ANASAZI
The Ancient Ones
As an Anthropology major in college, there was no story of greater intrigue for me than the disappearance of one of the most remarkable cultures to have ever graced this planet. That mystery has stirred and awakened my creative soul, leading me down the trail of discovering the world of watercolor painting on Yupo paper. The pictures that follow are just a few of the ones that will be on display during October, 2010.
WHERE DID THEY GO, AND WHY?
The word “Anasazi” (ah-nuh-SAH-zee) is used to describe a distinctive American Indian civilization and culture that existed from about 1200 B.C. to A.D. 1300 in the Four Corners Area of Southwestern United States. See Southwest Culture Map. These people are probably best known for the ruins of their monumental cliff dwellings at places like Mesa Verde, which they abandoned at the end of the 13th century.Some early archaeologists thought that the Anasazi disappeared without explanation, abandoning magnificent stone structures like the Cliff House cliff dwelling and a half-million gallon reservoir at Mesa Verde National Monument in Colorado, a five-story pueblo “apartment house” of 800 rooms at Chaco Cultural National Historic Park in New Mexico, and a huge sunken kiva with a 95-ton roof supported by four wooden posts at Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico.
Please take a few minutes to view the video below to get acquainted with the rich history of the Anasazi, as it is source from which my work has evolved over the past year.
This video captures the essence of who the Anasazi were, the cultural flavor of their lives and the mystery that surrounds their departure from historical record.
The watercolor work that follows embodies the spirit of the Ancient Ones, the Anasazi. There are 18 total slides in this series.
As you scroll through the pictures below, click on each one and then again for a closer look at the intricate detail within the whole. Return to the original picture by clicking the back arrow above the Bar Menu at the top.
Creation Story 1 5/2010
9x12
This was one of the first paintings in which I began using the dispersion techniques intentionally. Every time I take a closer look into this mandala-type form, I see areas of microscapes that I had previously missed. Many of the pictures that follow remind me of some of the Hubble telescope images we have all enjoyed over the years. At the same time, they are reminiscent of microscopic pictures of human cells.
For those interested in Creation Stories and Myths, here is some fascinating material:
Introduction to Native American Creation/Origin Tales
The ancient Native American origin myths are traditional answers, from each tribe’s perspective, to such universal questions as “Who are we? How did life begin? What is the meaning and purpose of life?” These symbolic explanations were passed down orally from one generation to the next for thousands of years and constitute one of the richest, as well as oldest, traditions in American literature.
Although many variations of these sacred myths exist, they generally include some kind of First Being that asexually creates the original sky parents who are sometimes known as Sky Father and Earth Mother. However, the main focus of the tales is often on the subsequent “generations”—the emerging primal forces symbolized as animal-like or insect-like “people” preparing the world for the coming of the later human-peoples (the present Indians) who would eventually populate the earth.
In the southwestern “Emergence Myths,” these sacred powers originate in the innermost womb of earth, and the mediational figures must pass upward and outward through several wombs or cave-like worlds until they are “birthed” out onto the surface of the earth awaiting transformation into habitable land. The magical powers of Grandmother Spider or Spider Woman play a key role in many of these tales.
For more information on Creation Stories please visit these sites:
First Emergence 5/2010
9x12
Out of Creation comes the First Emergence. And, so it was with this new watercolor technique: what unexpectedly emerged was a very organic, whispy, web-like blending of the colors. Click on the image and observe the intricate formations that permeate the basic, simple shape. I can paint the same flowing shape 100 times and get a different “microscape” each time. For these first images, I chose the more primitive, primordial forms of nature expressed through the earth, fire and smokey colors of black, brown, and red. As the paintings evolve, more colors are added sparingly.
My intent was to keep the primary shapes and forms as simple as possible, while allowing the unique blending of the colors to produce their own various complexities.
For this exhibit, a magnifying glass will be provided for in depth viewing of those intricacies that I refer to as “Microscapes.”
In this series, I have left each primary form to stand alone against the white backdrop. The purpose is to help guide the viewer into the picture’s subtler and subtler levels of emergence.
Third Emergence 5/2010
9x12
As the colors began to disperse in this painting, I couldn’t help but imagine some type of primordial sea creature or life form. Sea life and the Southwest, at first glance, didn’t quite connect, until I considered the abundant fossils of sea creatures and plants found in the region over the past century.
Mesa 5/2010
9x12
One of the most striking geological formations in the Southwest are the Mesas.
In this painting, the exact same sequence of form and color selection was used for each Mesa. And, yet, the resulting, micro formations were quite different.
Gourd 1 5/2010
9x12
With this painting, I began using a light mist of alcohol as another dispersing agent that creates both molting and antiquity effects. As the work progresses, that technique is used frequently. The embryonic-like image that took shape had qualities of being a gourd and bird.
Dancing Ghosts 8/2010
9x12
More paintings on the next page. Click on “Previous Page” at bottom.
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