SnakeMedicine_Book1
first in a series of personal odysseys that explore sacred earth sites. A joint project by photographer Scott Angus and Emily Sopensky. first in a series of personal odysseys that explore sacred earth sites. A joint project by photographer Scott Angus and Emily Sopensky.
THE ITINERARY 1. MONTICELLO, VIRGINIA 2. BEAR MOUND, IOWA 3. LAKOTA HILLS, MISSOURI 4. COLORADO PLATEAU, COLORADO 5. STONE MOUNTAIN, COLORADO 6. UTE INDIAN MOUNTAIN, UTAH 7. CHACO CANYON, NEW MEXICO 8. BLACK MESA BUTTE, NEW MEXICO 9. BLACK MESA, ARIZONA 10. SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN, ARIZONA 11. NEVADA-ARIZONA BORDER 12. ANASAZI RUINS, ARIZONA 13. ZUNI LANDS, ARIZONA 14. ESCALANTE PLATEAU, UTAH 15. CAPITOL REEF, UTAH 16. BRYCE CANYON, UTAH 17. “HOV”, UTAH (DRIVE BY) 18. ZION NATIONAL PARK, ARIZONA 19. MOJAVE DESERT, NEVADA 20. ON THE WAY TO PALM SPRINGS, NEVADA 21. CAHOKIA, ILLINOIS and Point Lobos gave him the solitude for inspiration. Weston made kelp and windblown trees appear sensual and alive. In the mid-20 th century, Minor White’s passion for the mundane brought the art of landscape photography to a new height. Rows of furrowed ground compete with natural wonders. A mid-Westerner transplanted to the West Coast, White is remembered for his intellectual curiosity and philosophical pursuit of truth. At last count, the Brazilian Sebastião Salgado has visited 120 countries. He uses his talents as a photographer to enlighten the world about the age-old war between nature and man. The former will ultimately win out, but Salgado is often in the midst of causes to protect or restore the environment. Unless the photographer has declared a moratorium on cropping the photograph, the photographer’s job is not done without employing editing options. For example, should the photo remain untouched? How is it best displayed? Landscape photographers have a complex job of determining how much should be left as is it is in nature, what should be “interpreted” for the viewer with a few discreet crops, or how much the photographer wants mood and environment to be reflected. Should he return on a cloudy day, or a sunset or sunrise, or at a different time of year? The landscape generally doesn’t change, but the photographer’s goals and attitude inevitably do. In this volume, Scott Angus shares his art as well as his thoughts about the photographs he took on his cross-country odyssey. Recorded in 2006 and 2013-2016, his recollections are poignant and remain fresh. But just as important, he gives you a look at the photographs from a photographer’s view. We hope that his sight, becomes yours as you seek your own spiritual places—hence, the play on words “site” and “sight”. Placing the photos into context, Emily Sopensky describes the historical significance of the sites. Her conversations with Scott Angus trigger some of the more significant insights to the photographer’s eye and the ability to “see” his subject. This collection of photos is organized by site, chronologically by Angus’ itinerary. After a practical description of the site and its historical significance, each picture is presented first in color than in black-andwhite. The photographer points out the difference between the two. In Conversations with the Artist, he answers some of these questions: What attracted you to the site? What makes it a sacred site? What is sacred in this photo? Why take this photo? Why this angle? What is the focus in the color photo? In the black&white? What color(s) are dominant in this photo? What object is the focus? Where do you want the viewer’s eyes to go? Would you recommend crops? If so, where? What would you leave out if you had to crop it? There are many decisions to be made of which the observer is unaware. 4
S N A K E M E D I C I N E In some Native American traditions, the snake signifies transmutation, a shedding of skin as a life begins. In this debut album, the photographer embarked on a cross-country road trip that ultimately transported him to a new career and a new life. In part this is a record of his trip. Regardless of the importance of the snake in Native American culture, remarkably and without intent, the snake is the subject of many of his photos. The trip culminates when the photographer visits Cahokia, one of the 23 UNESCO World Cultural Sites in the United States, and located in southern Illinois across the river from St. Louis, Missouri. Exploring the surrounding universe is fundamental to any inquisitive mind. For a photographer, discovery is a way of life, and the anchor of his calling. The photographer in this record was already familiar with visiting sacred sites as far ranging as those on Navajo reservations and Anwar Wat, the ancient mystical Cambodian temples. Attracted to powerful landscapes as well as ancient symbology, the photographer conceived an itinerary that took him from Washington, D.C. to Orange County, California via a non-traditional route. Visiting with friends and family along the way, some even joined him in his quest for spiritual earth sites. The first odyssey ends in St. Louis, Missouri, where Scott Angus teaches at Maryville University. Again, without conscious intent, he is learning how propitious St. Louis is to his own quest for sacred earth sites. Some archeologists pit Cahokia city, established in the first century just across the great Mississippi River from current day St. Louis proper, as the heartland and homeland for the ensuing cultures of Native Americans that spread throughout the Midwest, the Great Plains and the South of the United States. Seeing the unseen is the theme that runs throughout the book. Invoking the owl’s mystical role as gatekeeper to the unknown realms, we spy on the great natural landscapes, and intuit their inner secrets. What a coincidence that by chasing the spiritually powerful, but dormant Native American sacred sites, the quest ends where it all began—in St. Louis! 5
- Page 5 and 6: SACRED EARTH SITES: SEEING THE UNSE
- Page 8 and 9: TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S PREFAC
- Page 12 and 13: ON LOCATION 1 I M O N T I C E L L O
- Page 15 and 16: C o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h t
- Page 17 and 18: Bear Mound, Iowa. Bear Mound - Effi
- Page 19 and 20: C o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h t
- Page 21 and 22: “Wineman’s” Bluff, Missouri.
