjoying an increasing number of shows throughout the country, including: Spiva Center for the Arts, Joplin, MO; the Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA; The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO; Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, Providence, RI, Quad City Arts Gallery, Rock Island, IL and the Photo Midwest Festival, Madison, WI.

robinwbailey.com

Jim Hill

Jim Hill is a Chicago-based photographer who is focused on photographing the world at night. He was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a degree in geology. After living in a small town in Wisconsin dairy country for eight years, Jim moved to the Chicago area and has lived there for over 30 years.

Following an international career as a groundwater geologist, Jim is now focusing his time and energy on photography. Jim participated in the 2021 Chico Review and his work has been in17 juried, gallery shows or photo
festivals. Jim’s on-going series “Small Places” was featured in Lenscratch (http://lenscratch.com/2023/04/jim-hill/) and was a 2023 Critical Mass finalist.

jahill3.com

Dave Jordano

Dave Jordano was born in 1948 in Detroit, Michigan. He received his BFA in photography from the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit in 1974. In 1977 he established a highly successful commercial photography studio in Chicago, shooting major advertising campaigns for companies, such as Crate & Barrel; Starbucks; Sears; Nestle; Kraft Foods; General Mills, Nintendo and Kellogg’s.

As a mid-career fine art photographer, Jordano has received numerous a accolades and awards. He first received an honorable mention in the Houston Center for Photography’s Long-term Fellowship Project in 2003, and then
received the Curator’s Choice Award the following year. He is a four-time top-20 finalist in Photolucida’s “Critical Mass” national photography competition in Portland, OR, as well as becoming a three-time finalist in the LensCulture International Photography Awards.

In 2015 he was awarded the Peter Urban Legacy Prize and Best of Show Award from the Griffin Museum of Photography’s annual competition, became a finalist in the triennial Outwin-Boochever Portrait Competition from the Nation Portrait Gallery, Washington DC and received the prestigious $50,000 AIMIA-AGO Photography Prize in Canada for his work in Detroit. Jordano has exhibited both internationally and nationally.

His work is included in several private, corporate and museum collections, most notably the permanent collection of The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; the Library of Congress; Prints and Photographs Division; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Detroit Art Institute; the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University and the Federal Reserve.

davejordano.com