Evolve

Wandering around with my camera, I am often struck by the eloquence of graffiti. With just a word or two, much can be said. There is a dynamic play of color and graphics in language painted onto a canvas of concrete. A power and wealth driven society has produced a counter-culture that defies boundaries and rules. A spray-painted word on a wall or a door has impact and is much more compelling than if you used the word in conversation.

I saw the word, "evolve", spray painted on a wall in Pismo Beach. I stopped in my tracks and aimed my camera. It was reflexive. Visual art forms, film and still-photography are powerful that way. They have a unique ability to bypass the intellect and reach right into our gut.

Graffiti is interesting because it's raw and territorial. In an urban environment it's so common that it blends into the surroundings. I love Graffiti as an artform but it can be aggressive; an unwelcome visual assault when brought into natural settings or places of solitude or reverence.

Tumacacori Mission

The missions south of Tucson were the focus of my recent travels to the Southwest.

Pictured here are the physical remains of the convent near the mission church, San Jose de Tumacacori. Nearby, there is a walled cemetery surrounded by old trees where the graves are marked with stones and dark wooden crosses. As I wandered, seeing things "rectangularly" as usual, I snapped away, picking up impressions of clashing cultures emanating from the walls of the church and the hills beyond.

I imagined voices of First Nation peoples going about their business... The old mission church bells were adding their music too, and in my mind, the sonorous tones were accompanied by the chambered echo of chanting Franciscan Monks.