almost…

I started pasting in June of 2009 and marked my 5 year anniversary last month.  This month will mark my 27th year on the rez.  It amazes me still to see the resonance the project has and the opportunities it’s afforded me to share art and life experiences in this quest to build community.

I like to think that I have enough experience now to anticipate the tonal range and acuity of the prints I get from my printer.  I thought I’d come up with a bomb proof method for installing work on windy days.  But no.  The heat was brutal last week.  It wasn’t Phoenix hot but 6500 feet on the Colorado Plateau before the monsoon rains start hot.  Between the heat, the wind and the print being too dark to be deciphered from the highway some 200 yards away, I failed.  But hey, when one door closes, another opens.  I’m excited about plan b (not the one the supreme court ruled against this week).

And then, a supporter of my work stopped last week to pick my brain a bit.  He had questions about my process, about the reception of the work by the community and how that impacts my work at the clinic.  Then he asked me the one question I’ve been anticipating and thinking through for the 5 years I’ve been pasting.  And when he asked, it was like I’d never considered the question and couldn’t come up with an adequate response.  The question was “…How would you say your work differs from JR?”  Bam!  There it was and there I was, brain dead.  I think in not having been asked that question in 5 years I was lulled into thinking the difference between JR’s work and mine was obvious.  I guess not.

Ultimately, I don’t think it matters.  I still thank JR for showing me how photography can be used as a street art medium.  JR’s work reflects his life experiences and my work reflects mine.  And if I’ve said it once, I’ll say this traditional Diné prayer again + again…

With beauty before me, I walk

With beauty behind me, I walk

With beauty beneath me, I walk

With beauty all around me, I walk.

 

In beauty it is finished

In beauty it is finished

In beauty it is finished

In beauty it is finished.