Material Visuality: ¿Visualizing Materiality?

Aymara for Sale?

2010-08-23T14:26:00.001-07:00

During a Google search, I ran across the following FASHION exclusive! It reads, "I fell in love just the other day: the moment I laid eyes on this range my heart skipped a beat, and I completely went weak in the knees when I touched the garments. The more I found out about the designs and company profile, the more my heart fluttered. This Danish fashion designer gets the enhance the everyday hallmark for being everything we want in a fashion label. Introducing, AYMARA…"

Elektra 01

2010-02-17T04:09:00.001-08:00

Elektra 01, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Commodity brand christens a bleeding sky.

Advance Auto Parts

2009-07-19T14:09:00.003-07:00

advance_auto_parts, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Branded revelations series.

Exxon

2009-07-19T14:09:00.001-07:00

Exxon, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

More branded revelations

Candies on the trail

2009-07-19T05:37:00.001-07:00

Candies on the trail, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

USA M.O.U.S.E.

2009-07-19T05:31:00.003-07:00

USA M.O.U.S.E., originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

USA-Disney Mouse Antenna Ball. Are these multi-referencing brands coupled, intertwined, or something else?

loc.alize.us/#/user:Nathan%20Craig/geo:40.805900,-77.8941...

Anthropomorphic arborglyph

2009-07-19T05:31:00.001-07:00

575P3367, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Civil War Reenactor

2009-07-19T05:29:00.001-07:00

Civil War Reenactors, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

4th Fest, State College, 2009

Box

2009-07-12T08:20:00.001-07:00

Box, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Mapped

connect.garmin.com/player/8573854

photos in space

2009-07-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

Tracklog

Pot of Gold Found

2009-07-04T07:25:00.001-07:00

Pot of Gold Found, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Rainbow touches down on community garden located in Tudek Park, State College. Victory Garden Indeed!

Input--No Return

2009-07-04T07:18:00.001-07:00

Input--No Return, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

I'm still waiting for that "walk signal" because there is none. Does PenDOT mean the traffic signal? If so, the light is angled so that pedestrians waiting on the curb cannot easily read the condition of the light. Apparently shoppers at Wal-Mart, which is located just behind the viewer, largely arrive by car...

Lead footed machismo

2009-07-04T07:14:00.001-07:00

Lead footed machismo, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Nothing says "sexy" like unnecessary acceleration...

Disposable Trophy Head

2009-07-04T07:12:00.001-07:00

Disposable Trophy Head 01, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

The Frayed Ends of Democracy's Corporate Brand

2009-07-04T07:10:00.001-07:00

The Frayed Ends of Democracy's Corporate Brand, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

3 July 09 State College Branded Revelations and Flag Study Series.

Going, Going, Gone Green

2009-06-17T04:38:00.000-07:00

The revelations of green consumerisim--kicked to the curb

State College, PA. Photo by Nathan Craig

Branded Trash #2

2009-06-17T04:36:00.000-07:00

Subway customers discard fresh...

West Arron, State College, PA. Photos by Nathan Craig

Branded Trash #1

2009-06-17T04:35:00.000-07:00

Enjoy McGarbage...brought to you by the over one billion customers served each day...I'm Lovin' It!

West Aaron Drive, State College, PA. Photos by Nathan Craig

Protecting or (Self)Serving?

2009-06-17T04:28:00.000-07:00

When the "Law" fails to obey itself...

Photo by Nathan Craig

Light at the end of the Culvert

2009-06-17T04:23:00.000-07:00

Photo by Nathan Craig

Parking Lot #2

2009-06-15T17:19:00.000-07:00

More grassroots politics in State College, PA. Photo by Nathan Craig

Hope Springs Eternal

2009-06-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

Photo by Nathan Craig

Get the message?

