Making Art From A WMD
Written by Spencer McNeil on November 13th, 2012 // Filed under Uncategorized
December 2006 found me at Flamingo Beach in Culebra, Puerto Rico. Shaped like a horseshoe, it has crystal clear, shallow water that gradually turns emerald green and turquoise; silky white sand, palm trees swaying in the warm breeze, and in the near distance, verdant hills. There is but one small building and a few cabanas on this beach, the small compound I was staying.
Right after sunrise the sound of the ocean is barely a whisper and the sand is wet with dew. As the sun climbs the sky, the water comes alive with color and the sand warms to the touch. The afternoons are best spent out of the intense sun and heat, but come sunset, the sky darkens until the stars emerge to illuminate the boundless sky.
The days in Culebra were some of the most peaceful, serene and even spiritual of my life. At this place of ineffable beauty, nature and man coexist in perfect synchronicity. Flamingo Beach has a soul.
Little effort is required to go from one end of the beach to the other, so I took leisurely strolls along the gentle surf. At one end, two antiquated artillery tanks sit abandoned to the elements and left to rot. The surface of the oxidized tanks is painted with vibrantly colored graphics, as if graffiti. At turns, it also looks like the art of the Taino Indians, but they are long gone. As unexpected objects in the landscape they are interesting enough, but corrosion mixed with painted symbols and moss growing on them creates fantastic microcosms imbued with life. I cannot imagine the beach without the tanks, however incongruent at first glance. They have become part of the soul of the place.
This was the first time I worked with a digital camera, thanks to the fact that one of my friends had one handy. It’s been my goal with color photography to take abstract images, which is not an easy task, but then again, that’s where the satisfaction comes.
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