Pointers in Red and Green
Posted on September 6, 2010
Pointing to the Red - 2010
If there were such a thing as compass points within the picture frame, both of these images would be pointing off to the north-northeast. But they seem to be pointing to something else, too.
Immature Coconut - 2010
Graffiti and a Crown of Thorns
Posted on August 27, 2010
Graffiti at Fort Augusta - 2010
There are ruins, both old and new, on the old site of Fort Louise Augusta high above the point that guards the entrance to Christiansted harbor. Some of these ruins are decorated with graffiti that are not likely to be innocent.
Just to the left of the graffiti are the remains of an old building covered in the thorny cactus-like stalks of the night-blooming cereus. It was not blooming on this day, but I have seen the blooms, and they are spectacular.
The ruins, beautiful views of the harbor and ocean, contrasted with modern radio equipment housed in a ramshackle block building and a navigation light on the farthest point make this an interesting place to visit. Yet because of the graffiti and litter that speak to less desirable private activities, and the remoteness of the place, one also feels peculiarly vulnerable here.
A Crown of Thorns - 2010
A Blood-Red Sea
Posted on August 18, 2010
A Blood-Red Sea
Living so close to and surrounded by the sea, one develops a relationship with it — probably not unlike the relationship desert dwellers have with the desert, or forest dwellers with the forest.
This awareness of place can help us be more attuned to messages from the world around us, and sometimes even feel its joys and pains.
Under the Casuarina Tree
Posted on August 11, 2010
Breeze through the Casuarina - 2010
The casuarina tree is not a native to the island, and some consider it an invasive. They are tolerant of windswept places and this large example stands along a windswept beach. Its leaves/needles are long, so when the wind blows there is a gentle soothing sound and the small branches sway like little grass skirts. When the needles fall, they form a barrier to other plants, so there is no understory of brush or other plants where these trees stand.
This barren blanket of casuarina leaves overlaid with several large decaying branches became the setting for the picture below. It was not a conscious intention that caused the palettes of the two images to be so similar. Instead, it was the feeling of each and what seemed to work best to communicate what appealed to me about each scene. It’s odd how that works…
Skeletal Remains - 2010
A Feast of Fruit for the Eyes
Posted on August 3, 2010
Seed of the Mamey Sapote - 2010
Each summer, the local botanical garden hosts “Mango Melee”, a festival focused on mangoes and other tropical fruit. Many of these fruits are unusual in their texture and flavor, and unfamiliar to those of us used to the apples, grapes, peaches and pears more common in the temperate regions.
Some tropical fruits are a bit sour, others cloyingly sweet, some firm and crunchy, some soft and pudding-like, and others almost liquid inside. And each is unique in flavor and appearance, unlike anything else.
These two images suggest the feast of fruit for the eyes. Unfortunately as I took the photos, I didn’t do a very good job of taking notes, so the names are my best attempt at post-facto fruit ID!
Star Apple - 2010
Donations
Posted on July 29, 2010
Donations Needed to Feed the Animals - 2010
This donation box “for feeding the animals” is at a mini-zoo in the rainforest, part of the entertainment at a little stand that sells fabulous tropical fruit smoothies. The brightly hand-painted box sits on the metal base from an old Singer treadle sewing machine — somehow not out of place at all in this rustic location.
In another form of donation, the local Senate has just passed legislation appropriating up to $7 million for the government to negotiate the purchase of 12.4 acres of land deep in the rainforest. Now that’s almost $565,000 per acre. For comparison, a 31 acre plot in the same area is listed on MLS for $465,000. Yes, 31 acres for less than the price of one.
The land in question had been leased by the government for use as a rock quarry in 1929. That use ended in 1940, and the land was rezoned agricultural in the 1950’s, disallowing future use as a quarry. In defense of their recent action, our Senators have variously alluded to the land’s environmental and public value as parkland, to the value of the rocks still there, and to the injustice done to the owners (presumably by the rezoning over 50 years ago).
It would be nice if all families who suffered injustice over the past half century could be so compensated. I wish I understood the history and logic that allow this to move forward without public objection. It’s not as though there are no other important uses for the money.
The picture below of a Fed-Ex truck hustling along Church Street in Christiansted town illustrates the contrasts and contradictions that result from the mix of modern enterprise, with the sometimes unfamiliar island priorities and view of the world. It can be difficult at times to distinguish the things that add charm from those that cause frustration.
Fed-Ex on Church Street - 2010
Scent of St. Croix?
Posted on July 21, 2010
Lotions, Potions and More - 2010
A play on words and the image of a dark haired seductress graces this sign hanging beneath a covered arcade in Christiansted town. The store advertises that it sells costumes and “accessories” such as lotions, bath products, “kama sutra” and more.