2009-06-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

Outside Champs Restaurant, State College, PA. Photo by Nathan Craig

Huanca

2009-06-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

Huanca is an Andean term for great stone monoliths that are found in monumental architecture. This central Pennsylvania monolith honors a deceased ancestor of military renowned. In typical form, the huanca is placed prominently at the entrance of an enormous monumental plaza. The plaza is named after the ancestor on the huanca, and the plaza is the largest of its kind anywhere in the polity. Within the massive plaza, ritual battles are cyclically waged with other imagined collectives that are known as university football teams. Photo by Nathan Craig

A Branded Revelation from the Temple of Consumption

2009-06-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

State College, PA. Photo by Nathan Craig

Heavenly Signs of Branded Revelation

2009-06-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

State College, PA. Photos by Nathan Craig

Finger Carrot

2009-06-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

Simulacrum (Oxford English Dictionary)

Pl. simulacra (7 -achra), and -acrums. [L., f. simul{amac}re to make like, to SIMULATE. See also SIMULACRE.]

1. A material image, made as a representation of some deity, person, or thing.

1599 SANDYS Europæ Spec. (1632) 229 The Heathen them~selves call them every where the Effigies and Simulachra of other. 1833 LYTTON Godolphin xxvi. 52 The far-famed simulacrum (the image of Cybele) which fell from Heaven. 1869 Pall Mall G. 13 Oct. 11 The dead-alive gape, stare, and hue of the lumpish simulacrums of a wax show. 1887 B. V. HEAD Hist. Numorum 634 The mountain is flanked by two tall conical simulacra, with radiate summits.

2. Something having merely the form or appearance of a certain thing, without possessing its substance or proper qualities.

1805 Edin. Rev. VII. 183 Does he mean..films, shadows, or simulacra proceeding from real external existences. 1840 CARLYLE Heroes (1858) 268 An ambitious charlatan, perversity and simulacrum. Ibid. 280 It behoved men to quit simulacra and return to fact. 1861 THACKERAY Four Georges iv. (1862) 184 Nothing but a coat, and a wig, and a mask smiling below it{em}nothing but a great simulacrum. 1881 Contemp. Rev. Feb. 235 The true succession lies with those who carry the principles of the master to a more fruitful development, and not with those who embalm them as..sacred but sterile simulacra.

b. A mere image, a specious imitation or likeness, of something.

Trailer Trash 01

2009-06-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

Forest edge trash dump adjacent to a trailer park, State College, PA. Photos by Nathan Craig

Blue Course Summer Carts

2009-06-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

A study in movement and stillness. Photos by Nathan Craig.

Pole #2

2009-06-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

Self Portrait

2009-06-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

High Dynamic Range Reflections. 5 shots over a two stop bracket, night time, hand held, 20mm. Photo by Nathan Craig

Parking Lot #1

2009-06-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

State College parking lot study. 5 shots over a two stop bracket, night time, hand held, 20mm. Photo by Nathan Craig

Market Controls

2009-06-05T19:24:00.000-07:00

lazes fire marketplace...Photo by Nathan Craig

Walk a mile in their shoes?

2009-06-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

Cement on Plant: Plant on Cement

2009-06-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

A drainage feature shows marks of plywood used in its construction. Photo by Nathan Craig

Voyeur

2009-06-05T19:09:00.000-07:00

Every two or three days, the police arrest someone in front of our apartment on 399 W. Aaron, State College, PA. Photo by Nathan Craig.

Pole Dancer Series

2009-06-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

Heavenly Poles Continued

2009-06-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

Heavenly Poles

2009-06-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

Only the Lonely

2009-05-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

Recycling self portrait. A study in isolation, desperation, frustration, and anger. Photo by Nathan Craig.

Empty Tank Not Bailed Out

2009-05-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

CTI Bank's logo is emblazoned on a stagnant race car that has been positioned to decorate a theme restaurant that is now closed and abandoned. Photo by Nathan Craig.

Empty Tank Continued 2

2009-05-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

Empty Tank Continued

2009-05-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Empty Tank Driven to Failure

2009-05-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

Abandoned drive through window, part of the empty tank series. Photo by Nathan Craig

Empty Tank

2009-05-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

More studies of material abandonment. Photos by Nathan Craig

(Un/Dis/De)Construct(ion/ed)

2009-05-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

Studies in light and color from the edge of the economic apocalypse. Photos by Nathan Craig

Lawless Savages

2009-05-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

Law establishes order and elevates the "civilized man" from the chaotic depths of savagery. Here a Penn State owned university vehicle barbarically refuses to yield to pedestrians that are standing at a cross walk that is marked by two university signs. Photos by Nathan Craig.

