We have spent the week exploring the identities of the spirits and the ways in which they manifest. For our peoples, spirit can appear in virtually any guise, from human form to the animals to trees and plants, earth and mountains, the rain and the winds and the sacred directions, and the more elemental forms we call earth, air, water, and fire.
Sometimes, they join forces, a development that can be very beneficial or portend catastrophe. Occasionally, it’s both at the same time.
For this month, we’ll be using this space to explore the graphic arts, specifically, paintings, and for our first November entry, I want to look at one that, for the people of this place, depicts more than just a beautiful landscape: It shows one of the places where spirits meet.
From its description in the Other Artists: Wall Art gallery here on the site:
Frank Rain Leaf (Taos Pueblo) evokes an entire culturescape in this painting of the the Pueblo’s people and lands. It’s a timeless image, one that summons spirits long past yet thoroughly alive today. Frank’s meticulousness shows in his attention to historical detail, as seen in the men’s old-style braids and their blankets in classic striped patterns. It’s also manifest in his portrayal of the land itself: the lifelike colors and shadows of the limestone rock outcroppings, the gradients of color in the stripped bark of the old pines. Close-up of partial canvas shown below.
Acrylic on canvas; wood frame
$425 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Requires special handling; extra shipping charges apply
It’s a beautiful image of traditional life, but it’s also one filled with spirit from edge to edge. Sky and mountains appear in varying shades of turquoise, the blue stretching down to the boulder outcropping seeded with bright green grass. The colors also produce the effect of a giant piece of boulder turquoise, ribbons of color in the shades of earth and water and sky, all running parallel to each other, then crissing and crossing to intersect at opportune moments. The same colors appear in the blanket worn by the traditional man standing next to his seated companions, earthy neutrals banded with bright indigo.
In our world, sky and mountains, grass and rocks, all are animated by spirit, and all have the roles to play and stories to tell, both on their own and at the places where they meet. The same is true of the trees, from the blue spruce and fir deep in the valley to the greener piñon and cedar off to the side to the tall gray-brown skeletons of the great ponderosa pines at right. They may no longer “live” in the usual sense of the word, but these great ghost trees remain fully animated by spirit. And still there is another spirit to lend its power to the men resting upon the grass: the raptor circling overhead. From here, it’s impossible to tell whether it is Eagle or Hawk, and so it would likely be for the men in that spot; the great bird is able to fly so high, high enough to touch the spirits of the skies, that from our earthbound position, sometimes all that is visible is a shape in silhouette.
But a shape in silhouette is all that is required for us to know of the spirit’s presence. And whether we can see them or not, they are always here, always at work in their own way, on their own or together, at a place where spirits meet.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
