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IN
SOUTHERN UTAH the skin of the earth has been ruptured by the upward
thrust of the fractured bones underneath. In cliffy mazes that frustrated
the westward migration of Mormon pioneers, the ancient ones wintered.
They protected themselves from their enemies in hidden rock shelters
high above the canyon floor. They took advantage of solar power
and selected alcoves in south-facing canyon walls. They cached their
corn and squash in stone-capped pits in hopes of thwarting scavengers
and thieves. They dug kivas in the sand and lined them with the
skeletal debris that had broken free of the canyon walls. And when
the stars lit the night sky, they descended into the kiva-womb of
the earth to consult with the deities in charge of the rain and
the deer hunt. |
"Our
disconnection from the rhythms of nature drains us of our spirituality,
making us less sensitive to the wonders of the Earth," says
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| It took
Val Brinkeroff '88MFA only five years to photograph approximately
80 Anasazi ruins in the Four Corners area. In one year alone, he put
100,000 miles on his 4WD truck, driving back and forth between Wyoming,
where he was living at the time, and Cedar Mesa in southern Utah,
or Canyon de Chelly or Mesa Verde or Navajo National Monument across
the border. Mostly Cedar Mesa, because the ruins there were hard to
find, rarely photographed and frequently vandalized. "Most photographers
are modern-day explorers," Brinkerhoff says. "The excitement
of discovery is in coming across a new site and contemplating how
to photograph it effectively." Unable to protect the ruins from vandalism, Brinkerhoff decided to document them with a large format camera and large Ink Jet prints, a new medium at the time. The project was partially inspired by Professor Craig Law's photographs of Utah's rapidly deteriorating Anasazi rock art. Law was Brinkerhoff's principal mentor during graduate school at USU. more |