Witness pedestrian subalterity as savage drivers hegemonize the streets by ignoring posted rules of the road on the Penn State Campus.

Roadside Shoe

2009-05-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

A study in abandonment by Nathan Craig.

Sign of the Times

2009-05-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

Stepping Stones to the End of Days...

Reacing Out

2009-05-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

Photo by Nathan Craig

Door of Perception

2009-05-24T07:26:00.000-07:00

Photo by Nathan Craig.

Washing and Polishing the Paws

2009-05-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

Among many cultures, monumental architecture that houses potent material objects requires regular ritual cleansing. Materialized totemic symbols in particular may be the focus of cyclic renewal rituals. Here at the elevated entryway to the Palmer Museum, we see the biannual washing and polishing of the paws which is an act performed in preparation for pilgrims. Here two of the keepers of the shrine are pictured washing the paws to ready the museum for graduation and the many visitors who come to participate in this ceremony of intellectual transformation. The paws are doused with libations of purifying water and polished with bowling wax in order to achieve a lustrous shine. The paws are also washed in the Fall when high school students are visiting campus. Photos by Nathan Craig.

Cart and Kools

2009-04-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

State College carts. Hand held night series. Found association of objects. Canon 1Ds Mark III. Photo by Nathan Craig

Cooled Transport

2009-04-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

Stalled transit machinery thaws enough to continue rusting. State College Winter 09. Canon 1Ds Mark III. Photo by Nathan Craig.

Cart in Frozen Wilderness

2009-04-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

State College period of the shopping cart series. Superimposed linear structures of wood and metal. Winter 09. Canon 1Ds Mark III. Photo by Nathan Craig.

(Un)official Video

2009-04-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

Two of many audio visual streams recorded in the building. A Champion wrestler prepares to speak on camera after a match as a reporter is yawning on his way to the camera. Fans in the stands make home recordings of their brothers, sons, friends, idols and what have you. Canon 1Ds Mark III. Photos by Nathan Craig.

10 Tribes Ritual War

2009-04-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

From a study of moving figures at a Big 10 Wrestling tournament. IUvsNorthwestern. IU won. Canon Mark 1Ds Mark III. Photos by Nathan Craig

(In)sanitized (Re)production

2009-04-17T15:58:00.000-07:00

Carabenered plastic hand sanitizer bottles plastered with pink Hanna Montana advertisements. See also: attachment, personal hygiene, and commodified femininity. Canon 1Ds Mark III. Photo by Nathan Craig.

Pucara with Trees

2009-04-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

Shoe

2009-04-09T18:25:00.001-07:00

Urban Snowscape

2009-04-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

Photo by Nathan Craig. Canon Mark III 1Ds series

Currents of Indigenous Pedal Powered Movement in Juliaca

2009-01-09T12:15:00.000-08:00

A "moving" photographic study of bi- and tri- cycle use in the highland Peruvian town of Juliaca. All of the images were captured from the front right window of a moving Toyota Hilux that was traveling from Puno to Pucara.

Quimsatinta Road Cut Movements

2009-01-04T16:23:00.000-08:00

Trashscape Perspective Study

2009-01-04T15:56:00.000-08:00

Dumpster and ground are compressed by angle and lighting. 5400 W. Aaron, State College, PA. Photo by Nathan Craig. Sony Cybershot.

Victory, Now on to the Roses

2008-11-30T08:50:00.000-08:00

Many of the fanatical PSU football pilgrims who congregated at the ritual battle held roses in their teeth. This was done as a symbolic act indicating that if PSU were to be victorious they would travel to Pasadena CA to partake in the finall territorial clash between the Big 10 and the Pac 10. Photo by Margaret Brown Vega.

