Chittenango Falls

This past weekend I (along with my mom) took a little trip over to Chittenango Falls State Park in Madison County, New York. I live about twenty minutes away by car, so I took my camera with me to get some nice shots of the falls. I'd like to share my experience here, because I was able to take some amazing pictures (and video!).

This was the sign that greeted us as we entered the park. Along the way, we could see part of the falls from the road and I couldn't wait to get closer.

We took this pathway to get down from the parking lot. Note all that snow - the ground was bare almost the entire drive...until we started to increase in elevation. A little background info on the falls, because I think it's interesting and I read it on a sign in the park. The falls were created after the retreat of the most recent continental glacier around 12,500 years ago. The ledge is actually 167 feet high where the water drops off. You'll see in the pictures!


We eventually found the gorge trail. This leads to a footbridge you can cross to see the falls from down in the gorge. Unfortunately, when we took this trail, we ran into this...

The sign basically says that, because of slippery conditions that could cause serious injury or death, the trail is closed and violators will be prosecuted. So, suffice to say we didn't get to go on the bridge. I wasn't about to try my luck.

We ran into other signs along the way...

These signs reminded me of the BorderXing piece we saw in class. There were areas in the park I couldn't get access to because of park regulations.

Now on to the falls pictures! The waterfall was gorgeous. I think even more so with all that snow in the background. I'll just put some of my favorite shots in here...

And now onto the video!

I also have a shot of that footbridge we didn't get to walk on. Oh well, maybe if I try back in the summer sometime, I'll be able to get to it. Apparently it's closed during the winter months, but I saw a sign that said it was under reconstruction, so who knows...

Here is an interesting shot of a group of boulders I found while walking around. I really like how the light hits in this shot. The first time I saw any kind of sunlight that day...

And of course, to mark my place, I built a cairn of pine cones that I found on the ground.

Egmont Key

I have some pictures I want to post here in my blog. I think they relate to the topic at hand, Earth Art, but I'll let you judge for yourself. These photos are a couple years old - I took them while on vacation in Florida. Specifically, on an outing to Fort DeSoto Park, located in Pinellas County. I went snorkeling with my brother and sister, and we took a ferry out to Egmont Key (which is only a 10 minute boat ride from the park). We were able to spend some time exploring the island (which is where I took most of the photos) and after we snorkeled in the Gulf.

Now, a little bit of history on Egmont Key (because this will help you understand what the pictures contain). The ruins shown in these photos are of Fort Dade, built in 1898 as a result of the Spanish-American war. It remained active until 1923, but now is virtually a ghost town. But even before Fort Dade was built, the island served the Spanish Conquistadors and during the Civil War it was captured by Union forces, who then established a base to house their gunboats (which were blockading Tampa Bay). The key holds a great wealth of history. It was so exciting to actually see everything up close!

This is a long-distance shot of the key. Note the lighthouse in the distance. I have a larger photo of it up close. It was built in 1848, but suffered severe damages in that same year (and in 1852) by a hurricane. A new lighthouse was completed in 1858, and went back into service.

Here is a closer shot of the lighthouse. It's actually said to be the oldest structure (of any sort) in the entire Tampa Bay area. The Confederate soldiers, who had occupied the island previously, are said to have taken the fresnel lens from the lighthouse to deprive its use to the Union Navy as a beacon. The lens was recovered at the end of the war and the lighthouse went into operation again in 1866.

The next few shots I plan to show are of Fort Dade. It was built to protect Tampa Bay from an attack by the Spanish. During the First World War, the fort served as a training center. It's no longer in use, and it's interesting to see how the structures have faired since. A lot of the damage done has primarily been from hurricanes.

This is a shot of the cable tank and mine storehouse. I'm surprised many of the walls to these buildings are still standing, what with all the weather damage they must suffer during hurricane season every year. You can see a bit of the wall has fallen way from the top. Still in fair condition, though. This is a close up of one of the side windows in the storehouse. Don't mind my brother, he's just being goofy. The pattern of the stones are really remarkable. I love how this structure seems to have become almost a part of the landscape. It's stood there for so long.