- Page 23 and 24: C o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h t
- Page 25 and 26: Mountain Ridge, Colorado Plateau, C
- Page 27 and 28: C o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h t
- Page 29 and 30: Stone Circle, Colorado. Stone Circl
- Page 31 and 32: C o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h t
- Page 33 and 34: Endless Embrace. Scruff in the fore
- Page 35 and 36: C o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h t
- Page 37: Undulating Seams. Shot at high noon
- Page 40 and 41: Eternal Sky Meets Age-old Artifices
- Page 43 and 44: C o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h t
- Page 45: Beyond Approach. Cliffs drop off to
- Page 48 and 49: ON LOCATION 9 I BLACK MESA, ARIZONA
- Page 50 and 51: A Stairway (Black Mesa, Arizona). S
- Page 52 and 53: ON LOCATION 10 I S U P E R S T I T
- Page 54 and 55: The Stillness of a Whisper. Apache
- Page 56 and 57: ON LOCATION 11 I B O R D E R , A R
- Page 58 and 59: Arizona-Nevada border, north of the
S N A K E M E D I C I N E<br />
In some Native American traditions, the snake signifies transmutation,<br />
a shedding of skin as a life begins. In this debut album, the<br />
photographer embarked on a cross-country road trip that ultimately<br />
transported him to a new career and a new life. In part this is a record<br />
of his trip.<br />
Regardless of the importance of the<br />
snake in Native American culture, remarkably<br />
and without intent, the snake is the<br />
subject of many of his photos.<br />
The trip culminates when the photographer<br />
visits Cahokia, one of the 23 UNESCO<br />
World Cultural Sites in the United States,<br />
and located in southern Illinois across the<br />
river from St. Louis, Missouri.<br />
Exploring the surrounding universe is<br />
fundamental to any inquisitive mind. For<br />
a photographer, discovery is a way of life,<br />
and the anchor of his calling. The photographer<br />
in this record was already familiar<br />
with visiting sacred sites as far ranging as<br />
those on Navajo reservations and Anwar<br />
Wat, the ancient mystical Cambodian temples.<br />
Attracted to powerful landscapes as<br />
well as ancient symbology, the photographer<br />
conceived an itinerary that took him<br />
from Washington, D.C. to Orange County,<br />
California via a non-traditional route. Visiting<br />
with friends and family along the<br />
way, some even joined him in his quest for<br />
spiritual earth sites.<br />
The first odyssey ends in St. Louis,<br />
Missouri, where Scott Angus teaches at<br />
Maryville University. Again, without<br />
conscious intent, he is learning how propitious<br />
St. Louis is to his own quest for<br />
sacred earth sites. Some archeologists<br />
pit Cahokia city, established in the first<br />
century just across the great Mississippi<br />
River from current day St. Louis proper, as<br />
the heartland and homeland for the ensuing<br />
cultures of Native Americans that<br />
spread throughout the Midwest, the Great<br />
Plains and the South of the United States.<br />
Seeing the unseen is the theme that<br />
runs throughout the book. Invoking the<br />
owl’s mystical role as gatekeeper to the unknown<br />
realms, we spy on the great natural<br />
landscapes, and intuit their inner secrets.<br />
What a coincidence that by chasing<br />
the spiritually powerful, but dormant Native<br />
American sacred sites, the quest ends<br />
where it all began—in St. Louis!<br />
5
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