Rituals in Monumental Sunken Plaza Architecture

2008-11-30T08:48:00.000-08:00

At the start of the ritual mock battle the crowd, which includes two individuals wearing military clothing, salutes the nation. A thin electronic banner of the flag of the United States of America is displayed on the monument. T

It is snowing, the band is on the field, the majorettes are wearing next to nothing, and camera rolls while the crowd salutes the flag.

It is considered a good omen if the band leader flips and does not fall. If the band leader falls it is a sign that the team will not perform well.

Photos by Margaret Brown Vega.

PSU Football Pilgrims Feasting Before the Battle

2008-11-30T08:47:00.000-08:00

Football as metaphorical war? The linking of military insignia and the PSU football corporate brand would suggest so.

PSU Football Pilgrims Travel with the Corporate Brand

2008-11-30T08:46:00.000-08:00

The recreational vehicles, which transport and house PSU football pilgrims, are "branded" with the corporate symbol.

Shrines to Lions and Ancestral Leaders

2008-11-30T08:44:00.000-08:00

Outside the stadium (monumental architecture) football pilgrims erect small shrines to the Nittany Lion (the totemic figure) and Joe Paterno (ancestral leader).

Lion Shrine Land Grant Trophy/Big 10 Championship Game Day

2008-11-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

PSU football pilgrims make a ritual journey to the Lion Shrine before "the big game". Part of the Brand Nittany Lion Corporate Symbol Study. Photo by Nathan Craig.

Corporate Sylted Cozy

2008-11-30T08:20:00.000-08:00

Discarded PSU Nittany Lion can cozy, two empty containers of the "silver bullet", a copenhagen tin, and a pack of Newports. Unarranged association of found bojects located on the PSU campus. Part of the Brand Nittany Lion Corporate Symbol Study.

Performative Archaeology

2008-11-28T12:20:00.000-08:00

Ritual reproduction requires restricted repetition. Tradition involves constrained improvisation according to agreed upon rules of conduct. By trying out cooking a turkey in a hole in the ground a group of anthropologists from PSU decided to challenge the culinary conventions of the National Ritual of Giving Thanks. The aim was not necessarily contrarian, but rather a reflexive desire to explore other options. No variables were isolated or measured at any point in these experiments. The project was done purely for fun and experience of pit oven cooking. Photos by Margaret Brown Vega.

Honoring the Ancestors as Worlds Collide

2008-11-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

An ancient Andean monument has been gouged by looters seeking precolumbian treasures; modern squatters (many Indigenous peoples from the highlands) who have migrated to the coast seeking a better life use the looter's pit as a bathroom and trash dump. Disembodied human arm and leg bones (many with flesh still attached), shredded funerary textiles, and shattered pottery are mixed in with modern human fecies, shreds of paper used for wiping, and plastic trash.Photo by Nathan Craig.

A Study of Lion Multivocality

2008-11-18T20:18:00.000-08:00

Symbols are polysemic or "multivocal" meaning a given token may have very different meanings. After taking a new position at Pennsylvania State University and having a long time interest in the symbols of Rastafarianism, Nathan Craig was prompted to assemble and juxtapose alternate uses of the Lion as a totemic symbol of power and inspiration. This collage is a study in two general modalities of meaning that surround lions, the African Lion and the Nittany Lion.

Cement Safari

2008-11-18T18:47:00.000-08:00

One hunter stalks prey to shoot visual captions (these photos) of the high powered capture (the photographers long lenses) of captives (the animals). Photos by Nathan Craig. Part of the Blackberry 8100 Series.

Con(text)(rural)ized

2008-10-14T05:09:00.000-07:00

Photo by Nathan Craig. Quimsatinta, Rio Ramis, Peru 2008. Still life of road ditch. Found association of objects: a study of light and texture in a rural setting.

Lines of malacopoesis etched on an anthropogenic landscape of invaders

2008-10-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

Calcium carbonates from an archaeological shell midden, located on the headland in center frame, alter the species profile of grasses. None of the broad stands of "natural" appearing "wild" grasses visible in this photograph are native species, all are introduced invaders impacted by grazing activities in the past. The boundary of the shell midden is sharply defined by the reddish colored patch of grasses which are composed primarily of "rip gut brome" (Bromis diandrus) a type of rye. The surrounding yellow-green grasses are composed largely of "oats" (Avena sativa). What may at first sight appear natural, is in fact a cumulatively multilayered accretion of compounding historical processes.

