Dance on the Backbone of the Dragon

Santa Barbara’s Monterey Formation’s ragged shapes and muted colors are reminiscent of the bones of some great beast. With a history rooted in oil production, it’s no stretch to imagine that beast as a dinosaur. Spots of tar seep like blood, blunt shapes of stone like bones and gold pigment combine to remind us of California’s heyday with “black gold.” With our continued love-hate dependent relationship with oil, we do indeed “Dance on the Backbone of the Dragon.” Historically, the camera has been used to record “reality,” but reality as we know it has changed with the digital age, creating a perfect metaphor for how one’s perceptions are altered by one’s history. Paint, metallic pigment, varnish and paper combine to represent the layers of personal history and previous emotional experience that color the perception of any circumstance one finds oneself in. MIXED MEDIA: Photographic print, acrylic, metallic pigment and varnish on water color paper.