Con(text)(rural)ized

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

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

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

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

To find out why, follow this link.

Monumental Etymology: OED

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

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

Modern political party, precolumbian instrument.

Signs of the Times in the Rio Ramis

"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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

Looters' sleeping quarters

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.