Detail showing the sharply defined borders of difference.
In the photograph below, oats (Avena sativa) are shown below and the rip gut brome (Bromis diandrus) is shown above.

Experiential reflections from a journey to "Small World": (re)connecting the 6 degrees of separation from the past

2008-10-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

Quantifying the surface of a chenopod seed, excited electrons heighten the magnification and focus the penetrating gaze of science as investigators probe the undulations on a microtopographic landscape of domestication.

Altar OED

2008-10-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

Oxford English Dictionary altar

[a. L. alt{amac}re, pl. alt{amac}ri-a, prob. orig. a ‘high place,’ f. alt-us high. With OE. altar, cf. OS., OHG. and ON. altari, alteri, OFris. altare, alter. Side by side with the OE. form, the OFr. au{sm}ter (earlier autier, aultier, altier:{em}L. alt{amac}re) was adopted a 1300, and both forms, with many intermediate ones, continued to 16th c., when the spelling altar, after L., prevailed.]

A. 1. a. A block, pile, table, stand, or other raised structure, with a plane top, on which to place or sacrifice offerings to a deity.
c1000 ÆLFRIC Matt. v. 23 Læt {th}ær {th}ine lác beforan {th}am altare [v.r. wefode, Lindisf. G. wi{asg}bed, Hatt. weofede]. c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 135 {Edh}e holi man sah {th}e he{ygh} engel atte alteres ende. c1250 Gen. & Ex. 1325 Ysaac was leid {edh}at auter on. 1366 MANDEVILLE iii. 16 There is an Awtier upon his Toumbe. 1393 GOWER Conf. III. 250 From under thalter sodeinly An hideous serpent openly Cam out. 1535 COVERDALE Ex. xxxviii. 1 The altare of burnt offrynges. {emem} 1 Macc. iv. 49 The aulter of incense. 1611 BIBLE Gen. viii. 20 And Noah builded an Altar vnto the Lord. 1667 MILTON P.L. XI. 323 So many grateful Altars I would reare Of grassie Terfe. 1772 PENNANT Tours in Scotl. (1774) 180 An altar for sacrifices to the immortal gods. 1821 BYRON Cain I. i, I will build no more altars.

b. fig. with reference to the uses, customs, dedication, or peculiar sanctity of the altar.
1401 Pol. Poems (1859) II. 42 Datan and Abiron..with newe senceres ensencen the auters of synne. 1580 SIDNEY Arcadia I. 82 Where thoughts be the temple, sight is an aultar. 1601 SHAKES. Twel. N. V. i. 116 You vnciuill Ladie To whose ingrate, and vnauspicious Altars My soule the faithfull'st offrings haue breath'd out. 1635 HOWELL Lett. (1650) II. 41 Farewell my dear Tom..Yours to the altar, J.H. 1775 BURKE Sp. Conc. Amer. Wks. III. 94 The stones which construct the sacred altar of peace. 1857 HEAVYSEGE Saul (1869) 381 The stars shall sooner fall Each from its sacred altar in the heavens.

Bipedality is not safe in a world built for cars

2008-09-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

To find out why, follow this link.

Monumental Etymology: OED

2008-09-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

Monumental, adj. and n.[ classical Latin monumentlis (1st cent. A.D.) < monumentum MONUMENT n. + -lis -AL suffix1. Compare French monumental relating to monuments (1802), of majestic grandeur (1805). Compare slightly earlier MONUMENTARY adj.]