A few blocks away, another female gazes forlornly from behind the bars of an abandoned storefront. Someone has placed her there among the detritus of the vacant store, but close to the window and discreetly covered in brightly colored cloth.
While geographically isolated, St. Croix is still flooded with the homogeneous commercialized images of “woman” sold by corporations. But there also seems to be room for creativity and personalized imagery. I hope this kind of personalized imagery is thriving on the streets everywhere.
Left Behind - 2010
Iowa Reflections
Posted on July 13, 2010
Red Barn
These are two images from a short visit to northeast Iowa and nearby Minnesota in June 2010. To the east of this area, the gently rolling plain gives way to steeper more wooded hills and valleys leading down to the Mississippi River. To the west, the woodlots become scarcer as the land rises imperceptibly to a higher and flatter plain ideal for wind farms layered over the corn and soybean fields. It is a place of contradictions.
The land is open, weeds grow along the gravel roads, and many places are more than an hour’s drive from any town of 10,000 or more. Yet the landscape is being industrialized. Wind turbines, power lines and communication towers sprout like weeds; large scale hog operations miles away reveal themselves when the wind blows from their direction; and except for the Amish, modern chemical-intensive no-till farming has largely replaced more traditional methods. Some townspeople believe cancer rates are rising, and they suspect the presence of farm chemicals in their drinking water.
Many of the original settlers in the area were Norwegian, and that remains a dominant cultural feature today. There is an emphasis on utility more than design, lending an unpretentious plain-ness to the environment, culture and social life, and perhaps camouflaging the changes underway.
For example, until recently, diversity meant the comfortable divisions between Lutheran and Catholic, Norwegian and those of other European heritage, or even between individual families. Although a stranger, I looked like I belonged, and was always greeted with a smile and a wave. However, in recent years there has been an influx of Hispanic laborers who have taken jobs in meatpacking and the few other factories. An undercurrent of the modern anti-immigrant fear of the “other” spreads invisibly like the poison from the fields into the groundwater. Natural beauty, the past and the future collide.
Slideshow with more images from this series.
Cornfield Communications - 2010
Shoreline moods
Posted on July 6, 2010
The Calm - 2009
“The Calm” looks west in the protected lee of a point during the calm following a squall. The sun had just broken through, illuminating a single cloud and the shallow water at my feet.
“Ocean Energy” looks east into a brisk prevailing wind on a sunny afternoon, with only the rocky outcrop to protect the shallow pool from the brunt of the ocean waves.
Even when the shoreline palette is so similar as in these two images, the ocean’s moods can be very different.
Ocean Energy - 2010
Hot and Cold
Posted on June 28, 2010
Hot pepper red - 2010
We just spent 10 days in the upper Midwest where it was mostly cold and rainy — so different from the heat and humidity of the tropics.
We all experience hot and cold, and often associate certain subject matter with each. For example, an image of a snow-covered field can evoke feelings of cold, while a sun-drenched beach may suggest the warmth of the sun.
Of course, just color itself can evoke the physical feelings of warmth or cold — even in the case of a subject like the palm, below, where one would otherwise think of warm tropical surroundings. Is this dissonance between subject matter and color temperature disturbing or interesting?
Ice Palm - 2010
Quadrille
Posted on June 22, 2010
Quadrille dancers - 2010
The quadrille, a precursor to the modern square dance, is a part of St. Croix’s cultural heritage. It was brought here from England and became a part of plantation life well before the end of slavery. Like the square dance, it is formal, with dancers changing partners regularly throughout the dance. The traditional costume includes madras plaid shirts for the men and large head scarves for the women.
In this case, the St. Croix Heritage Dancers were performing accompanied by one of the street bands at an evening festival in Christiansted. The light, the mid-street venue, and the music made for a surreal mixture of the old and the new.
The Music - 2010
Old Dog, Young Woman
Posted on June 14, 2010
A Life Well Lived - 2010
Bloodshot eyes, red gums and worn teeth did nothing to stop this old dog from enjoying life. Adorned with a carnation necklace and leaning against his owner’s knee, he was happily watching the antics of the St. Patrick’s Day parade crowd, ready to give any passerby a gentle lick and a wag.
In contrast, the young woman seated alone at Pleasant’s bar seemed isolated from the social swirl. All judgments aside, the contrast between the two images may say something about the variety in how we experience the world.
Pleasant's Bar - 2010
St. Croix — Hotel Caravelle Artwork
Mocko Jumbies
Donald Diddams 