Landscapes Near and Far, 2019

8 x 8 feet

Photograph on archival paper

Permanent Public Art Installation at the USA Port of Entry at Columbus, NM

In LANDSCAPES NEAR AND FAR, I adapted imagery from two New Mexican locations: the Very Large Array Radio Observatory, an astronomical radio observatory located outside of Socorro and the Mineral Museum at New Mexico Tech in Socorro. The Very Large Array, the European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory (in which NASA played a key role) and NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes worked together to create the photograph of the sky. The caption released with the image describes two interacting galaxies, NGC 3226 and NGC 3227, located 49 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. By using this image, I want to convey the significance of mutual cooperation and interaction among groups and nations. To create the landscape section, a small specimen (2 x 1.5 x 1 inches) of New Mexican fluorite from the Mineral Museum at New Mexico Tech was photographed using a high-resolution camera, lighting and special lenses to scan the object and capture intricate detail and luminosity. Including New Mexican fluorite in this artwork suggests any number of associations. Fluorite is used for making microscopic and telescopic lenses. Metaphysically, it is considered a highly protective and calming stone that produces intellectual and emotional clarity.