2001, MFA, Fine Art Photography
1999, MS, Secondary Education, Rochester Institute of Technology, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester, New York
1986, MBA, Golden Gate University, San Francisco, California
1979, BA, English, Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, Louisiana.
Allen is Assistant Professor in the Business Studies Department at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at RIT.
A replant from California, Allen arrived in Rochester August, 1995 to pursue his dream of a fine art photography degree. Once here, he discovered the rich deaf community and sign language. The fine art degree took a back seat to a graduate degree in secondary deaf education. He has been recognized nationally for his creative works in photography as well as poetry. Deaf due to illness in his early twenties, a dominate theme focuses on navigating the fine line between deaf and hearing cultures. Currently, Allen teaches business courses at NTID.
“Kokopellie, a Native American fertility deity and jokester, was deaf. He was commonly and erroneously portrayed as a hunch-backed flute playing dancer. His true identity as a bread baker was masked by the yeast he spread (like water for chocolate) among the corn meal used by others to bake their own bread. Like many artisans, Kokopellie worked best by the light and silence of night. Descending upon unbaked dough left to rise overnight, he escaped undetected by climbing roof-top ladders to evaporate with the morning mist.”
These images above are from Allen Ford’s MFA thesis with detailed descriptions of each individual piece. Click on the images above to read more about each one.
The images below contain a gallery of Allen Ford’s work.