1. a. Serving as a monument or memorial.
Quotes: 1596 C. FITZ-GEFFREY Sir Francis Drake sig. E8, The dangerous straights that yet doe bear his name, Are monumentall annals of the same. 1872 ‘M. TWAIN’ Roughing It lxxi, His second in command..opened fire upon the swarms of natives on the beach, and one of his cannon balls cut this cocoanut tree short off and left this monumental stump standing. 1897 H. E. CHETWYND-TAPYLTON Stapeltons of Yorks. 191 Torre also saw four monumental slabstones. 1954 S. PIGGOTT Neolithic Cultures Brit. Isles v. 132 At Wayland's Smithy..monumental peristaliths of standing sarsen stones..surrounded the mound

{dag}b. That serves as a token or reminder; spec. acting as a proof of identity. Obs.
Quotes: a1616 SHAKESPEARE All's Well that ends Well (1623) IV. iii. 18 Hee hath giuen her his monumentall Ring

2. Of or relating to a monument or memorial structure, or to monuments in general. In early use: {dag}of or relating to the tomb; sepulchral (cf. MONUMENT n. 1) (obs.). Also fig.
Quotes: 1603 T. POWELL Vertues Due sig. C6, The hallowedst mold, Left for monumentall vse. a1616 SHAKESPEARE Othello (1622) V. ii. 5 Skin..smooth, as monumentall Alablaster. 1646 R. CRASHAW Steps to Temple 35 Softly may he be possest, Of his monumentall rest

3. Resembling or suggestive of a monument; like a monument, esp. in being large, solid, imposing, etc.

Monument Etymoloogy: OED

2008-09-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Monument, n. classical Latin monumentum, monimentum commemorative statue or building, tomb, reminder, written record, literary work < monre to remind (see MONEO n.) + -mentum -MENT suffix. Compare Anglo-Norman monument tomb, Old French, Middle French, French monument (end of the 10th cent. in sense ‘tomb’, also in Old French as moniment; late 14th cent. in general sense ‘anything that preserves a memory of something’, 17th cent. in sense ‘lasting work of literature, science or art’, 18th cent. denoting edifices which are imposing by virtue of their grandeur or antiquity), Spanish monumento (1207), Portuguese monumento (a1284), Italian monumento (1292). With sense 1, compare Welsh mynwent (< classical Latin monumentum) graveyard. With the phrase monuments of letters (see sense 3b), compare classical Latin monumenta litterarum. With sense 4d, compare earlier use of French monument of a work of literature (see above), and also use of classical Latin monumentum in Horace Odes 3.30.1, where the poet compares his literary work to a bronze monument.]

{dag}1. A tomb, a sepulchre. Also fig. (see quot. c1475). Obs.
a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) 1823 Now was hit a manere hows {th}at god was ynne ydo, Ygraued wyde in a roche..{Th}at is ycleped a Monument. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 16904 {Th}e prince o preistes o {th}air lagh went to {th}at monument And sperd it wit a mikel stan. a1425 Gospel of Nicodemus (Harl.) 723 He wand {th}at cors..And layd it in his monument. c1475 (a1400) WYCLIF Eng. Wks. (1880) 299 Wo be to {ygh}ou, pharisees..{th}at ben hud monumentis

2. a. A statue, building, or other structure erected to commemorate a famous or notable person or event.
{dag}in monument of: in commemoration of (obs.).
c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 61 {Th}e kyng..{th}ou{ygh}t to make, in minde of ham, a monument of stone {th}at my{ygh}t endure to {th}e worldes ende

{dag}b. An effigy; a carved figure, statue. Obs. Freq. in Shakespeare. 1594 SHAKESPEARE Lucrece sig. D2, Where like a vertuous Monument shee lies, To be admir'd of lewd vnhallowed eyes.

c. A statue or other structure erected in memory of the dead, either over the grave or in a church, etc.
1594 SHAKESPEARE Titus Andronicus I. i. 347 Traitors away, he rests not in this toombe: This monument fiue hundreth yeares hath stood, Which I haue sumptuouslie reedified

d. A structure, edifice, or (in later use also) site of historical interest or importance.
Sometimes merging with sense 2a. See also ancient monument at ANCIENT adj. 4c.
1768 Woman of Honor II. 83 Paintings, statues, monuments..that so vulgarly satisfy the silly superficial gape of travelling sight-mongers

{dag}3. a. A written document or record; (Law) a legal instrument. Obs.
In legal contexts sometimes confused with MUNIMENT n. 1.

