Title: August 15th - 16:44
Medium: Super-8 film
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Resolution: 2880 x 2160
File Type: H.264 Codec / MP4.
Comments: We picked up Renee at her art residency program. It was the first time meeting with her since we became friends online through posting my project on Instagram, we had a few mutual art world friends and have been talking for a few months. Renee introduced us to one of her best friends that was living in Hong Kong the last night we were there. The man with his girlfriend and 2 cats in the park at midnight. I am grateful for the people who see what I am working on and want to help, and the simplest way sometimes is to connect me to someone who would like to be involved in my art projects. That to me is sincerity and support. Renee was telling us about the sanitation project she was working on and writing about. It has been two years now so I should check in on her and see how she is doing with that project. Perhaps its completed by now and posting this image and story is a great excuse to see how it went! Anyhow, I am not trying to break the fourth wall here by writing this, so lets continue on... Renee had a few surprises for us. She walked us through a beautiful hiking trail that led to a cold and strong waterfall. I dunked my head under it a few times and sat with my back getting slammed by the pressure of the water coming down on my head and shoulders. It felt so good and relaxing on my strained back from all the driving and traveling; like natures massage chair in the middle of nowhere surrounded by rock formations. I let the cool force heal my tension for a while hydrating in the hot sun by submerging in the fresh water with all my clothes on. I felt so free and happy. I did not give a fuck about being wet because sometimes you just have to live life and not be afraid of the little things like walking home all damped up. The second surprise Renee had in store for us was one of the most fascinating things I had ever seen. Petroglyphs!!! These shamanic figures from hundreds to thousands of years ago. Just right there on a few big ass rocks! Preserved so well, weathering storms and human touch for all these years. They were so clear. What stories were being told here. Ancient wisdom and mythology. Moab rock art has no translation, leaving interpretation up to the viewer. I learned that each site is unique and you will never see a scene more than once! Created by two different methods–Pictographs are painted pictures with mineral and plant dye and are commonly found on smooth, red sandstone. Petroglyphs are scratched, incised, scraped, or abraded into the rock and are found on brown or black rock surfaces. Created by Paleo-Indian, ancestral Puebloan, and Ute artists. It makes you question the significance of art and language. Is art a mere expression, or a tool. A visual language for communication that passes on histories and lessons for future generations. At what point does the meaning get lost and new meanings formed once we forgot? Did language begin with images and end with words? The art we make today that is casted on stone or canvas. What impact will this have in 250 to 2500 more years ahead? Interpreted by new generations looking back at our archaic methods and forms. Creating art to express, or because we are bored. Do you think they will see how we see, or form ideas based on their realities. Perhaps shaping odd beliefs or religions which are projected on to what we left behind... I don't know but it is fun to think about what the past means and what the future will be while we create what is real to us now.