walked along canyon road, in santa fe, which is just 5 min away from our house. over 100 galleries, boutiques and restaurants in one spot. an art lover’s dream. couldn’t possibly afford most of the art but loved absorbing it. one thing that struck me: there are so many galleries full of beautiful native art – they should be owned by native people. i hope they are. everything is in bloom here. nature seems to be unstoppable.
at the museum of international folk art, ‘yokai: ghosts and demons of japan’ and ‘the art of afghan war rugs’ – an exhibition that should be properly problematized in the united states (the imperial war machine) but isn’t. i had already seen some of it at the memorial art gallery in rochester. the work is beautiful. the violence that seeps into cultures and artifacts heartbreaking.
it’s a bit cooler today, with an off and on drizzle, so i decided to go to the museum of international folk art on museum hill. aitezaz wanted to stay home, relax and read. even before i entered the building, i was blown away by the plaza around which all the museums are located. the sky was doing its own thing and the light perfect for capturing darker hues and sharp details. the public sculptures in this city are exquisite.
santafe #museumofinternationalfolkart #folkart #art #drizzle #overcastday #perfectlightforphotography
our last bit of adventure yesterday: the rio grande gorge bridge, fifth highest bridge in the US. fought insane winds and my fear of heights, to walk on the bridge for spectacular views of the gorge below. and then it was back to santa fe, taking the low road this time which winds thru the rio grande valley ?
riograndegorge #riograndegorgebridge #lowroad #riograndevalley #santafe #newmexico
‘taos is art’ it says everywhere. indeed, the taos society of artists was formed in 1915 and artists have been flocking here ever since. had a scrumptious lunch and the best flourless cake ever from chokola. walked the plaza, bought some art, and then a short drive to the church of san francisco de asis dating back to the 18th century, an adobe structure painted by georgia o’keeffe and photographed by ansel adams.
taos #chokola #art #artists #taossocietyofartists #churchoffranciscodeasis #rancherosdetaos #newmexico
on our way to taos, on the high road, all of a sudden we found ourselves in the midst of a pine forest. now called carson national park, this is the home of the taos pueblo people.
the blue lake was always an important cultural and religious site for them and they fought to have it restored to their guardianship, finally succeeding in 1970.
i was surprised to learn that the area has elk, black bears, coyotes and cougars, among other big game animals.
highroadtotaos #taospueblopeople #taos #pueblo #carsonnationalforest #bluelake #thisisallnativeland
truchas, las trampas and peñasco are tiny mountain towns, truchas full of artists and galleries. the landscape is stunning and the air clean and bracing. what would it be like to live and work here?
truchas #lastrampas #art #artists #galleries #newmexico
today we drove from santa fe to taos, taking the high scenic road thru the sangre de cristo mountains. first stop, historic chimayó, a hamlet known for its chile, weaving and miracles. visited the santuario de chimayó, famous for its healing magic ?
highroadtotaos #santafe #taos #sangredecristomountains #chimayo #chile #weaving #miracles #santuariodechimayo #healing #newmexico
more frida kahlo and some of her wonderful, enigmatic drawings <3
our little place in santa fe, a city that’s all earth-colored adobes. much more traffic than easygoing albuquerque. first thing we did was order food from jambo cafe. my husband got jerk chicken with rice & beans and fried plantains. i got a moroccan lamb stew cooked w chickpeas, raisins, apricots, and sweet potatoes, topped with a delicious ginger dried fruit chutney. amazing.
santafe #newmexico #jambocafe
today coffee and pastries from zendo coffee in albuquerque and then off to tijeras and the turquoise trail which goes thru the rugged sandia mountains. stopped over in madrid to visit artists’ studios and bought a small piece of art. it feels like a different world.
#tijeras #turquoisetrail #sandiamountains #madridnewmexico #art #ruggedlandscape
grabbed some salad and pizza from @farinapizzeria_ and had dinner at west bluff park. it overlooks the famous rio grande and downtown albuquerque, with the manzano mountains in the distance. stunning views.
westbluffpark #riogrande #manzanomountains #albuquerque #stunningviews #dinnerinapark
walked around old town albuquerque this afternoon. we saw the san felipe de neri church and i visited lots of small art galleries and gift shops. there was an entire store dedicated to ‘breaking bad.’ found this bear claw ring at the silver artichoke. the woman who helped me told me her sister, betty hawthorne, who lives on a navajo reservation designed the ring. with a sleeping beauty turquoise and mediterranean coral, the ring protects one. love it.
discovered the work of mexican artist lola alvarez bravo. loved how she captured scenes from rural indigenous mexican life, such as ‘burial at yalalag’ and ‘shark hunters’ in acapulco. her photographic portraits of frida kahlo are also full of nuance and delicate detail. she was one of the few mexican artists who experimented with photomontage (‘the dream of the drowned’) at the time. she was born in lagos de moreno in 1907.
lolaalvarezbravo #mexicanart #mexicanartist #rurallife #indigenousmexico #photography #photomontage
‘frida kahlo, diego rivera, and mexican modernism’ at the albuquerque museum today. had bought tickets way in advance. how lucky to be in town for this exhibition!
albuquerquemuseum #fridakahlo #diegorivera #mexicanart #albequerque #newmexico
