These Grand Places
       
     
Panorama, Giant Sequoia National Monument, California, 2018
       
     
Fallen Saguaro + Border Wall, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, 2019
       
     
Installing solar panels on the MRS, Arizona, 2021
       
     
The MRS in the field near the US-México border, Coronado National Forest, Arizona, 2021
       
     
Snowfall, Arizona, 2021
       
     
A peek inside the MRS, 2021
       
     
US-México border wall construction, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, 2019
       
     
Sunset + Border Wall, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, 2019
       
     
San Pedro River National Conservation Area, Arizona, 2021
       
     
US-México border wall construction, near Guadalupe Canyon, Coronado National Forest, Arizona, 2021
       
     
Water Station, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, 2021
       
     
Cub and I seeking refuge following an encounter with civilian vigilantes/militia, Peloncillo Mountains, New Mexico, January 2021
       
     
Baby Hawks + Saguaro, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, 2021
       
     
Rainbow, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, 2021
       
     
From the top of the Dugway, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021
       
     
Morning Light at Camp, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021
       
     
Cow Bones on the Open Range, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021
       
     
The Nightjar, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021
       
     
Clouds Gathering above the Bears Ears, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021.
       
     
Walking the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 2022
       
     
Walking the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, 2022
       
     
Walking the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 2022
       
     
Walking the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 2022
       
     
Sunrise on a Birthday Walk, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona, 2022
       
     
Excerpt from “A birthday walk along the shoreline,” Powell Reservoir, Glen Canyon National Recreation Site, 2022
       
     
Recreation and National Identity I, Powell Reservoir, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, 2022”.
       
     
Recreation and National Identity II, Powell Reservoir, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, 2022”.
       
     
Moonrise on a Birthday Walk, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona, 2022
       
     
These Grand Places
       
     
These Grand Places

“These Grand Places” was prompted by seeing a list of federally protected public land to be reviewed for de-regulation under the former Administration, published in 2017. My heart ached when I saw many beloved places I had spent time upon.

Panorama, Giant Sequoia National Monument, California, 2018
       
     
Panorama, Giant Sequoia National Monument, California, 2018

Toned cyanotype contact prints from 4×5 black and white film negatives.

Fallen Saguaro + Border Wall, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, 2019
       
     
Fallen Saguaro + Border Wall, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, 2019

Ziatype from scanned 4x5 film negative. I had begun this project informally, looking at how both myself and others use the land we live on. Transcending simple conclusions, the following questions guide me: “Are we loving our public lands to death? What do we return? Who is welcome?” What is meant by “public” land and how do we define “national identity”?

Installing solar panels on the MRS, Arizona, 2021
       
     
Installing solar panels on the MRS, Arizona, 2021
The MRS in the field near the US-México border, Coronado National Forest, Arizona, 2021
       
     
The MRS in the field near the US-México border, Coronado National Forest, Arizona, 2021

I had been working out of the back of my car or a backpack and tent, and felt the limitations of not having dedicated space and facilities for extended visits. In the spring of 2019, I received a Grand Challenge Seed Grant (University of Wisconsin-Madison) with three major aims: build a mobile research studio (MRS) favoring sustainable energy sources, develop a methodology to gather material, and travel to urgent sites under review. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to pause, but by late 2020 I modified a 20’ travel trailer into a live/work space powered by solar panels installed on the roof.

Snowfall, Arizona, 2021
       
     
Snowfall, Arizona, 2021
A peek inside the MRS, 2021
       
     
A peek inside the MRS, 2021
US-México border wall construction, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, 2019
       
     
US-México border wall construction, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, 2019

toned cyanotype contact print from 4×5 film negative

Sunset + Border Wall, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, 2019
       
     
Sunset + Border Wall, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, 2019

Toned cyanotype contact print from 4x5 film negative

San Pedro River National Conservation Area, Arizona, 2021
       
     
San Pedro River National Conservation Area, Arizona, 2021
US-México border wall construction, near Guadalupe Canyon, Coronado National Forest, Arizona, 2021
       
     
US-México border wall construction, near Guadalupe Canyon, Coronado National Forest, Arizona, 2021
Water Station, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, 2021
       
     
Water Station, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, 2021
Cub and I seeking refuge following an encounter with civilian vigilantes/militia, Peloncillo Mountains, New Mexico, January 2021
       
     
Cub and I seeking refuge following an encounter with civilian vigilantes/militia, Peloncillo Mountains, New Mexico, January 2021

This project builds on lifelong concepts in my work on place, belonging, and the care with which we move through the world as artists. Through deep engagement and time spent on site, “These Grand Places” uncovers the complexities of the current geopolitical and environmental moment, while also illuminating the beauty of public lands.

Baby Hawks + Saguaro, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, 2021
       
     
Baby Hawks + Saguaro, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, 2021
Rainbow, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, 2021
       
     
Rainbow, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, 2021
From the top of the Dugway, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021
       
     
From the top of the Dugway, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021

One landscape image looking at human activity from afar.

Morning Light at Camp, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021
       
     
Morning Light at Camp, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021

Considering the history of the colonizing lens of photography, and in response to the request to protect and honor the place of Bears Ears, I’ve been ruminating on how to show this place without dominating it, or revealing locations of special sites that have been prone to vandalism and abuse by others who do not agree with its protection. In my current iteration, I am sharing stories and vignettes.

Cow Bones on the Open Range, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021
       
     
Cow Bones on the Open Range, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021
The Nightjar, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021
       
     
The Nightjar, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021

Unique cyanotype made in situ, 21”x 20”. A rigorous hike to an ancient sacred dwelling.was profound, a deep marking of existence across human, geological, and celestial time. It is dark on my drive back to camp, and I strike an owl flying across the road. The islander in me feels the omen of such a killing, and I weep at the death of a beautiful creature by my careless actions. I bring the nightjar home to camp and in the morning sun honor its life through making a memorial imprint, a cyanotype.

Clouds Gathering above the Bears Ears, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021.
       
     
Clouds Gathering above the Bears Ears, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, 2021.

The wind picks up and the clouds form over the Bears Ears. I point my lens to the sky, then quickly pack up camp to leave before the storm arrives.

Walking the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 2022
       
     
Walking the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 2022
Walking the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, 2022
       
     
Walking the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, 2022

On a four-day solo backpack, I walk a length of the Esclante River, which feeds into Powell Reservoir.

Walking the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 2022
       
     
Walking the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 2022

I look, listen, write, and make cyanotypes and photographs.

Walking the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 2022
       
     
Walking the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 2022
Sunrise on a Birthday Walk, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona, 2022
       
     
Sunrise on a Birthday Walk, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona, 2022

On a walk on my birthday, I photographed lost objects revealed along the receding shoreline of the shrinking reservoir at Lake Powell, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Excerpt from “A birthday walk along the shoreline,” Powell Reservoir, Glen Canyon National Recreation Site, 2022
       
     
Excerpt from “A birthday walk along the shoreline,” Powell Reservoir, Glen Canyon National Recreation Site, 2022

Artist’s book of archival pigment prints, 4”x200”Exploring place through a typological approach, the artist book provides a visual form for mapping a walk.The book contains twenty images of detritus, exhibited as a continuous line in the form of an accordion book (150 inches long).

Recreation and National Identity I, Powell Reservoir, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, 2022”.
       
     
Recreation and National Identity I, Powell Reservoir, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, 2022”.
Recreation and National Identity II, Powell Reservoir, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, 2022”.
       
     
Recreation and National Identity II, Powell Reservoir, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, 2022”.
Moonrise on a Birthday Walk, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona, 2022
       
     
Moonrise on a Birthday Walk, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona, 2022