4. a. Something that by its survival commemorates and distinguishes a person, action, period, event, etc.; something that serves as a memorial.

Contemporary Rock Art in the Rio Ramis

2008-09-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

Modern political party, precolumbian instrument.

Signs of the Times in the Rio Ramis

2008-09-10T15:06:00.000-07:00

"Viva la Rebolucion-El Pueblo Dise"
The community says the revolution lives.

"Para los Burros Ben de Patria APRISTA"
For the donkeys that come from the APRISTA party.

Archaeologist/Blogger and Materialized Histories

2008-09-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

Photo by Nathan Craig. Holding an iconic Marshalltown trowell, archaeologist Margaret Brown Vega stands at the doorway of a church that is part of a historic hacienda. This hacienda was constructed on top of a multicomponent precolumbian site that is called Calapuja. At least one modern Quechua resident of the region has clearly expressed their opinion in a rather multivocally poingnent way.

Prosyletization and fashion...assert your views in style

2008-09-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

Photo by Margaret Brown Vega. In a truck stop off the interstate somewhere in the midwest (likely Oklahoma or Missouri) you can buy these amazing t-shirts. They are simultaneously an assertion of identity and worldview, as well as advertising for Christian living and saving the world. Notice the tag on the display case to the right: "Change your t-shirt. Change the world." http://shop.kerusso.com/Default.aspx

Choose Your Ideology T-shirts

2008-09-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

Details of some of the t-shirts that express Christian ideals. They tap into four very popular symbols that many people are familiar with: Starbucks, Rock Music, Tween Life (think Hannah Montana), and Reality TV shows. Photos by Margaret Brown Vegas.

Menacing Dancers Perform in the Shadow of Terror's Memory

2008-09-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

Photo by Nathan Craig. Indigenous Quechua dancers performing on 28 June 2008 at the 180th year anniversary of the community of Pukara, Rio Ramis, Peru. The Iglesia de Pukara is visible in the background. The left hand tower of the church is missing because during the 1990s, it was dynamited by the brutal Maoist revolutionary group Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path). These young men would have been young children during the bloody Sendero occupation of the south Andean highlands. While Sendero touted itsself as an agrarian revolution, in an effort to extort them into submission, Sendero terrorized hundreds of indigenous communities and slaughtered tens of thousands of Native Peoples. Armed militias of Indigenous peoples known as Rondas played a critical role in opposing and ultimately expelling Sendero from the Andean highlands.

Soldiers of Religion and War...Donations Please?

2008-09-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

Photo by Margaret Brown Vega. An altar inside the San Xavier del Bac Mission. An army of saints and religious figurines surrounds the photos of U.S. soldiers at a prayer altar. Are these fallen soldiers? Or ar they soldiers currently in action? The construction of this altar using both military and religious elements makes explicit, in material form, the links between the two. Visitors light candles, say prayers, and have the opportunity to leave money in the donation can.

Victory Statues

2008-09-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

Photo by Margaret Brown Vega. An indigenous figure, Kateri Tekakwitha, and a Catholic saint inside the San Xavier del Bac Mission in the Tohono O'odham Reservation near Tucson, Arizona. Kateri Tekakwitha was not O'odham, but Mohawk. After converting to Christianity she became a general symbol used in the missionization project of indigenous North American peoples. She was materialized as a portable statue that was transplanted to Arizona as an example to the O'odham.

Signpost of Contestation in the Capitalist Community

2008-09-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

Photo by Margaret Brown Vega. Residents of Carbondale, Illinois materialize their views of Wal-Mart. Employing a variation of the company's bouncing happy face symbol that knocks down prices, they assert how angry they are at their neighbor.

Crucified Community Memory at a Late Archaic Temple

2008-09-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

Photos by Nathan Craig as part of the Blackberry 8100 series. Located Fortaleza valley of Peru, Huaricanga is a Late Preceramic archaeological site. It is one of the earliest manifestations of large scale monumental architecture in the Western Hemisphere. Indigenous highland peoples displaced by mining activites are now starting to homestead on the archaeological site. These two crosses were erected and decorated as part of the communities syncretic ritual activites.

