A DAY IN NEW MEXICO and A PUEBLO MYTH OF THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE

These two art works are related over a period of 40 years of my like. A DAY IN NEW MEXICO is a work of computer art that is the basis of the opening page of my website. A PUEBLO MYTH OF THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE is a water color on rice paper on the back of a turtle sculpture of twine and paper mache by me and my friend Sam Bautista.

A DAY IN NEW MEXICO WORK began in the 1970’s in an art supply store, when I was attracted to a piece of rice paper that was 10” by 18”. I had an idea that I liked a lot. I would do a water-color painting on it that represented a day in New Mexico using Pueblo Indian symbols and then present it with a light on the painting rom behind. I could never achieve an easy presentation of it with the light and I put it rolled up in my garage.

After I retired from the Math Department at UNM, I was working part time at VSA and did some collaboration with the artist and my friend Sam. We had an idea for a turtle sculpture that became the basis for our work A PUEBLO MYTH OF THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE.

In the presentation of this work, I was able to set up the watercolor with a light behind, the way I originally intended.

In the Pueblo myth about the origins of the universe, a Pueblo elder was describing the origin to a group of youths. One of the more precocious youths politely asked “If a turtle carries the world into existence, what carries the turtle?” To which the elder replied, “Another turtle, of course!” The youth continued, “And what carries this turtle?” The elder smiling said “Don’t worry, son, it’s another turtle, then another turtle, then another, …, it’s turtles all the way down.

The next step in the evolution of these works began when I got interested in computer art. I took a a photo of the painting and I redid it as computer art on Photoshop. .

A DAY IN NEW MEXICO

Dawn commitment to the unknown —-each day a fresh view of reality

Birds and Bees

Friends

People

Sunset – Rainbow – Evening Stars – Night

Mountains

Animals

Gardens

Weird Things

Ghost towns, Pueblos, Ruins

Sun, Sun, Sun

It’s a folkish view of all this