Driving US Highway 89 in Northern Arizona, I notice something out of the corner of my eye. I slow and turn my vehicle around to get a better look. Out of nowhere, in an abandoned hotel, I saw a reflection in a window, a face looking back at me and beckoning me to come closer.
Black and white, the picture looks almost like a dream, an iconic image I have only seen in old books or magazines.
As I get a closer look, I see that it is a larger-than-life photograph of an elderly Navajo (Dine) woman, embedded into the large pane glass in such a way that the photo has become part of the building, a mural. I couldn’t help but study the image, the lines on her face telling its own story and stirring feelings of nostalgia within me, a reminder that this great Southwest has a diverse and intricate history.
As I traveled throughout northern Arizona I spy more of them, some bold and stark against the Arizona sky, a Dine woman tending her sheep, children laughing, a hand, wrinkled and aged holding a pinon nut. Other murals are tucked away behind dilapidated walls… images of sheep, pictures that are accompanied with a poem, all which seem to capture life on the Dine (Navajo) Reservation.
Sparking my curiosity, I do a little research to find out more about these murals.
The concept of artist and physician Chip Thomas, the photographs are pictures taken by Thomas and shared roadside as part of his “Painted Desert project”.
Further intrigued, I learn that Thomas has lived and worked amongst the Dine for over 30 years and has spent time taking pictures of the land and people he has come to respect and admire.
Using a special adhesive and massive roller brushes to create his images, he started the project for several different reasons and hopes that his work will give those driving thorough the Dine Nation a reason to stop, take notice and have a better and deeper understanding of who lives here.
I travel this stunning and diverse land of the Dine often. Always appreciative of the beauty and honesty of the environment and what I see.
Now I often find myself stopping at older murals left on structures that are now fallen down or faded into time, taking a closer look and reflecting on the passage of time. I also enjoy the hunt to find new murals, slowing down and taking in this unique part of the Southwest I’m passing through.