Some of this fort must have been built right into the earth itself. It's amazing to go into some of those rooms (like the one straight ahead in this picture). The temperature is cooler, but it's dark. I can't imagine what it was like back in the early 1900's, having to live here. You can see the stone has suffered some damage (it looks very weathered). But again, I'm surprised these structures are in such good shape.

Those stairs blend in so well with the sand! I can hardly tell they are made of stone. I really love this shot, personally. I don't know if I have any specific reason, I guess it's because everything here seems to blend so well together, it hardly looks like a separate structure.

Now, I can't remember if the guide said this was part of Fort Dade, or if this was here earlier. I want to say it was built earlier, maybe around the time of the Conquistadors? Anyway, we went snorkeling here, at the ruins of a fort that is now underwater. I don't believe it was underwater at the time it was built. Shows how Mother Nature has proven her influence. There are lots of stones here, making the water shallow at different parts around the fort. You need to be careful of where they are when snorkeling.

I hope those were enjoyable to view. I sure had fun taking them! Leave comments if you like.

Discoveries

I walk through Monroe Park practically everyday to get to class. But it wasn’t until I was prompted to open my eyes and look, that I realized the sheer abundance of art right under my own nose. I took my camera for about half an hour and walked the perimeter of the park. I stopped at different trees, looked up into the branches or at the bases, trying to find something remotely interesting to photograph. I was lucky. I’m going to share some of the more interesting photos here in my blog. I can already say I’ll be looking twice at those trees the next time I pass them on my way to class...

I swear, I thought this tree was looking right at me! I don’t know if those are natural or not...but they look just like eyes. I can spot three large ones clearly. And a couple smaller eyes on the tree to the right.

Okay, so this may not be Earth art exactly, but those soda can tabs look almost like footprints to me. Anybody else agree? I didn’t place those myself, but it’s interesting to find them in that position.

I have no idea what that says. But I don’t think it matters. I was reminded of the Aborigines here, and how they use tree bark (among other things) to paint on. The Aborigines had a purpose in putting their symbols on the bark and I’m inclined to believe so did whomever wrote this here. Both are using the tree as a means of communication.

Again, this wasn’t set up by me. But I think this has an interesting symbolism. It’s almost as if the tree is trying to keep the litter off the ground. An unique way to recycle...

This is similar to the previous picture. The tree holding the plastic bottle, keeping it off the ground. I can even imagine those bits of bark as hands and fingers.

I found a bunch of these on the ground...are they acorns? Anyway, I decided to make a cairn out of them. To mark my place at that particular spot at that particular time. I wonder if it’s still there. I’ll have to go back and see if I can find it again!

Well, that was my grand adventure. Let me know your thoughts or comments on the pictures.

Aborigines

Stepping away from geo-art, I wanted to take a look at some forms of Earth art related to the indigenous peoples of Australia, the Aborigines. Art is one of the key rituals in their culture – it depicts history, or marks a particular territory. Or it tells the story of Dreamtime, their view on the creation of the world. The Aborigines are a very spiritual people, believing that their art embodies spiritual beings and by disrespecting a piece of artwork, you are in effect disrespecting that spirit.

Stone arrangements are one aspect of Aboriginal art, however the purpose behind most are unknown. It’s thought they were used in ceremonial activities. The stones were arranged in patterns depicting such things as large circles or animals. Skimming through Lippard’s section on stones, it is apparent many cultures have used stones as symbols. I was also reminded of the stone cairns showed in class. Sometimes a cairn would mark a path or a territory, which may have been the purpose of these Aboriginal stone patterns.

(image source: http://tripatlas.com/Aboriginal_stone_arrangements)

The Aborigines would also engrave images onto rock walls. These images included animals, humans, and other symbols. In the Sydney region, thousands of such engravings exist in the sandstone. Again, it is thought they were used for ceremonial purposes. An engraving of a kangaroo, for example, may have helped to increase the availability of food in the area. Still others may have been used for initiation purposes, transitioning a child into manhood. A smaller few even show evidence of astronomical associations.

