Every time I fly from Colorado to Los Angeles, I’m always fascinated by the aerial views of the western landscape. Desert valleys are often surrounded by snowy peaks, dry riverbeds and washes streak across the land creating spectacular webs of light and shadow as far as the eye can see. Canyons slice into the earth, and rock formations protrude upward toward the sky. I’ve been working on a series of paintings that are inspired by these wonderful aerial views over the American west.
Yesterday, I came across these aerial photographs of strip mining in the Nevada desert, posted by a geologist in Arizona. I think there is something quite paradoxical about them, which is why I wanted to show them to you. Of course, we need natural resources to support human civilization. I don’t know anything about mining or geology, but my intuition says that this type of mining can’t possibly be good, or even neutral, for the environment. My rational mind tells me that there has to be another way to extract these essential resources from the earth without completely ripping up the land and poisoning what little water is available there.
On the other hand, as I look at these images, I’m struck by their beauty. There is something quite graphic about the way the mining process leaves large steps leading down into the earth. The light and shadows bounce over the landscape in beautiful organic shapes, and the earthtones radiate into the atmosphere. I’m especially in awe of the image above, where geometric farming plots abut the edge of the mine property. I wonder about the environmental and health implications of that.Somehow I’m still inspired by the scale and beauty of these places, despite what I know must be horrible for the local land, plants, and animals. . . Not to mention what kinds of effects there are on the human residents of the area. I have no idea.
