For several years, I have followed the penciled maps of ranchers and rock art enthusiasts to the great petroglyph and pictograph sites of the west. I have photographed petroglyph warriors perched high on cliffs; several thousand year old painted deities holding entwined snakes above the San Rafael Swell; a likely Shoshone Ghost woman with tears visible only at sunset. Using a 360-degree Hulcherama camera I seek to capture the powerful relationships between rock art, light and landscape.
My friends and my large dog Biff help port the Hulcherama camera and backpacking equipment to rock art sites. Sometimes narrow cliff ledges and curious rattlesnakes complicate our work. I use engineering survey rods to lift the camera vertically to the rock art.
Everywhere I witness rock art site vandalism. Bullet holes, names, and graffiti mar incredible rock art. Images are chipped off cliff faces. Boulders with petroglyphs are stolen. Energy development threatens rock art in remote areas.
Natural forces and our failure to protect rock art sites are erasing rapidly these mysterious and strange messages from the past. The on-going destruction and beauty of rock art motivates my photography.
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