SnakeMedicine_Book1

C o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h t h e A r t i s t
We were on the way to the Grand Canyon, but it was closed because of a fire. We
detoured to Black Mesa.
Just the name attracted me to this site. The two names together are stark and
powerful. Black absorbs all light and energy. I felt a sense of powerful anger, male
of energy, war, like the God Mercury. These lands had aggression in their collective
spirit.
I wanted to divide the image in half—half manmade and half with the spiritual
energy of the clouds. Like two different energy beings. This view faces into the sun.
There was no other angle to take this photo from. Behind the steps there is whiteness
and clouds. The best way to visually describe its energy is to rotate the picture to the
left, so that the diagonal of the rock steps is directed vertically. With the weight at
the top, you can feel the energy force of the site and from the rocks. The lower left is
where the spirit is. I have a connection to the site but no history with it.
The site is about strength and the power of the steps. I did not climb it because
it wasn’t inviting. Were ceremonies held there? Yes, I’m sure of it. I felt like a lot of
things happened there at one time. Can you see the figure of a snake flowing
through in the steps—like waves in the ocean? This is meant to be a flowing energy
to a temple.
The focus is on the center of the photo. The white clouds abut the dark earthbound
mass but they do not intersect it.
Try spiraling out from the photograph’s center. See the curve in the clouds? It’s
the same as the patterns of the bricks. If I were to crop this photo, it would be tighter
all the way around. I would accent the white cloud in the center. Make it as white as
it can be.
Look at how dominant the orange rust color is in the color photo.
In the black-and-white version, notice the contrast between the angularity of the
stairs and the softness of the clouds.
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