(image source: http://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/rnorris/SydneyRockArt/sites/BenBuckler/index.htm

Perhaps the most recognizable Aboriginal art style is dot-painting. But the Aborigines also used outlines of shapes and various lines to depict their art. Paints were often made of water, animal fats and sometimes added with vegetable fibers. The canvas was rock walls or bark and the tools brushes, sticks or even fingers.

(image source:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/43876/Australian-Aborigine)

Far From Home...

Australia plays host to some of the most diverse flora and fauna in the world. And some very breathtaking forms of Earth art. In thinking of examples to use for my blog, I immediately thought of a couple interesting spots in Australia, which encompass the definition of Earth art from my previous post.

The Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland.

The world's first coral reef structures were created some 500 million years ago, but the Great Barrier Reef is relatively young, only about 500,000 years old. They're found in shallow water, and most prefer tropical waters, forming on hard surfaces in the ocean. Large numbers of colonies form and link by tissue, with resources (such as food) shared between them.

(image source: http://www.earlham.edu/~larkiph/graphics/Great-Barrier-Reef%20old.jpg)


Composed of over 2,900 individual reefs, it is the largest coral reef system in the world. It stretches for over 1,600 miles in the Pacific Ocean. What results is miles upon miles of beautiful displays of Earth art – formed by the Earth, from the Earth. Coral reefs are actually produced by living organisms, made of a carbonate mineral known as aragonite. They attract all forms of life, such as thousands of species of fish, several species of whales, dolphins and sea turtles, and even dozens of species of birds. This is the make-up for some remarkable artwork.

(image source: http://www.australia2000travel.com/Assets/cns-great%20barrier%20reef-%20starfish.jpg)

Ayers Rock, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Northern Territories, Australia

One of the many sites I wish to visit someday is Uluru, or Ayers Rock, located in the southern part of the Northern Territory. It is a large sandstone rock, an ‘inselberg’, that stands 1,142 feet high and measures 5.8 miles in circumference. Slow erosion of the original mountain range, from wind and flooding, have produced some unique formations in the surface of the sandstone. It even appears to change color as different light rays strike it at different times of the day and year.

The original landowners of Uluru were, in fact, Aboriginal tribes; it’s sacred to the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area. It is fascinating to note the Aborigines did a lot of Earth art themselves, ranging from rock engravings, to bark painting and even stone arrangments. In my next post, I will delve deeper into the history and superstition behind these works.

(image source: http://www.terragalleria.com/pacific/australia/ayers%20rock/picture.aust2509.html)

The Earth as Art

So, I have never been artistically inclined myself, but I can appreciate art. Enjoy it. Learn from it. Try my best at producing some of my own. We all have our own interpretations, all add our own unique flavors. We all think about art differently. It makes us feel something. We can get lost gazing at a painting and say it is truly beautiful, or listen to a song and feel emotionally compelled to cry. We admire the power an artist has on their captive audience.

The Earth is an artist. Through processes untouched by human hands, the world creates masterpieces we as humans can only begin to appreciate. There is no greater beauty than the world in which we live. All around us are examples of artwork we couldn't even dream of creating. It is unique, it makes us feel something, it captivates us. A simple sunset can inspire poems and prose from our heads. The colors can inspire an artist to take what Mother Earth provided and try to recreate its affect on paper. The real art is out there for us to witness. No human intermediate required.

There is art created using the resources provided by the Earth. In clay sculptures, brick buildings, and marble statues. The Earth is used to create something wonderous. In the paint, in the glue, in the pencil - the Earth is involved in the creation. It may not be the artist, but it provides the tools and means for production. Still, what exactly is Earth art? I say, for the moment, art created by the Earth, without human interaction.

They say no two snowflakes are exactly alike. For something so small to be so intricate in detail, is truly remarkable. The world around us, our Earth, our planet, is full of amazing works of wonder. We have only to open our eyes to see them.