Read the Writing on the Sidewalk

2008-09-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

Photos by Margaret Brown Vega. Racist allegations materialized on the sidewalks of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. Using orange (one of the school colors) spraypaint and a stencil, an anti-chief agent essentially stamped the landscape of the campus with visual accusations and references to a racist past. This act set in motion subsequent acts: the University sent out maintenance crews to remove the paint, and erase this manifestation of campus conflict.

The Chief and Coca-Cola: Global and Local Symbols of Pride...or Oppression?

2008-09-06T07:30:00.000-07:00

Photos by Nathan Craig and Margaret Brown Vega. Perusing a second-hand shop in Champaign, Illinois one can find interesting items. This special edition Coca-Cola bottle from 1983 celebrates the Illini as Big 10 Champs. The bottle is surrounded by other memorabilia celebrating Chief Illiniwek. Chief Illiniwek, known as The Chief, displayed prominently on the bottle, is now, and has been for some time now, a HIGHLY contested figure. This fictitious character, whose genesis has ties to the Ku Klux Klan, became the mascot for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Chief, a student dressed in an amalgamation of Sioux and other 'native' regalia, is a creation by non-indigenous peoples using indigenous material culture and dance traditions. Chief Illiniwek reasserted this symbol and pride at every sporting event until 2007 when, amid racial tension and the ultimate succes of anti-Chief efforts, was retired under a mandate from the NCAA. Students and alumni whose very identity was attacked by the retiring of this symbol now assert it with greater fervor than ever. The Chief is now more visible on t-shirts and has re-materialized with force.

Vitual Explorations of Mundane Practices

2008-09-06T06:43:00.000-07:00

Located in Tucson, AZ at the time of practice, Vichama (Margaret Brown Vega) and JiskaMalki (a transgendered representation of Nathan Craig), the Blog's creators explore the South Korean created virtual world of Shaiya.

Vichama and JiskaMalki participate in the virtual trans-national global market as they exchange weapons with Realgraham, a character who was playing from Mexico.

As they wait to receive their reward for defending the imagined community of the Vail during a player vs. player special event, Vichama and JiskaMalki experience bureaucracy and the mundane materialize in the virtual landscape of Shaiya. Waiting in line again...

The Blog's Creators (Re)created Virtually

2008-09-06T05:59:00.000-07:00

The creators of this blog Oyja X (Margaret Brown Vega) and Ndjawe Banton Congo (Nathan Craig) materialize virtually in the virtual materiality of Dungeons and Dragons Online.

Peru Movie Collection

2008-08-25T04:15:00.000-07:00

Nathan and Margaret have been collecting pirated Peruvian movies that were made in the Andes, by Andean Peoples, and that focus on Andean themes (as opposed to the feishizing perspective of the 'otherizing' lens of Hollywood). This assemblage of self expressive visual materiality has accumulated from hours combing the black markets of Lima, Huaura, Puno, and beyond.

We will continue to share reflexive thoughts pertaining to the act of collecting and the collection its self. In the mean time, here is the list of disks that we have accumulated.

Ancient comb and cigarette butt

2008-08-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

Photo by Nathan Craig as part of the Blackberry 8100 Perl study. Unarranged association of found objects.

Looters' sleeping quarters

2008-08-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

Photo by Nathan Craig part of the Blackberry 8100 Perl study. Lay me down to sleep. The slightly concave depressions filled with plant matter are sleeping quarters for looters.

Deformed Crania

2008-08-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

Photo by Nathan Craig as part of the Huaura Valley Blackberry Perl study of 2007. Precolumbian child burial with deformed crania. Hair is still attached to the skull and fragments of skin can be seen clinging to the bone. Relatively fresh quids of coca can been seen in the upper right frame of the background. These quids were left by looters who were exploiting the site the night before. Looters will chew coca to protect themselves from mal aire (bad air) or antimonio (antimonium).